What is a loss of opportunity?

A claim for loss of opportunity can arise in consequence of a contractual breach, negligence, personal injury, or misleading and deceptive conduct where the wrong results in the loss of a chance to profit, gain or benefit.

Plaintiffs sometimes confuse the "loss of a chance" with the loss of a "blue sky" opportunity, the latter being a being hypothetical or possible, but not probable, future event. As explained below, case law requires a loss of opportunity to be more than speculative; it must be substantive. Case law also requires a plaintiff firstly, to establish the value of the opportunity and secondly, to prove there is a reasonable causal connection between the wrong and the lost benefit, chance or profit.