This August solicitors and barristers all over the country have been talking extensively about professional negligence claim, and one very unusual claim in particular. High profile London law firm Pinsent Masons is being sued by a construction company. Pinsents were responsible for drafting contracts between Shepherd Construction and an unnamed subcontractor, and it is alleged that a clause included in the contract was invalid and left the construction company liable for subcontractor fees for the building of Trinity Walk in Wakefield. All anyone outside the legal profession needs to know is that the law firm being charged stands to lose a whopping £10 million.
Apparently confident, a spokesperson told online paper The Lawyer that the firm would be “vigorously defending these allegations in the Technology and Construction Court, and have applied to strike out the claim.”
What’s it all about?
Such a high profile case has brought the nature of a professional negligence claim into the public eye more than usual this month, with Internet search engines seeing the term spiking around the first of the month and remaining unusually high. Professional negligence relates to claims made for compensation by a client who believes that a professional person has misled them, betrayed their trust or caused them to lose money through poor advice. Such claims have been made against doctors, estate agents, accountants and consultancy firms all over Britain, and reflect the increasing willingness of the British public to request compensation when professionals fall short of the high standard of service the public has the right to expect of them.
Accidents in the workplace
Far more common in the same area of the law are work accident claims. The basis of these is the understanding that the employer has a duty of care to his employees regarding the safety of their workplace. The accident at work claims most often used in advertising shows an office worker walking into her workplace one morning and slipping on a newly-cleaned wet floor where a cleaner had neglected to place warning signs. In this hypothetical situation the claim would be made because of an employer’s responsibility to ensure their worker’s safety by giving cleaning staff “wet floor” warning cones and asking that they be used throughout the office.
In real life, claims have been successfully made regarding tools and equipment provided to workers, such as harnesses for working at height , trips and falls, unsafe working conditions, or even armour and weaponry sent to Iraq. The bottom line is that any professional or business owner is expected to provide both a safe working environment for their employees and visitors, and a standard of professional service that does not negatively affect their business partners. Those who fail to live up to these standards could find themselves subject to a compensation claim.
Bolt Burdon Kemp – For help and assistance with a road accident claim such as road traffic or motorbike accident claims, please get in touch with a member of our specialist team today.