Causation In Professional Negligence Claims

• Published date: 07 August 2023
• Subject Matter: Litigation, Mediation & Arbitration, Arbitration & Dispute Resolution, Professional Negligence
• Law Firm: Myerson Solicitors LLP
• Author: Myerson Solicitors LLP
• topic: Construction Law,Contracts,Civil Procedure

To successfully bring a professional negligence claim, a claimant must be able to prove the following elements:

1. The professional owed them a duty of care;
2. The professional breached that duty of care; and
3. The breach caused them to suffer financial loss - this is referred to as causation.

A professional negligence claim will not succeed unless the claimant can establish all three elements.

The importance of factual evidence in demonstrating causation, even where there is an admission of negligence, was emphasised in the case of Beattie Passive Norse Ltd & Another v Canham Consulting Ltd [2021] EWHC 1116 (TCC).

Background to the claim

The claim was for professional negligence and breach of contract brought against a firm of consulting engineers, Canham Consulting Ltd (Canham).

The parties were involved in the construction of two PassivHaus blocks, referred to as Block A and Block B. PassivHaus is a type of timber and brickwork housing from Germany.

The defendant, Canham, designed the foundations of both blocks using pad...