Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

Negligent misstatement definition

What does Negligent misstatement mean? A negligent misstatement is a carelessly inaccurate statement or advice that another person reasonably relies on and suffers loss as a result, typically pure economic loss. Liability turns on whether a duty of care arose when the statement was made. The concept is defined by case law (not legislation), with Hedley Byrne v Heller [1964] AC 465 establishing that a duty may arise where there is an assumption of responsibility or “special relationship”, reasonable reliance is foreseeable, and loss is caused. It commonly arises in professional contexts (for example, reports or advice by surveyors, accountants, bankers or solicitors), employment or...

Pre-Action Protocol-compliant letter of claim: accountant's negligent misstatement (England and Wales)

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Precedents

[ To be printed on the claimant’s solicitors’ headed paper ]

Our reference: [ insert your file reference for this matter ]

For the attention of: [ INSERT RELEVANT NAME ]

[ NAME OF Defendant OR DEFENDANT’S SOLICITOR IF KNOWN ]
[ ADDRESS LINE 1 ]
[ ADDRESS LINE 2 ]
[ POSTCODE ]

[ DATE ]

Dear [ insert name ]

[ PROSPECTIVE CLAIMANT’S NAME ] AND [ PROSPECTIVE DEFENDANT’S NAME ]

LETTER OF CLAIM

[ We refer to our correspondence dated [ insert date of your preliminary notice of claim, if sent ]. That correspondence constituted a preliminary notice of claim issued in accordance with the Pre-action Protocol for Professional Negligence, and required your acknowledgement by [ insert date ]. ]

[ We note your letter dated [ insert date ] confirming receipt of the preliminary notice. However, we still await confirmation that your professional insurers have been informed of the circumstances of our client’s claim against you. Please also ensure a copy of this letter is provided to them, and confirm to us that this has been done. ]...

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Steven O'Sullivan

Steven is a robust insurance litigator who advises principally on professional liability, with particular expertise in solicitors' liability, as well as some general insurance litigation/arbitration and property damage work. His work includes: ' policy advice ' lender claims ' equity and breach of trust claims ' breach of undertaking or warranty of authority ' negligence Prior to 2002 when he began working in this area of the law, Steven acted for insurers defending personal injury claims and therefore retains residual knowledge and interest in this area in terms of loss of opportunity or undersettlement claims against solicitors. Steven spent 6 ½ years at a major insurer handling professional indemnity claims against solicitors, accountants and other professionals. He therefore has keen commercial awareness and strong insight into what insurer clients are looking for when handling litigation against their insureds. Steven is the author of numerous articles, notably in the New Law Journal, with particular focus on...

Web page updated on 22/05/2026

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