The chapter starts with an overview of the basic legal framework, in particular the liability framework, the different statutes of limitations and possibilities for alternative dispute resolution. These general pieces of information are followed by an overview of various areas of professional negligence. The authors present liability regulations for specific professional groups (lawyers, physicians, financial consultants, IT specialists, accountants and auditors, real estate agents, architects and engineers and insurance agents).
In addition, a review of important developments in recent years is given. For example, recent legislation includes new regulations of the German Civil Code (BGB) on building and architectural law as well as decisions of the Federal Court of Justice (BGH) on the liability of notaries, tax consultants and insurance brokers.
The chapter closes with a look into the future and the more recent developments in this area, especially regarding the steadily expanding liability of lawyers and survivors’ compensation for pain and suffering.
The article in the 3rd edition "The Professional Negligence Law Review" by Martin Alexander and Carsten Hösker (PDF) >>