Professional Negligence & Cavity Wall Damage Claims
Legal services offered by Jonathan Taylor from Wellers Law Group
Professional Negligence & Cavity Wall Damage Claims
Does your property suffer from damp and mould?
If you have had cavity wall insulation installed in your property and you are suffering from damp and mould on your walls and ceilings, this could be caused by the cavity wall insulation, and you could be entitled to bring a claim.
But I thought cavity wall insulation was a good thing?!
It can be. But only when the right type of insulation is installed properly into suitable properties. Some properties are just not suitable for cavity wall insulation at all. Other properties should only have certain types of insulation installed.
If insulation is installed into the wrong type of property, or into an unsuitable property, or it is simply not installed properly and in accordance with relevant guidelines, then it can cause problems. This may start with condensation and cold spots on the walls but can lead to mould and damage to the walls and their structure. Some mould is potentially harmful to health, and unless the problems are properly addressed, it will only get worse.
How we can help
Wellers have many years’ experience helping homeowners all over England and Wales bring claims for all types of property damage and have particular expertise in cavity wall damage claims.
We work closely with specialist surveyors to bring claims against the installation companies for:
- the costs of fixing the problems. This will often mean removing the insulation which can be expensive;
- the costs of damp and mould damage to personal items, furniture, clothes and bedding;
- the costs of trying to fix the problems, so buying dehumidifiers, anti-mould paint etc;
- alternative accommodation costs if you need to move out whilst the repair works are being carried out; and
- compensation for distress and inconvenience.
The total value of claims range from £10,000 to £100,000.
No Win, No fee
Because of our expertise, if we think you have a good claim, we can act for you in your claim under a Conditional Fee Agreement or ‘No, Win, No Fee’ Agreement. This means you don’t pay us unless you win. Then we can recover our fees from the installation company as well. You just pay us a success fee from your compensation.
Don’t delay – there is a time limit if you wish to make a claim!
Jonathan Tyler
Head of Litigation at Wellers Law Group
Jonathan has vast experience working in commercial litigation cases, particularly those involving property negligence. He acts for commercial landlords and tenants, businesses and individuals.
Jonathan knows that, as a solicitor, you can never make assumptions about the needs of clients or their objectives. He believes wholeheartedly in the importance of strong communication alongside realistic management of expectations.
Jonathan Tyler
Head of Litigation at Wellers Law Group
Jonathan has vast experience working in commercial litigation cases, particularly those involving property negligence. He acts for commercial landlords and tenants, businesses and individuals.
Jonathan knows that, as a solicitor, you can never make assumptions about the needs of clients or their objectives. He believes wholeheartedly in the importance of strong communication alongside realistic management of expectations.
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I contacted Jonathan Tyler because our property was suffering from damp and mould for a number of years. Jonathan brought a claim on our behalf against the company that installed the insulation and was successful in recovering many thousands of pounds in compensation for us. I would thoroughly recommend Jonathan Tyler and his team.
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What happened with Cavity Wall Insurance Claims?
When homeowners realised that the damp and mould in their homes may be caused by defective cavity wall insulation, tens of thousands of claims were brought against the installation companies and their insurers. Solicitors took on hundreds, if not thousands of cases at a time, often without properly assessing the merits of the claims.
Generally, the homeowner only has six years from the date that the cavity wall insulation was installed to issue a claim to court (or six years from the date the damage first arose). Often, solicitors failed to bring the claims ‘in time’ so the homeowners lost their ability to bring a claim.
Many law firms also took on too many cases and did not have the expertise or resources to deal with them. Often, when they realised that the limitation date had passed and they had not issued the claim, they then told their client that they could no longer act for them in their claim. In such situations, the homeowner may have a claim in negligence against the solicitors for missing the limitation date.
Solicitors also often took out insurance after the event for their clients, to cover a situation where the claim was lost, and the client had to pay the other side’s legal costs. However, many insurers have rejected such claims on the basis that the merits of claims they were insuring were misrepresented to them and that, had they known, they simply would not have offered insurance in the first place. In these instances, the client was left to foot the bill even though they were told that they would not have to pay anything.
Many Law Firms who took on Cavity Wall claims in their thousands have now gone out of business, leaving their clients with nowhere to turn, with no representation, or with funding issues. Pure Legal and High Street Solicitors were two such firms. Many of their clients have now been left high and dry.