ACCIDENT CLAIMS

The No Win No Fee claim scheme which is more correctly known as the 'Conditional Fee' scheme came fully into effect in 1998 when Legal Aid was withdrawn for most personal injury claims. Legal Aid was funded by central Government however a decision was made to reduce the burden on the public purse and pass the financial risk of accident claims over to the legal profession.

The basis of the scheme is that the solicitor acting in the claim is only entitled to be paid his fee if he wins and that payment is usually made by the losers or their insurance company. There are many variations of the basic agreement and some solicitors will charge their clients a percentage deduction from their compensation and some will expect the client to finance all disbursements as the claim proceeds whereas other solicitors will themselves finance all disbursements and make no percentage deduction from compensation, ensuring that compensation is paid in full. If the case is lost then the solicitor will lose his legal fees however if the client has paid for his own disbursements and expenses then these may also be lost leaving the client out of pocket.

As an alternative you may have the benefit of ‘Legal Expenses Cover’ which is a policy of insurance that is mainly sold together with other insurance (with car insurance to cover car related claims, or with house insurance which often covers legal action for other personal injury claims). If you have this kind of insurance to cover your legal costs then you do not need to enter into a no win no fee agreement. If you already have home contents insurance you may find that legal expenses cover is already included and you should carefully check your policy documents. This type of cover is also often included in policies of motor insurance or is offered as an ‘add on’ by your broker and you should check with them to find out if you are covered.

We are an independent network of specialist personal injury solicitoprs operating throughout the UK. We are not a Claims Management Company and our solicitors will fully finance your claim and will not expect you to contribute, or take out any loan, or pay for any insurance policy. Your compensation will be paid in full with absolutely no deductions.

If you would like free advice then just complete the contact form and a member of The Law Society panel of personal injury experts will contact you by telephone to discuss your accident at no charge and without obligation.