If you recently hired a professional and their negligent actions have cost you a hefty sum, damages, or injuries, then don’t let it slide. You can file professional negligence claims against those professionals and smooth everything out in court. However, you shouldn’t rush it. Accusing professionals of negligence will certainly require a lot of time and money. So if this is your first time doing this (and hopefully the last), understanding these claims will help you a lot. We’ve answered the FAQs that revolve around professional negligence claims. Below are only some of them.
1. What is a professional negligence claim?
Simply put, it’s a case that you’re bringing to the court with the premise that a professional committed negligent actions throughout your professional relationship with them. As the name suggests, you are claiming something against these professionals. It doesn’t matter what field of practice the professional is in. They may be a dentist, a lawyer, a doctor, an engineer, or a bookkeeper. As long as they failed to provide you with the right service that you hired them for, and this negligence cost you either physical or financial damage, you can make a claim. The reason for this is that every time you hire someone, you are always entitled to a service that’s executed with reasonable care and a high degree of expertise. These two elements are the reasons why you decided to hire a professional after all, right?
2. What are the elements of a strong negligence claim?
You can’t simply file a case against someone just because a simple and resolvable error was made. The reason has to be stronger than that to make a claim. Below are some of the elements which make a strong argument for professional negligence:
- The professional must owe you the “duty of care”
- The professional acted negligently
- The negligent action cost you financial losses, physical damages and injuries, or worse, death
After establishing these factors and it was proven that the professional acted negligently, you will receive proper compensation. The amount of compensation is often equal to the financial losses and the cost of damages brought by the negligent action. The payment also covers the financial losses that you may suffer from in the future and the legal costs that you shelled out to make the claim.
3. How to file a professional negligence claim?
The key step in filing these cases is to hire the best professional negligence lawyers. Just the filing alone is already an uphill battle because you’re dealing with a professional, who’s probably more well-versed in these situations or more well-connected than you. In short, you will need some backup.
After hiring the right lawyers, let them guide every step of the way. They will most likely tell you the requirements needed and what arguments and evidence will work so you can achieve the goal. And that is to make the negligent professionals pay.
4. When is the best time to make a claim?
The best time is always “as soon as possible”. And that’s because the Australian legislation often implements time limits for professional negligence claims.The said time limit depends on what jurisdiction you are in. For example, in Queensland, you are given a maximum of six years from the date when the professional did you wrong to file for professional negligence claims. If the negligent act resulted in injuries, in some cases, you might have shorter time limits like three years or so.
That’s why it’s better to call your lawyer immediately so you can understand the rules about professional negligence claims. This way, you’ll be on track to get the compensation that you rightfully deserve.
