Civil Litigation
Negligence Claims Barristers
Advice and advocacy for individuals harmed by careless driving, unsafe premises, a neighbour's works or another person's failure to take reasonable care.
Takes about 2 minutes. No obligation.
Barristers regulated by the Bar Standards Board
Negligence is the part of the law of tort that compensates you when someone who owed you a duty to take reasonable care failed to do so and caused you loss. To succeed you must prove four things on the balance of probabilities: a duty of care, a breach of that duty by falling below the standard of a reasonable person in the defendant's position, that the breach caused your loss, and that the type of loss was a foreseeable consequence. Established duties include drivers towards other road users, occupiers towards visitors and those carrying out work towards neighbouring property.
Causation is often where claims are won or lost. The usual test is whether the harm would have happened anyway, but for the defendant's carelessness. Even where liability is clear, damages can be reduced under the Law Reform (Contributory Negligence) Act 1945 if you were partly to blame, such as not wearing a seatbelt. In deciding what reasonable care required, the court can consider whether insisting on precautions would discourage a desirable activity, under section 1 of the Compensation Act 2006.
Time limits depend on the harm. A claim for personal injury must normally be issued within three years of the injury or of the date you knew it was significant and attributable to the defendant, with a court discretion to extend under section 33 of the Limitation Act 1980. Claims for damage to property or purely financial loss usually have six years, with special rules for latent damage that was not discoverable at the time. Personal injury claims follow their own pre-action protocol, and lower-value road traffic injury claims use the Official Injury Claim service. Clinical negligence and negligence by professionals such as Solicitors or surveyors have separate protocols and are covered on their own pages.
Many injury claims are run by Solicitors under conditional fee agreements. Direct Access is often a better fit where the claim is mainly for property damage, where you want an independent second opinion on a settlement offer, or where you are already acting for yourself and need expert drafting and advocacy at key hearings. Your Barrister will say honestly if your case needs a Solicitor to conduct the litigation.
What Negligence Claims Barristers Do
Liability Analysis
Advice on whether the claim stands up:
- Whether a recognised duty of care was owed
- What a reasonable person would have done differently
- Causation and whether the harm would have happened anyway
- Contributory negligence and likely percentage reductions
- Defences such as consent or an unforeseeable event
- Which protocol and court track will apply
Typical Claims for Individuals
Situations where negligence is often alleged:
- Road collisions causing vehicle damage or injury
- Trips and falls on private premises
- Building works damaging a neighbouring home
- Escape of water from a flat above
- Trees or structures falling onto property
- Injuries at leisure venues and activity centres
Documents and Evidence Strategy
Your Barrister can prepare:
- A protocol-compliant letter of claim
- Particulars of negligence and a schedule of loss
- Instructions to a single joint expert
- Witness statements focused on breach and causation
- A response to an allegation of contributory negligence
- Advice on a Part 36 offer or insurer's settlement
You send the letter of claim, issue proceedings and serve documents. Your Barrister provides the wording and tells you the deadlines.
What You Collect
With Direct Access you:
- Photograph the scene and damage straight away
- Obtain names of witnesses and any CCTV or dashcam
- Keep repair invoices, medical records and receipts
- Notify your own insurer where required
- Correspond with the defendant or their insurer
- Attend any medical or expert examination
How Direct Access Works
- 1
Early Advice on Liability
Your Barrister considers how the incident happened, who owed you a duty, the evidence you hold and the limitation date, and advises whether a claim is worth pursuing.
- 2
Letter of Claim
A letter of claim is sent to the defendant, who is usually expected to pass it to their insurer. For personal injury, the defendant has 21 days to acknowledge and up to three months to investigate.
- 3
Evidence of Loss
You gather repair estimates, medical evidence and financial records. Your Barrister prepares a schedule of loss and advises whether an expert is needed and which discipline.
- 4
Negotiation
If liability is admitted, the focus moves to the value of the claim. Your Barrister reviews any offer against likely court awards and can make a Part 36 offer to put costs pressure on the other side.
- 5
Proceedings
If the claim does not settle, you issue it in the County Court with particulars of claim drafted by your Barrister. The court allocates it to a track and sets the timetable.
- 6
Trial
Your Barrister presents the case, cross-examines the defendant's witnesses and any expert, and makes submissions on liability, contributory negligence and damages.
Does your case qualify for Direct Access?
Tell us about your matter and we'll confirm whether you can instruct a Barrister directly, then match you with the right specialist.
Prefer to talk? Call 0800 302 9921. Lines open 8am to 8pm, same-day callback.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do I have to prove in a negligence claim?
That the defendant owed you a duty of care, breached it by failing to take reasonable care, and that the breach caused loss of a kind that was reasonably foreseeable. The burden is on you, on the balance of probabilities. An accident alone is not enough; the question is whether a reasonable person would have acted differently.
My neighbour's builders damaged my house. Who do I claim against?
Potentially both the builder who did the work and, in some situations, your neighbour, for example where the works involved a party wall or a special risk of damage. Where the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 applies, there may also be a separate route through the party wall surveyors. Your Barrister can advise which claim is strongest and who is likely to be insured.
What if I was partly to blame?
You can still recover, but your damages are reduced by the share of responsibility the court attributes to you. The reduction reflects both how far your conduct contributed to the harm and how blameworthy it was. Arguing the percentage is often as important as arguing liability.
How long do I have to start a negligence claim?
Usually three years for personal injury and six years for property damage or financial loss, under the Limitation Act 1980. For children, time does not start until they turn 18. For damage that could not have been discovered, a later three-year period may run from when you knew, subject to a fifteen-year longstop.
Is Direct Access suitable for a personal injury claim?
Sometimes. Barristers can advise on and present injury claims, but cannot conduct litigation, and many injury claims rely on a Solicitor arranging medical experts, funding and correspondence. Direct Access works well for advice on liability, valuing an offer, or representation at a hearing where you are otherwise acting for yourself.
Can I recover my costs if I win?
It depends on the track. Small claims costs are very limited, and fast and intermediate track claims are subject to fixed recoverable costs. In personal injury cases, qualified one-way costs shifting usually protects a claimant from paying the defendant's costs if the claim fails, unless it is struck out or found to be fundamentally dishonest.
How are Barrister fees set for a negligence matter?
Fixed fees, agreed up front. Advice starts from £250 and court representation from £850, with a clear quote before any work begins.
Harmed by Someone Else's Carelessness?
Find out whether you can prove duty, breach and causation, and what your claim is realistically worth.
Or call us: 0800 302 9921. Lines open 8am to 8pm, same-day callback.