Case Examples

Mrs L had brought a claim for clinical negligence against the clinic where her husband died.  It was a hard fought battle which she lost.  Although the solicitors did sort out some insurance to cover her costs, they failed to make sure there was enough insurance to cover her opponent’s costs.  Her cover was for £40,000 but the other solicitor’s costs were £100,000 so she potentially had a shortfall of £60,000.  A successful claim was made against her former solicitors for the full amount.

Miss E was knocked down by a car.  It was difficult to say whose fault the accident was, hers or the car driver’s.  However, her solicitors didn’t start Court proceedings before her 21^st birthday so she lost her chance of suing the other driver.  The solicitors accepted responsibility and paid her compensation for what she might have won if she had taken her original claim to Court.

Mr W was injured in an accident at work.  His solicitors started the Court claim within 3 years of the date of his accident but due to a failure of their diary system they failed to serve the Court proceedings within 4 months.  This meant Mr W lost his claim and the solicitors had to pay compensation for the loss he suffered.

Mrs W was injury in a road traffic accident.  Her own insurers put her in touch with a large firm of solicitors.  They processed her claim very quickly but didn’t realise how serious her injury was.  They failed to take account of the head injury she had suffered and so she lost a large portion of her real compensation.  Her solicitors had to pay her for this.

Mr V was seriously assaulted outside a nightclub. He instructed solicitors to make a claim to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority. His application was refused on technical grounds. The solicitors missed the deadline for appealing the decision and so Mr V lost his chance of claiming compensation. The insurers for the solicitors had to pay out Mr V in full.