Once you have established that the elements of negligence are satisfied, the next stage is to determine the value of your potential claim. Valuing professional negligence claims can be complicated and typically requires an expert to produce a valuation report.
If the value of the claim is low, there is a risk that you may incur legal fees that outweigh the potential compensation.
Therefore, it’s important to establish the value of the claim early on to ensure it is in your best interests to proceed with legal action.
Additionally, you should consider whether the professional has sufficient assets to satisfy any judgment, although many professionals will have insurance to cover such claims.
A specific pre-action protocol exists for professional negligence claims known as the Professional Negligence Pre-action Protocol. If you believe you may have a claim and the value warrants pursuing further action, a solicitor will prepare what is called a letter of claim to the professional. This sets out the detailed circumstances of your claim, the loss you have suffered and what remedy you are seeking.
As mentioned above, most professionals will have liability insurance, therefore their insurer’s solicitor will generally prepare a formal response to this letter, in which they will usually say whether they accept or deny liability and whether they agree or disagree with the valuation (quantum) of your claim.
After this, it may be possible to agree on a settlement of your claim through correspondence between your solicitor and the insurer or by using a form of alternative dispute resolution such as mediation.
However, where there is a fundamental disagreement, it may be necessary to issue court proceedings.
