Liability for negligent legal advice

A 12-year-old pedestrian was severely injured when hit by a car. Her solicitor and counsel recommended she accept a ‘nuisance value’ sum of £50,000 as, although her claim could be worth £500,000, there was no reasonable prospect of success. A complaint of negligent advice against solicitor and counsel was upheld, despite approval of the earlier settlement by Master Turner (who had not seen a number of important documents). It was held that the claimant should succeed on the basis of 80% of the full value of her claim.