What is Professional Negligence, and Who Can I Claim Against?

You cannot bring a professional negligence claim against public bodies such as the NHS, local councils or Government departments such as the Department for Work and Pensions or the Department for Health and Social Care.

These bodies may owe you a duty of care under a different area of the law, but they would not satisfy the legal test for negligence.

Professional negligence claims cannot be brought against trade unions, although those unions may refer you to a professional, such as a solicitor or legal representative, who you may be able to bring a claim against if they are negligent.

If you have experienced poor service from a professional, there are steps you can take without needing to instruct a solicitor:

1. Firstly, look at any engagement letter provided to you by the professional. This will usually set out the firm’s internal complaints procedure, which you must follow if you want to complain about the service you have received. The first port of call is to speak to the individual who has daily conduct of your matter, their supervisor, or department head. The engagement letter should also provide you with the name of the firm’s Complaints Manager or Partner who will deal with your complaint if it cannot be satisfactorily resolved in the first instance;
2. If you weren’t provided with an engagement letter or the above information was not provided to you, you can sometimes find the contact details for the Complaints Manager or Partner on the firm’s website. Alternatively, ask your contact at the firm for the Complaints Manager’s details, or as a last resort, you can address your complaint to the directors or partners of the firm;
3. A firm’s complaints process will generally provide up to 8 weeks for them to respond to your complaint, which will need to be a formal written complaint;
4. If at the end of that period, the firm has either not responded to you or their response is not satisfactory, you can usually escalate your complaint to an Ombudsman (either the Financial Ombudsman or the Legal Ombudsman if your complaint is against a solicitors’ firm) which is an independent body and is a free service for you to use;
5. You must ensure you have followed the firm’s complaints process and allowed the designated time for a response before the Ombudsman will consider your complaint. If the firm does respond to your complaint, they should provide you with details of how you can complain to the Ombudsman within their response.

The Legal Ombudsman has the power to order a legal professional to pay you up to £50,000 in compensation.

The amount the Financial Ombudsman can award varies depending on when the problem occurred and when the complaint is made.

The compensation awarded by the Ombudsman can be in the form of a refund of fees you have paid to the professional or in a compensatory capacity for the poor service you received.

If, upon receiving the Ombudsman’s final decision, you choose to accept that decision, this will usually be binding and will prevent you from bringing a legal claim against the professional.

You should seek the advice of a solicitor before accepting the Ombudsman’s final decision if you are also considering bringing a professional negligence claim against the professional.