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Personal Injury
North Carolina
Professional Negligence Lawyers
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If a lawyer, accountant, or advisor failed to meet professional standards, you may have a claim. Schedule a consultation to explore your legal options.
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When a professional’s mistake costs you money, health, or time, you deserve justice.
Accountants, lawyers, doctors, engineers—we trust these professionals with our most important matters. When they fail to meet basic standards of care, the results can be devastating. Lost money, damaged property, or even personal injury can turn your life upside down through no fault of your own.
At DeMent Askew Johnson & Marshall, we represent people harmed by professional negligence throughout North Carolina.
You relied on a professional’s expertise and paid for their services. When they fail to deliver the standard of care you deserve, you shouldn’t have to bear the consequences alone.
Professional negligence happens when someone who offers special skills or services fails to perform to the standard expected in their field. Unlike ordinary negligence, professional negligence involves specialized knowledge and training.
In North Carolina, professional negligence cases require proving that:
Professionals must follow accepted standards of practice in their field. When they cut corners, make careless mistakes, or lack proper skills, they can be held legally responsible for the harm they cause.
Professional negligence can occur in nearly any field where specialized skills are offered. Here are some common examples:
When attorneys miss critical filing deadlines, apply incorrect laws, or fail to properly prepare for trial, their clients can lose rights, cases, and money. In North Carolina, legal malpractice often involves missed statutes of limitations or improper handling of client funds.
Accountants who make tax filing errors, give poor financial advice, or miss deductions can cause significant financial harm. We’ve seen cases where accountants’ mistakes led to IRS audits, penalties, and lost business opportunities.
Faulty building designs, structural mistakes, and code violations can lead to costly repairs, delays, or even unsafe conditions. Construction problems often trace back to professional negligence in the planning stages.
When healthcare providers deviate from accepted standards of medical care, patients can suffer injuries, worsened conditions, or even death. While we handle medical negligence cases separately, they represent a significant form of professional negligence.
Insurance professionals who fail to secure requested coverage, misrepresent policy terms, or allow policies to lapse without notice leave their clients vulnerable to devastating losses when accidents or disasters occur.
Recognizing professional negligence can be difficult if you don’t have expertise in the field. However, certain warning signs should alert you to potential problems:
When a professional constantly changes their recommendations or gives advice that contradicts their previous guidance without clear reasons, they may not have the expertise they claim to possess.
Professionals who repeatedly miss important deadlines or take unusually long to complete routine tasks may be neglecting their responsibilities. In time-sensitive matters, these delays can directly cause harm.
Professionals who avoid your calls, fail to respond to emails, or seem reluctant to provide updates may be hiding mistakes or problems.
While not all bad results stem from negligence, unexpected negative consequences that the professional didn’t warn you about may indicate they failed to exercise proper care or foresight.
When professionals resist giving you copies of important documents, records, or communications related to your matter, they may be concealing evidence of their negligence.
Proving professional negligence is more complex than ordinary negligence cases. Our attorneys will help establish:
We must first prove a professional relationship existed, creating a duty of care. This is usually shown through contracts, engagement letters, or proof of payment for services.
Next, we must prove that the professional failed to meet the standard of care. This often requires expert testimony from other professionals in the same field who can explain what should have been done differently.
We must connect the professional’s mistake directly to your harm. This means showing that but for the professional’s negligence, you would not have suffered damages.
Finally, we must document your actual losses. These include:
Proving professional negligence takes more than showing a mistake—it requires clear evidence, expert insight, and strategic legal work.
Several North Carolina laws affect professional negligence cases:
Under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1-52, you typically have three years from the date of the negligent act to file a professional negligence lawsuit. However, in some cases, the “discovery rule” may apply, giving you time from when you discovered (or should have discovered) the negligence.
For certain professions like medical providers, specific rules may apply. Waiting too long can permanently bar your claim, so it’s critical to consult an attorney promptly.
North Carolina follows a strict contributory negligence rule. If you were even slightly responsible for your own damages, you may be completely barred from recovery. Our attorneys will work to demonstrate that the professional’s negligence was the sole cause of your harm.
Most professional negligence cases require expert testimony to establish the standard of care. The expert must have knowledge and experience in the same field as the professional who caused harm. Their testimony helps explain to the judge and jury what a reasonable professional would have done in similar circumstances.
Professional negligence cases demand specialized legal knowledge and resources. Our attorneys will:
You don’t have to take on powerful professionals or insurance companies alone. Our team has the experience and resources to demand the accountability and compensation you deserve.
Professional negligence can cause serious financial harm, property damage, and emotional distress. At DeMent Askew Johnson & Marshall, we believe professionals should be held to the standards they promise to uphold.
Our experienced professional negligence lawyers have successfully handled cases against negligent professionals across North Carolina. We know how to gather the evidence, secure expert testimony, and build compelling cases that get results.
Don’t let a professional’s mistake ruin your finances or your future. Contact us today for a no-obligation consultation to discuss your case and explore your legal options.
Call or contact us online to speak with a dedicated North Carolina personal injury lawyer about your professional negligence case.
Serving clients in Raleigh, Durham, Orange, Carteret, and Chatham Counties, and throughout North Carolina.
Wake County
Carteret County
Durham County
Orange County
Chatham County
Johnston County (Smithfield courthouse only)
Regular negligence involves a failure to use reasonable care that any ordinary person should use. Professional negligence specifically involves someone with specialized training or expertise failing to meet the standards of their profession. The standard for professionals is higher because they possess special knowledge and skills that the average person doesn’t have, and clients rely on this expertise when hiring them.
Yes, you can sue for professional negligence in North Carolina when a professional you hired fails to meet the standard of care expected in their field, and this failure causes you harm.
Professional negligence is often called “malpractice” in many fields. Legal malpractice, medical malpractice, accounting malpractice, and architectural malpractice are all forms of professional negligence. The term applies whenever someone with specialized training fails to meet the standards expected of qualified members of their profession.
To win a professional negligence claim in North Carolina, you must prove all four of these elements:
All four elements must be present. Even if a professional made a serious mistake, you can’t recover damages unless you can prove the mistake actually harmed you.
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