REGARDLESS of the profession, you should be able to rely on professional advice. But what do you do when it goes wrong?
Having followed the professional’s own complaints procedure (assuming they have one) or tried other remedies such as the Ombudsman, options may seem limited – and expensive.
Work out your financial loss – different rules apply to cases over £10,000 and £25,000. Then check any insurance that you hold – have you got legal expenses cover? Often the insurers will insist on you using their preferred lawyer but sometimes you can convince them to use a local expert (like the large Professional Negligence Team at Wilson Browne Solicitors).
What if you don’t have insurance? Obviously you can pay a lawyer privately: it’s often the most economic route especially if you have a strong case. But what if the case is less than a home run? Would you risk money taking it to court?
There are various methods of funding if a case is strong. Two common options involve a form of no-win-no-fee arrangement (CFAs). If you lose you do not pay all or some costs. If you win and have a full CFA, you pay a premium to the solicitor, as their reward for taking the risk. If you do a 50 per cent CFA then you pay half that premium, which is becoming more and more common as people look to share the risk with their solicitor yet minimise the premium paid at the end.
How much is that premium? Known as a success fee it cannot be more than 100 per cent of usual charges (on a full CFA). In large cases this is often not very relevant, but in a case for (say) £50,000, that premium can be quite a percentage – that’s why it is vital to get an agreed cap. Decent, deferred insurance that you do not pay for until the end but do not pay for if you lose is also vital, and this combination means that you can recover your losses safe in the knowledge that you have a good degree of certainty over legal costs (that become payable if you win) so that you and the lawyer can focus on the case itself. Wilson Browne Solicitors always limit their deductions to no more than 25 per cent for these types of cases, and in practice it is often much less
For further information on bringing, or defending, a professional negligence claim please contact Kevin Rogers, Partner, on 0800 088 6004.
The Professional Negligence Team at Wilson Browne Solicitors is led by Partner, and this year’s NLS Solicitor of the Year, Kevin Rogers who has lectured nationally on the issue of costs and funding, having 19 years’ experience with CFAs. The team holds the country’s oldest delegated insurance scheme from market leaders Temple Legal Protection Limited, meaning that they can issue policies to concerned clients,providing full protection and peace of mind without any long forms or application fees.
