Common Types of Professional Negligence

Many businesses may experience examples of professional negligence during their day-to-day operations, as they often rely on third parties, contractors and external experts for support. Professional negligence refers to a situation in which a trusted third party provides a service that falls below the standards expected of their profession. If the person owes you a duty of care as their customer or client, and their negligence results in harm for you or your business, this may meet the legal standard for professional negligence and entitle you to claim compensation against the responsible party.

A duty of care refers to the legal obligation imposed on an individual or organisation to adhere to reasonable and accepted standards while performing any acts that could foreseeably harm others. The duty of care is typically established by the formation of a professional relationship in which a professional agrees to provide services or advice to a certain standard. For example, when an accountant agrees to manage a client’s financial records, a duty of care is established.

The standard of care is usually defined by what is expected of a reasonably competent professional in that field under similar circumstances. This standard can be influenced by regulations, codes of conduct, and general industry practices, and differs depending on the professional or industry you are working with.

To illustrate this, our legal experts have provided some examples of the most common types of professional negligence in different industries. By understanding the legal definition of negligence and reviewing these examples, we hope you will be able to recognise situations where you may be owed compensation for someone else’s professional failings.

Professional negligence by industry

In general, negligence is defined as any instance when a professional fails to perform their duties to the standard expected in their profession and breaches the duty of care they owe to their client (or someone else with whom they have a business relationship). There are several industries in which professionals owe a duty of care to their clients, and breaches that can be considered professional negligence.

Because negligence can occur in many different ways and is largely dependent on the nature of the industry, we have provided examples of both a profession and the associated types of negligence in the list below.

• Medical staff: Doctors, nurses, dentists, and other healthcare providers who fail to provide the requisite standard of care can cause serious physical and psychological harm to patients, involving everything from misdiagnosed conditions to hospital-acquired infections.
• Lawyers: Solicitors and other legal advisors who make errors such as mismanaging a case, providing incorrect legal advice, or failing to meet deadlines can harm their clients’ chances of a positive outcome. This might also mean settling for a lower compensation amount than the client could otherwise have expected, which represents a financial loss.
• Financial advisors: Professionals offering financial advice who mismanage funds, provide poor investment advice, or fail to consider the client’s financial situation and risk tolerance can cause clients to lose significant sums of money.
• Accountants and tax advisors: These professionals can be negligent by making errors in financial statements and tax returns, or providing incorrect tax advice. Businesses have a legal obligation to ensure their financial reports are accurate, and failures by professionals in this area can lead to fines and other legal penalties.
• Architects and engineers: Professionals in these fields can be found negligent if their plans, designs, or constructions are flawed. Mistakes in planning or construction can lead to structural issues or project failures, which can pose significant threats to public safety and the welfare of people on the construction site.
• Construction contractors and builders: Professionals who fail to complete work to the agreed standards can cause financial loss, property damage or both. This can also result in a risk to public safety, but most often causes harm to the company overseeing the project.
• Insurance brokers: Professionals who fail to secure the appropriate coverage for their clients or give incorrect advice regarding insurance matters can cause significant financial losses. If clients undertake high-risk activities under the belief that they have insurance cover and find that they do not, they may be forced to pay out-of-pocket for expensive errors.
• Surveyors, valuers and estate agents: Property surveyors who provide incorrect valuations or fail to identify defects in a property can be liable for professional negligence, as this can result in overpaying for a property, or underselling it. Either case can result in financial loss. Estate agents may also be found to have provided misleading information or failed to conduct due diligence, and led their client to lose money.

While these examples illustrate some of the most common types of professional negligence, this list is not exhaustive. If you have experienced financial losses or physical harm and you believe the negligence of a professional may be to blame, speak to a solicitor.

Professional negligence compensation claims

Any type of loss caused by a professional who owed you a duty of care may entitle you to claim compensation. However, in practice, there are important legal conditions that must be met to ensure your claim is legitimate and has a reasonable chance of success. The first is that you must be able to prove that there was a relationship between you and the negligent party in which they owed you a duty of care. If you have a professional relationship with someone in any of the roles listed above, this condition will usually be fulfilled automatically.

The next condition is to show that the defendant breached their duty of care. You must prove that they acted below the standards expected of a competent professional in a similar position. It is not enough to prove that a medical condition was undiagnosed and got worse – you must demonstrate that your doctor ignored your symptoms or missed obvious signs of the disease.

Finally, you must demonstrate that the harm you suffered was the direct result of the professional’s conduct. This is more straightforward in some cases than in others, but working with an expert professional negligence solicitor is often the best way to start this process. By talking to them about your experience, you can find out whether or not you are eligible to make a claim and start the process of seeking justice for your experience.

Article by Chris Macwilliam, Partner & Head of Litigation, Clough & Willis