I am Afraid to Make a Legal Negligence Claim Against My Lawyer - By: Tim Bishop

You may have known your lawyer for a long time. They may have been privy to your most sensitive situations. You may even socialise with them, so what do you do if you think they may be guilty of legal negligence? Are you too embarrassed to make a claim in case it spoils the relationship?

Think about a different situation. You are travelling in your car, you stop to give way at a roundabout and bang! Someone rear ends you resulting in serious damage to your car. You get out and confront the other driver only to find that it your solicitor. What would you do then? Would you shake hands and write it off to experience or would you make a professional negligence claim against them?

Just like any other motor accident you would exchange details and make a claim via your insurance company knowing that both of you have taken out insurance to protect you for such occurrences. You recognise that accidents happen and that the driver at fault is liable and that neither of you need to take it personally.

Well the same thing holds true for legal negligence. All lawyers pay a hefty premium each year for professional indemnity insurance to cover them in the event that they or their staff makes a mistake that costs their clients money.

Perhaps they missed a deadline which made it harder for you to win a case. Possibly they dawdled on an important claim which then meant you had to take a smaller compensation amount just to end the process. Perhaps they gave you poor advice on a lease which had a detrimental effect on the property value. The main point is that you have lost money due to their legal negligence and because of this you may be entitled to claim.

Of course just because you are unhappy with the service you have received at the hands of your solicitor doesn't necessarily mean that they have automatically been negligent in the eyes of the law.

Proving legal negligence is a complex process and one where you would be well advised to seek professional assistance. A specialist legal negligence solicitor will assess the merits of your case and try to work out what the outcome of the situation would have been had your solicitor handled the situation properly the first time around. If, as a result of this there is a clear case to be made you can then purse the appropriate level of claim in the most effective manner. It all depends what you want; an apology, an investigation, or compensation for example.

Therefore you cannot be weary of complaining, try to remember the car insurance analogy. Seeking professional help at an early stage is the key to ensuring that a) you don't waste your money or time pursuing an emotive but unprovable legal negligence claim and b) a valid professional negligence claim is pursued in the most cost efficient and winnable manner within any statutory time limitations.

About the Author

Have you suffered legal negligence? Bonallack & Bishop are solicitors specialising in making a professional negligence claim. Tim Bishop is senior partner at the firm, responsible for all major strategic decisions. He has grown the firm by 1000% in 13 years and has plans for further expansion.

Article Directory Source: http://www.articlerich.com/profile/Tim-Bishop/62652

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