What is No Win – No Fee?
No Win – No Fee is a legal funding arrangement that is made between you and your solicitor to cover the legal costs of making a compensation claim.
The terms of the No Win – No Fee arrangement are set out in an agreement, known as a Conditional Fee Agreement, sometimes referred to simply as a CFA.
Schemes vary between lawyers, but the basic principle is that you only have to pay your solicitor’s fees if you win your claim.
Is No Win – No Fee available for medical accident claims?
Medical accident claims can be funded on a No Win- No Fee basis.
The No Win – No Fee schemes offered for medical accident claims vary between solicitors. It is therefore important to establish the precise details of the scheme on offer before you commit. For instance, you should ask whether you could be held responsible for any of your opponent’s legal costs if you lose, and whether the solicitors can provide you with legal expenses insurance cover. You should also find out how much you will have to pay them if you win your case.
How our No Win – No Fee medical accident claims scheme works
We have worked hard to create a bespoke No Win – No Fee scheme for medical accident claims that is transparent, easy to understand and fair to everyone involved.
Under our medical accident No Win – No Fee scheme you do not have to pay any fees upfront. Legal costs do not have to be paid until the end of the case, and only if you win your claim and receive compensation.
In winning cases we are normally able to recover most of the legal costs from the losing party, in addition to the compensation.
If your claim is unsuccessful, we will not charge you anything for the work we have carried out.
Legal expenses insurance
We generally suggest that our clients take out an insurance policy to cover any expenses of the case, such as court fees or the fees charged by medical experts. Legal expenses insurance will also provide cover for your opponent’s legal costs.
We have arrangements with a leading insurance company which provides cover to our clients who are making a No Win – No Fee medical accident claim. Not all solicitors are able to offer insurance, so it is important to check whether this cover is available.
The premium for the legal expenses policy does not have to be paid upfront. It is payable at the end of the case, but only if you win. If you lose your claim then there is nothing to pay.
What about the success fee?
We receive a success fee if we win your case. This rewards us for taking a chance on the case and working where there is a risk that we might not get paid for what we do.
The success fee will never be more than 25% of the compensation you recover for your ‘pain and suffering’ and any financial losses you have already incurred, such as lost earnings or medical costs. Compensation for financial losses that you may incur in the future is not taken into account.
What is the most I would have to pay if I win?
Your opponent will pay most of your legal costs, but not the success fee or the cost of the legal expenses insurance policy.
Because we know that our clients like to be certain about legal costs at the outset, we offer a guarantee that you will receive a minimum of 75% of your compensation. You may receive more than this, but it will never be less.
What do I pay if I lose my medical accident claim?
If you lose your claim, then under our scheme you will not have to pay us for the time we have spent dealing with your case (unless there has been any dishonesty or fraud).
Nor do you have to pay any expenses, such as court fees or medical experts’ fees, as these will be covered by the insurance.