Professional Negligence Lawyers

Negligence on its own refers to everyday, ordinary negligence — for example an accident from slipping on something or tripping over an item someone left out. It is called negligence because all individuals are expected to exercise reasonable care in our actions to avoid harming others, and you can be held liable for physical or financial harm caused by this type of negligence. Professional negligence is different in that the word ‘professional’ recognises a person or business is providing a specialised skill — likely something that requires qualifications or certifications to legally perform. Due to this there is an expectation of a higher duty of care, and usually a set of legal standards you must abide by when providing services. If you fail to meet these standards or fail in the expected duty of care, and this results in damage or loss, that would be considered professional negligence.

Any industry where you are providing a service as a business to a customer can be subject to a professional negligence compensation case. Industries most typically impacted include legal, finance and construction. Common reasons for claims include providing incorrect or incomplete advice; giving advice or preparing documents that are poorly executed or wrong as to material facts; unreasonable or unjustifiable delays in delivery of a service or product that cause another person to miss deadlines or milestones; and failing to give advice about critical issues.

The role of a professional negligence lawyer is to help you determine if an individual person or business that provided you with a service failed in their legal duty of care and you suffered loss as a result. If they are able to establish that the person or business in question did not exercise reasonable care and failed in their duty of care, your lawyer will then work with you to assess whether you are eligible to make a compensation claim. Working with a lawyer with extensive experience in compensation law means you will have sound legal advice to seek compensation.

The length of time a claim takes to be resolved is dependent on a myriad of factors, including the complexity of the incident. The more complex or involved the case, the longer it can take. However, in most cases of professional negligence claims, the dispute is finalised within two years of engaging a professional negligence lawyer.

A professional negligence claim is made by an individual against a professional responsible for damage or loss due to a failure to meet industry standards or a failure in the professional’s expected duty of care. The first step is discerning whether you are eligible. Questions to ask yourself include: did you suffer damages or economic loss in some capacity, and was the damage or loss caused by negligence on behalf of a professional? If you answered yes, you may be eligible and should contact a personal injury lawyer. To help your lawyers understand your case, gather as much evidence of the damage or losses as possible, including the negligent incident, the professional responsible, and an assessment of the damage that resulted.

To prove professional negligence, certain legal criteria need to be established. We must be able to show that the professional you engaged owed you a duty of care; that the professional failed or breached the duty of care which was owed to you; and that as a result of this breach or failure, you have suffered loss and damage.

Professional negligence falls under the branch of civil law, not criminal law.

Seeking legal representation is the best course of action you can take when pursuing professional negligence claims. As personal injury law specialists, we work with you to manage the dispute process and help you navigate this extremely difficult time. This becomes especially critical if the dispute is complicated or impacted by other factors. We take a collaborative approach to understand your needs, and our objective is focused on securing the best possible outcome for you and your future. Our experienced lawyers specialise in resolving personal injury disputes. Burke Mead Lawyers are one of the leading personal injury law firms in Newcastle, Central Coast, and the Maitland Hunter Region.