The Professional Negligence Pre-Action Protocol
In the majority of legal disputes it is accepted practice to progress the dispute with the aim of ultimately avoiding court proceedings. If a dispute has to engage the court’s system, it can be complex, lengthy, stressful and expensive, so with many disputes there are various means of mediation or arbitration employed to settle a…
Landlord receives £4.75m compensation for damage caused at flats
The damage occurred after a pressurised water system was installed throughout the building. The system enabled water to be pumped to the higher floors in the block, but could also produce an effect known as “water hammer” in which high pressure surges caused burst pipes. There were two such incidents in different sections of the…
Ex Miner wins negligence claim against his former solicitor
Andrew Procter was successful in his claim for professional negligence and a judge awarded the West Yorkshire man over £5000 damages. Raley’s solicitors in Barnsley advised thousands of miners with compensation claims for industrial diseases such as noise induced hearing loss and in the case of Mr Procter Vibration White Finger. The condition Vibration White…
Consultants ‘were not negligent’ despite some failings
The consultants had been asked by the commissioners of a drainage authority to explore options for upgrading a pumping station. They carried out research with local authorities and other interested bodies and received no material objections. The local planning authority indicated that a new pumping station would not require planning permission as it would be…
Surveyors must pay £18m after giving negligent advice
The surveyors were hired by a consortium of developers to assess the commercial prospects of a factory outlet shopping centre. The centre was in a listed building on two floors. The developers acquired the lease on the centre for £62.85m based on the valuation produced by the surveyors. However, the centre was not a commercial…