Forensic accounting in professional negligence claims

Forensic accounting in professional negligence claimsProfessional negligence cases only tend to hit the headlines when they involve huge amounts of money.

A recent example was the £80 million bill that health trusts in Northern Ireland had to pay for delayed care, inappropriate treatment or staff failures. This is the type of extreme story that people have come to associate with professional negligence. However, in reality professional negligence engulfs a far wider range of individuals and organisations.

Almost any business that offers professional advice – whether how a company should invest its money or how an individual should approach legal proceedings – runs the risk of having action taken against them if said advice is sub-standard or ill guided. In cases such as this, forensic accountants can play a very important role.

The task of achieving legal redress – compensation for losses caused by someone else’s professional failings – can often be intricate and laborious. Experts such as those at Frenkels Forensics are well versed at dealing with such matters, specifically in determining a fair amount of money that must be repaid as a result of professional negligence.

Let’s look at a surveyor as an example. When conducting an examination of a building, it is the surveyor’s job to flag up any issues; if they should fail to notice any particular faults they could be deemed to have fallen below a ‘reasonable standard’ of work.

Frenkels Forensics’ job at this point, whether acting for the claimant or defendant, would be to carefully examine the financial ramifications of this negligence in particular the economic losses suffered by the business. By drawing clear lines between the initial breach of duty through to what can often be multi-faceted consequences, and then present this in a clear legal report, forensic accounting teams can ensure the right amount of redress is paid.

For expert help with a professional negligence case contact Frenkels Forensics for an independent appraisal.

Alternatively, if you’re looking for advice in any aspect of forensic accountancy, then do get in touch via Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn or by visiting our website www.frenkels.com

By Vitek Frenkel – find me via Google+.

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