Late action by solicitor

[koamu05]

I went to my solicitor almost 3 years ago reference bad work carried out by my former dentist. The solicitor was happy to take the case on with a view to claiming compensation. Since then there has been intermittent progress all conducted by letter. Last week I was surprised to get a phone call from him requesting a meeting. The meeting mainly consisted of the solicitor talking about time running out as the deadline for taking legal action was just a few weeks away. It became clear to me that he had put my case on the back burner and was only now getting around to sorting out the finer details. He talked about submitting a form to the court that would give us 4 months grace to fine tune things. What is this form? I am not happy with the way he has handled my case, not least because in this meeting he was asking me to recall details that I found difficult to remember. Surely it would have been better to ask me these points 3 years ago when they were still fresh in my mind! If I decide to take on a new solicitor will this make things difficult with so little time left to file a claim with the court?

[bednobs]

i dont understand why YOU have not chased the solicitor before now?

[koamu05]

I was hoping for something a little more constructive! It is not always easy to convey all the relevant details in such a short message. The use of capital letters as you have used them is immature. But thanks for taking the time to answer.

[Barmaid]

If you are unhappy with your solicitor's service you can write to the Complaints Handling Partner and ask him to invoke his complaints procedure under Rule 15 of the Solicitors' Conduct Rules.

Like you, I am amazed that he has not taken a proof of your evidence much sooner.

With personal injury (and this type of medical negligence falls under pi), the limitiation period is 3 years. This is the time limit to which he refers. The form that he is talking about submitting to court is the issue of proceedings - ie a claim form - which is the start of formal litigation. The Limitation Act 1980 provides that (subject to certain exceptions) proceedings for pi must be started within 3 years. Starting proceeedings means lodging the court papers with the court for issue. Issue is the administrative process by which they are received by the court and stamped as issued. To be fully effective, proceedings have to be served. Under CPR Rule 6, proceedings once issued must be served within 4 months. In general they are normally served immediately, but you can wait up to 4 months to serve on the other party (6 if outside the jurisdiction).

Thus, what your solicitor is wanting to do, is issue proceedings and not serve them for a couple of months with a view to settling this through negotiation, I imagine. Colloquially known as protective proceedings (it protects your rights which would otherwise be statute barred). If it doesn't settle, you are then in the process of full litigation.

[koamu05]

Many thanks Barmaid for your most informative reply. I feel a little more positive now, I only wish my solicitor was so forthcoming with information!