Is it actually worth suing a professional for negligence?

You know that you have suffered because a professional has given you bad advice or failed to take essential steps on your behalf to protect your interests. You have lost money. Perhaps your accountant has failed to advise you in your new business that you could claim tax relief on some aspect of your business, so that you paid more tax than you had to but you are now out of time to claim it back from HMRC. Perhaps your surveyor advised that the cracks under the bay window of the house you bought were not serious and then a little later the bay started to collapse threatening to pull down the front of your house. Your dream home has become a nightmare. You think to sue that professional.

You must stand back and consider whether the costs and risks of litigation will be worth it. Would the money be better spent reinvesting in your business or repairing your front wall?

Professionals are backed by professional indemnity insurance (PII) and whereas about 15 years ago, the insurers would rather pay out than fight cases, now the opposite is true. They are losing too much money, so matters are generally heavily defended at least until a trial is in sight. The is no quick resolution.

We therefore do not advise commencing professional negligence unless there is at least a 60% chance of success and that the losses are sufficient to warrant the investment of costs.

What is NOT likely to be Professional Negligence.

To be let down by a professional is a very shocking experience – you trusted an adviser and then that advice turns out to be poor. You have acted on it to your detriment and almost certainly lost money, if only in their fees which you have paid. You feel angry and upset. You feel you deserve compensation. Your first thought, not unreasonably, is to sue that professional.

Take a step back. Is it negligence or simply poor service?

The test for professional negligence is not straightforward. I often give the example of where a builder builds a wall and it falls down within 3 days, things speak for themselves – the builder is negligent.

With professional negligence the test is more stringent. It is that only where it can be shown that a reasonably competent professional in the same profession would never have acted as this professional did or advised as he did, will he be found to have been negligent. As you can see it is a high bar.

Accordingly, the fact that you have not received the best advice will not be enough.

Poor service is where the professional does not keep you updates, possibly charges more than you were expecting to be charged, failing to return phone call and even not giving the best advice as it turns out.

If you have received poor service, then your route to compensation lies in following any complaints procedure for that profession and then the governing professional body will look into it for you free of charge to you. If you are not satisfied with the outcome, then your next step is to report the matter to the relevant Ombudsman.