Professional negligence?
Good Evening,
I really don't know where I stand on this matter. Perhaps it is a case of I let bygones be bygones.
This is long and I apologise for this prior.
Anyway, let me start from the beginning. My Mother died suddenly in 2004 with no will - I was only 17 and looking forward to Cambridge. So we [me and my brother, the only next of kin] went to a solicitors to seek probate, we went with a solicitors firm that I had previously worked at [on reception] and felt comfortable with. The person who took over our case was new to the practice, and to be honest I didn't think much to him but I knew the firm and I was in no state at the time to start looking for the right solicitor.
Me and my brother took every scrap of thing we could find in the house and gave it to him. He told us it would take about 18 months for probate to be granted, possibly slightly longer. And so we went about our life. I had to quit my life of being a student and took over the family business thinking it to be short-term as I had no income and my brother had a wife and son to support.
I kept trying to get intouch with the solicitor, and so did my Brother [he lives about 70 miles away from me]. He wouldn't answer our calls, if he did he was vague and unhelpful. Never replied to letters. I had to put messages through other solicitors at the firm. Me and my brother by this point with financial woes and stricken grief had fallen into a deep depression/nervous breakdown. We didn't want to change solicitors thinking things could be delayed if he was on track [we didn't know]. Almost 2-years down the line we realised he was still far from getting on with letters of probate, and our accountant and friends of the family pushed us to change solicitors.
The new solcitors were FAB. But they told us they had to start from "worse than scratch", it took them alot of hard work to sort things out. Plus, delays had made things even more complicated - as debts had occured on the estate.
In the end our legal bills almost came to £30,000. In my opinion almost double what they should have been. Not just that, the 2-3 year delay in not having the estate meant the properties came into even more dis-repair, I incurred alot of financial burden which could have been eased and me and my brother ended up severely depressed and stressed from the whole situation.
My latter probate solicitor said I should send a letter for compensation of my legal fees from the firm, but I am not sure how to word it? She said I should be at the very least entitled to that. But she doesn't deal in that area of law unfortunately, so wouldn't advise me further...
I just need some friendly advice.
Kind Regards
Fiona
Your solicitor was under a
Your solicitor was under a duty to you to exercise a proper standard of competence, skill and care in dealing with your case as set out in rule 1 of The Solicitors Code of Conduct. If the solicitor did not discharge that duty and as a result you suffered loss, you can make a claim in the civil courts for professional negligence.
You as the claimant would have to prove the negligence and your loss.
All solicitors are required to be insured against such claims and, therefore, if you are successful you will receive any money awarded to you.
From what you have said I do believe that there is a claim worth investigating here.
However, civil litigation is very expensive and stressful. Such claims can take a long time to resolve.
If you are successful your costs will be paid by the losing party but you would have to fund the case up to that point.
It may be possible to deal with the matter on a no win no fee basis but that would involve an initial assessment of the case in full.
Alternatively, and/or in addition, you could make a complaint to the Legal Complaints Service if you have received poor service and suffered unreasonable delays. This service can be contacted on 0845 608 6565 or through their website.
The Legal Complaints Service can order a Solicitor to pay compensation for the stress and inconvenience and the financial effects of poor service up to a maximum of £15,000. The may also refer the matter to the Solicitors Regulation Authority. The service offered is free.
In my opinion, therefore, you should at this stage approach the Legal Complaints Service.
You have six years from the original act of negligence to sue the solicitors.
It does seem your loss is substantial and that aspect should also be investigated. You can instruct any solicitor competent in this field to act on your behalf.
icox@s-law.co.uk
Thank-you for your reply. It
Thank-you for your reply. It was extremely helpful.
I will ring the number you provided as the first step.
The proof is something I will need to sort out; my first point of contact would be the firm I dealt with second. As of course they were given what he had achieved so-far. I'm not sure if there is anything else you can suggest?
And if I were to go about finding a solicitor to just discuss it [I'm not sure if I would like to go down this route], what is the best way of locating one? I have looked at the Law Society, but it brings up an array of choices.
Sorry for the delay in
Sorry for the delay in replying.
There have been technical problems over the last 48 hours - now resolved.
I agree with you.
The decision to embark on major litigation is not one to be taken lightly.
The evidence for your claim will be found in the files now held by your second solicitors and the testimony of your family and you.
Any solicitor acting on your behalf would need to see those files. He/she would also want to take a statement from you. Only then could a realistic assessment of your case be given. An initial opinion from an expert barrister could also be obtained. You would then be able to decide if you wanted to go further. I would estimate that fees up to that point could amount to 1500-2000 pounds.
As to which solicitor call me on 02476 553181