Professional negligence claims

The recent case of McClean and others v A Thornhill QC [2022] EWHC 457 (Ch) has brought to light the issues of bringing a claim in professional negligence. To prove negligence the claimant has to establish the following:

• a duty of care exists;
• the professional has breached the duty; and
• damage has been caused to the claimant as result of that breach.

Such claims are also linked to the retainer or client care letter which establishes the limits of the professionals work to be carried out as well as the contractual obligations. Any claim for professional negligence will refer to the contractual obligations as well as the obligations in tort. Any action brought will or should plead both if applicable.

In this article we give an overview of the limits of the duty owed whether the professional advises or simply imparts information the issue of...