Negligence Claims

Professionals and organisations are required to work with reasonable skill, care and diligence on behalf of the people who engage them or they care for. If the work of professionals, local authorities, the NHS or other similar bodies falls below the expected standard of reasonable care or service then negligence might have arisen.

Making a claim against someone or an organisation necessitates obtaining sufficient evidence to demonstrate that the person or organisation was either at fault, acted inappropriately, did or did not do something which they were required to do (breach of contract), gave an impression about something which was incorrect or breached a statutory duty.

A negligence claim may arise if the following apply:

• Did the defendant owe a duty of care to act or exercise reasonable care?
• Has there been a breach by the defendant of this duty through an act they have done or an omission which there was a reasonable duty for them to perform?
• Has the behaviour of the defendant resulted in injury or damage to the plaintiff?
• The injury or damage which has arisen is this a reasonably foreseeable consequence of the defendants actions or omissions?
• What is the connection or relationship between the defendant and the plaintiff?

Damages

Once a breach of the duty is established damages may be claimed.

Damages in essence come in different forms - general damages, special damages, nominal damages, punitive damages and aggravated damages.

1. General damages - these are not quantifiable in monetary terms and are often calculated based on suffering, experience or loss incurred.
2. Special damages - these are actual quantifiable losses which the plaintiff suffered, such as the cost of a repair to rectify something.
3. Nominal damages - often awarded where there has been a loss but one which is not quantifiable.
4. Punitive damages - these are used to punish the defendant more than compensate the plaintiff.
5. Aggravated damages - these can be awarded where the harm suffered is made worse by the behaviour of the defendant.

• How did they suffer loss?
• But for the defendants intervention how would they have been?
• If the defendant had been another local authority / NHS would this suffering / harm still have arisen?
• What made this local authority different from other local authorities in how they intervened or behaved towards them?

Call Craybeck Law now on  0207 060 1210‬ to discuss your claim.