Professional Negligence Claims and Disputes

When you engage a professional, you trust them to carry out their duties to a high standard. If they make a mistake, give poor advice, or otherwise breach their duty of care, the consequences of their negligence can be both emotionally and financially devastating.

If you have suffered financial loss or damage due to professional negligence, you could be entitled to claim compensation.

At Hibberts Solicitors, our professional negligence solicitors in Cheshire help clients throughout Crewe, Nantwich, Northwich, Whitchurch, and the surrounding areas to hold negligent professionals accountable and claim compensation for their losses.

What is professional negligence?

Professional negligence occurs when a professional person or organisation breaches their duty of care or provides substandard services, resulting in financial loss or damage to their client.

Examples of professional negligence could include a surveyor failing to identify defects in a property or an accountant providing incorrect tax advice.

Professional negligence claims can be made against any professional who breaches their duty of care, including:

• Accountants
• Surveyors
• Solicitors
• Investment and fund managers
• IT consultants
• Brokers
• Engineers
• Will writers

What do I need to prove to claim for professional negligence?

For a professional negligence claim to be successful, you must be able to prove the following:

• The professional owed a duty to you.
• The professional breached the duty owed to you.
• The breach caused you to suffer damage or loss.
• That the loss is recoverable.

At Hibberts Solicitors, our professional negligence dispute solicitors can help you assess whether you have a case for compensation. If you do, we will help you gather the evidence required to support your claim and demonstrate how the professional’s conduct fell below the expected standard, helping to resolve the dispute and secure the compensation you deserve.

When can a professional negligence claim not be made?

Claims may be invalid, or the compensation awarded may be reduced if any of the following circumstances apply:

• You ignored professional advice.
• There has been an unfavourable outcome despite competent work.
• Your own contributory negligence made the situation worse
• There was no professional duty of care owed.
• The claim was not submitted within the time limit.
• The professional warned you about the risks.
• There is not enough evidence.

How long do I have to make a professional negligence claim?

Professional negligence claims are time-sensitive.

In most cases, you must make the claim within six years of when the negligence occurred of when the contract was breached.

If you don’t discover the negligence until a later date, you typically have three years from when you discovered the breach it to make a claim, however this is subject to a strict 15-year cutoff point from the date the breach occurred.

For example, if you employed a surveyor to inspect a property you were purchasing, and the surveyor failed to identify the presence of asbestos, you would generally have 6 years from the date of inspection to bring a claim.  However, if you discovered the asbestos 13 years after the survey, you would only have a further 2 years to bring a claim before the 15-year longstop.

It is always important to act as quickly as possible once you identify a breach, that way if you are close to the date of limitation, steps may be taken to put a hold on the ticking clock.

Defending a professional negligence claim

At Hibberts Solicitors, we also help professionals facing unfounded, exaggerated, or unsupported negligence claims to defend their case.

In these cases, it’s important to seek legal advice as soon as possible to protect your reputation and professional standing.

We defend various types of negligence claims, including those involving poor advice, breaches of duty of care, and financial loss.

Our legal services for defending claims include:

• Reviewing the strength of the claim made against you.
• Assessing whether a duty of care existed.
• Assessing whether the accepted professional standard was met.
• Challenging allegations.
• Gathering evidence to support your defence.
• Negotiating settlements.
• Representing you in court proceedings.

Where possible, we always aim to resolve disputes outside of court by negotiation and mediation, to minimise stress and disruption to your business and professional reputation.

Contact Hibberts Solicitors for help resolving a professional negligence dispute

Whether you’ve received negligent advice from a solicitor, accountant, surveyor, engineer, or another professional, our professional negligence solicitors in Cheshire are here to help you understand your legal position and claim the compensation you deserve.

We support clients making or defending professional negligence compensation claims involving financial loss, poor advice, and breaches of professional duty throughout Crewe, Nantwich, Northwich, Whitchurch, and the surrounding areas.

Contact our team today by calling 01270 624 225 or emailing enquiries@hibberts.com to speak to our negligence claims solicitors and take the first step towards recovering your losses.