England & Wales · Professional negligence
A professional you relied on got it wrong — and you paid for it.
Claims against surveyors, conveyancers, solicitors, architects, accountants and other professionals whose careless advice or work caused you financial loss. CasePoint does not cover personal injury, clinical negligence, or mis-sold financial products.
Typical situations
- A surveyor missed a defect that has since cost thousands to repair
- A conveyancing solicitor failed to spot a right of way, restriction or planning issue
- A solicitor missed a limitation deadline or mishandled your case
- An architect or engineer's design or supervision was defective
- An accountant's error led to penalties or a lost opportunity
Frequently asked
What can I claim from a negligent surveyor or conveyancer?
Usually the financial difference their mistake made — for a property, the drop in value with the defect or title problem, rather than the cost of repair. Consequential losses and modest damages for inconvenience may be added.
How long do I have?
Six years from when the loss was suffered (often the date of the negligent work or advice), or three years from when you first knew or could reasonably have known the material facts, whichever is later — subject to a fifteen-year longstop (Limitation Act 1980, ss.2, 14A and 14B).
Does CasePoint cover clinical negligence or personal injury?
No. CasePoint covers professional negligence causing financial loss — surveyors, conveyancers, solicitors, architects, accountants — and does not cover personal injury, clinical negligence or mis-sold financial products.
Complete series
One kind of claim, covered start to finish.
Surveyor negligence
The survey said it was fine. It wasn't. Everything you need to understand a claim against a surveyor who missed a defect on a property you bought: what each level of survey had to find, why damages are measured by the drop in value, how long you have, what to gather, and what happens once the surveyor's insurer is involved.
Start the series →9 guides · read in orderConveyancer negligence
You paid a lawyer to check. They didn't. What a conveyancer was meant to check before you bought, and what happens when they didn't: missed search results, covenants, rights of way and boundaries, unauthorised works, leasehold traps, how loss is measured, getting your file, complaining, and the time limits that catch people who only find out when they come to sell.
Start the series →9 guides · read in orderSolicitor negligence
Your own solicitor got it wrong. What the law says when the solicitor you instructed costs you money: what a negligence claim against your own solicitor involves, a missed deadline that lost a case, how the courts assess a claim that was lost, advice to settle, mistakes in wills, drafting errors in business deals and leases, complaining to the Legal Ombudsman or the SRA, the time limits, and how these claims are funded.
Start the series →9 guides · read in orderArchitect and engineer negligence
The design was wrong. Or nobody checked the build. What the law says when an architect or engineer's work costs you money: what a claim against a designer involves, telling a design defect from bad workmanship, inspection and certificates during the build, planning and building regulations, a structural engineer's report on a purchase or extension, budgets and cost estimates, how loss is measured, the construction pre-action protocol and the Technology and Construction Court, and the time limits, including the Defective Premises Act.
Start the series →Guides
Professional Negligence — more guides
Time limits for professional negligence claims: six years, three years, and the fifteen-year longstop
How the Limitation Act 1980 sets the deadline for claims against surveyors, solicitors, architects and accountants, when the clock starts, what 'date of knowledge' really means, and how a standstill agreement buys time.
The professional negligence pre-action protocol: what happens before a claim is issued
The step-by-step process a claim against a surveyor, solicitor or accountant follows before court — preliminary notice, letter of claim, the three-month response, and why most claims settle inside it.