Professional negligence claims in the UK are on the rise – in a big way according to reports.
Legal Business reports that High Court cases against firms have tripled since last year, showing an increase of 192 per cent.
City litigators say the sharp increase is primarily a result of the time limit looming for pursuing negligence claims arising from losses sustained during the 2008 financial crisis, as well as the increased prominence and availability of third-party litigation funding.
Generally regarded by the market as a highly emotive form of litigation, parties have six years from the date of the alleged negligence in which to bring a claim to court. As is traditional with liability cases, many claims filed in the last year involved property and conveyancing disputes, and subprime mortgage lenders make up a substantial percentage of claimants.
Stephenson Harwood senior partner and commercial litigator Ronald Foord says: ‘We’re slightly more than six years in from Lehman – which is engraved on everybody’s heart. People who want to pursue potential claims and haven’t done so for whatever reason have had to get off the fence and put their money where their mouth is. Whether all those claims will go anywhere is open to doubt. Some may not even get served.’
Read more at Legal Business
