The Court held that a professional negligence claim against solicitors for loss of opportunity to recover personal injury damages is itself a claim for 'personal injury damages' within s 338 of the Legal Profession Act 2004, and therefore subject to the statutory costs cap of 20% of the amount recovered. Applying the High Court's broad construction in Cross and Williamson of the phrase 'damages that relate to ... injury to a person', the Court reasoned that both the underlying personal injury claim and the derivative professional negligence claim stem from the same personal injury, so the costs limitation applies. This means that where a professional negligence settlement does not exceed $100,000, legal costs are capped at 20% of the recovery or $10,000, whichever is greater.
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