Professional negligence cases take many forms and can be applied to any service in which you have been offered expert advice. Our claims and disputes team will help you with any case of professional negligence. With a wealth of experience in this area of law, we are leading professional negligence solicitors in Belfast. The most common areas in which we see claims include:

Accountancy
Architecture
Engineers
Quantity Surveying
Solicitor Services
Financial Advice
Insurance Brokers

Accountancy negligence arises when you have received advice from an accountant that turns out to be inaccurate or even untrue. This advice may cover steps taken to reduce your tax liabilities or financial matters relating to your business. If you have suffered financial loss as a result of acting on this advice, you may be able to sue your accountant for negligence. Someone may wish to pursue a claim for professional negligence against their accountant for many reasons. Common examples include:

  Missed deadlines
  Overvaluing or undervaluing of assets
  Failing to spot important issues when carrying out a financial audit
  Negligent advice on tax

An architect may be found to have been negligent if they have failed in their role, particularly if the result has been that the customer has suffered substantial financial loss. In many cases, these failings will result in significant delays or a drastic increase in costs on building projects. The Professional Negligence Solicitors at MKB Law have many years of experience acting on behalf of clients to recover sums lost as a result of architect negligence, in many cases reaching settlements without the need for court action.

Those seeking to buy a house, and particularly those purchases being made with the assistance of a mortgage provider, will almost certainly have a survey carried out to establish that the property is structurally sound and to bring to the buyer’s attention any potential problems that could arise in the future.

In some cases these surveys will not be carried out correctly meaning that serious faults such as damp or dry rot are not identified as they should be. These mistakes will likely have a substantial financial impact on the buyer, resulting in significant repair costs or loss of value for the property. Our Professional Negligence Lawyers are on hand to offer expert legal advice if you have been the victim of such negligence, helping you to recover any losses as quickly and easily as possible.

The list of circumstances in which you can claim negligence against a solicitor is extensive, with typical examples including:

Conveyancing negligence
Negligent commercial law advice
Divorce negligence
Negligently drafted wills
Missed limitation dates, often for personal injuries
Errors in drafting legal documents
Failures made during court proceedings

Often the result of such negligence is that financial loss is suffered or a case in which you are a party is decided against you. A claim for negligence against a solicitor will generally have to be made within six years, however this may be extended if the negligence only comes to light at a later date.

If you are unhappy with the service or advice given to you by a professional you should consult with your solicitor at MKB Law to determine if you have grounds to make a case. Time is an essential factor in professional negligence cases and so it is vital that you get in contact with us as soon as possible in order to ensure that your case is heard.

It is also important to gather as much information together as possible by recording any details, transactions or dealings that you have had with the service provider, eg: receipts, letters, emails, text messages and any other documentation you feel may be relevant.

The cost of prosecuting professional negligence claims can often prove to be prohibitive, and they can be inflated by a number of factors, including:

Involvement of experts
The ‘Front-Loading’ of work envisaged by the Commercial Court pre-action protocol
The engagement of barristers
The fact that these cases tend to be very paper-intensive

We make the discussion of funding options a priority early on in these cases to ensure our clients are fully prepared. Options such as the availability of after the event insurance (“ATE”), which protects the client against substantial costs they may be liable for should the legal action prove unsuccessful, can be worth looking into.

For cases with a value in excess of £30,000 and which, therefore, fall within the jurisdiction of the Commercial Court, there is a recent pre-action protocol (setting out the steps parties to prospective litigation are obliged to follow before the issue of Court proceedings) with which this firm is well-versed.

At MKB Law, we aim to help our clients by giving a clear explanation of the following:

The steps which solicitors are obliged to follow under the pre-action protocols
Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) methods allowing a settlement to be reached out of court
Costs and funding options- particularly whether an after the event (ATE) insurance policy could be obtained
The procedure by which the relevant records are obtained
The expert evidence that should be procured

Whatever the nature of your professional negligence claim, our lawyers will do their utmost to achieve the best possible result for you and will keep you fully informed throughout proceedings.