The court warned against finding a professional to have been negligent on the evidence of an expert who was not a member of the same profession. A structural survey was prepared by a chartered surveyor. Expert evidence for the plaintiff was given, not by a chartered surveyor, but by a structural engineer.
Held: A court should be slow to find a professionally qualified man guilty of a breach of duty of skill and care towards a client (or third party) without evidence from those within the same profession as to the standard expected on the facts of the case and the failure of a professionally qualified man to measure up to that standard. It is not an absolute rule but, unless it is an obvious case, in the absence of the relevant expert evidence, the claim will not be proved. The court held that the evidence of a structural engineer was not admissible evidence on the question whether a chartered surveyor had been negligent.
Judges:
Butler-Sloss LJ
Citations:
[1997] EWCA Civ 3019, [1998] 2 EGLR 103, [1998] PMLR 542
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Cited by:
Cited – Goldstein v Levy Gee ( A Firm) ChD 1-Jul-2003
There had been a dispute between shareholders, and the defendant was called upon to value the company. He issued a tender for valuers to value the properties. Complaint was made that the tender was negligent in its description of the basis for . .
Cited – Saunders v Gwent Community Health NHS Trust CA 31-Oct-2001
Second tier Application for leave to appeal – No point of principle at issue – leave denied. . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Professional Negligence
Updated: 13 November 2022; Ref: scu.143418