In a free market society, carefully chosen financial products are what many of us rely on to secure suitable reward for all the hard work and prudence of our lives. As such, when financial advisers or insurance brokers mis-sell, misrepresent, or carelessly advise in relation to these products, the damage wrought can be significant. Continue reading →

Whether they are working as individuals, companies, partnerships or on behalf of another organisation, such as a bank, insurance brokers are highly specialised professionals whose job it is to find suitable insurance products for their clients, often for a fee or a commission. As is inherent in any client-agent relationship, the insurer (the agent) will always owe the policy-seeker (the client) some level of duty-of-care. Continue reading →

Pensions are about ensuring that all your hard work benefits you not just in the present, but in the future too. Having a good pension scheme and sound pension advice can make your sunset years a time of prosperity and security, but where advice is negligent the results can be catastrophic, having a profound impact on both health and finances. As such, if you have suffered from negligent or substandard advice, it may be possible to claim for pensions negligence. Continue reading →

In claims of architectural professional negligence, architects who are deemed to be expert witnesses will be instructed to provide independent and impartial evidence to courts. All parties to the claim have the right to consider the views and findings of these expert witnesses. Continue reading →

Engineers and architects are specialists in the fields of building design and construction. As such when we instruct an engineer or architect to carry out work on a commercial or residential project, we expect the level of skill in their area of expertise to be vastly superior to that of a layperson or non-specialist. Furthermore, we expect that when negligence occurs, and we sustain financial loss as a result, we should have recourse to some form of damages to cover against our losses. Continue reading →

Even in cases where you engage the services of a professional, for example, an architect, surveyor, legal advisor, or insurance broker, and there is no clearly expressed contractual relationship, a professional owes the client some duty of care under tort – meaning that it is possible to infer responsibility on the part of the professional for any financial loss sustained by the client as a result of any negligent advice or services provided. Any breach of tortuous duty can be said to give rise to a claim for professional negligence. Continue reading →

In most cases where a claimant wishes to pursue a professional for negligence compensation, the case will be brought in contract. We live in world of regulations and agreements, so contracts are very much the norm in formalising the relationship of obligations and duties between professional and client. Continue reading →

Any decision to proceed with an engineer negligence claim should only be taken after careful consideration of the facts. This will include an assessment of the following questions:

Significant financial loss

Although the incident of alleged negligence might have caused you stress and inconvenience, for any engineer negligence claim to proceed with assurance and purpose, in all but the most exceptional cases it must be necessary to also prove financial loss. Continue reading →

Given the broad and varying areas of work and expertise within the engineering profession, if you are considering making a professional negligence claim against a civil engineer it is essential that your professional negligence solicitor has the specialised knowledge and experience necessary to proceed confidently with your claim. Continue reading →

For many of us, particularly if we are self-employed or run our own businesses, the relationship we have with our accountant is as important as any relationship we have with anyone outside of our closest personal and professional circles. Continue reading →