If you’ve ever suffered with an injury that wasn’t your fault, chances are you’ve looked into submitting a personal injury claim to try and reclaim some compensation for your suffering and loss of earnings. You will have also heard the term “no win no fee” and while it may seem self explanatory as to what this practice involves, it’s understandable that it can seem too good to be true.
Are there any hidden fees? Are there specific criteria that your claim must meet? Do you have to pay any fees should you lose your claim? Let us take you through all you need to know about no win, no fee accident claims to put your mind at ease.
The True Meaning of No Win, No Fee
These types of claims have been around for quite a while; they were first introduced into the UK in the 1990’s and underwent a rehaul in 2013 as the civil procedure process was updated. This change meant that no win, no fee claims were now split into two specific types, with one being more commonly seen here in the UK – the no win, no fee claim type you are the most likely to come across.
The most common type, and the one in which you will most likely deal with when submitting your accident claim is a conditional fee arrangement or CFA. This is an agreement with the claimant and their solicitor that the fees stipulated by the solicitor for their services will only be payable if the claim is successful.
Making a claim under a CFA means that you, as the claimant, don’t need to pay solicitor fees upfront, and runs no financial risk to yourself. This process usually requires us to take out an insurance policy on your behalf to ensure all legal fees are covered in the likelihood your claim is unsuccessful.
Winning and Losing Claims
Should your claim be successful, your opponent should cover the majority of your legal costs. Any costs which aren’t covered by your opponent’s payout will be deducted from your compensation
For unsuccessful claims, you won’t need to pay a thing – ths insurance policy that we have taken out on your behalf will cover any costs and fees requires to be paid. You won’t need to worry about any hidden fees sneaking up on you!
What Are the Advantages?
While the main advantage of choosing a CFA is clear – you don’t pay a penny if you lose, and if you win, any payment required to cover costs will be taken from the compensation before it comes to you – there are plenty of other reasons to choose a no win, no fee claim.
These include:
- CFAs allow people who do not have the funds for solicitor fees the chance to claim for their injury, as there is no legal aid available for personal accident claims. This means more people are able to receive the compensation they deserve who otherwise may not have received anything and suffered as a result of their loss of earnings.
- The solicitors are the ones taking a risk, not you. By taking responsibility for your fees and paying any legal fees required upfront, there’s no financial risk to you, the claimant. As such, solicitors will always undertake a risk-assessment before taking on a case to determine the chances of winning the case.
- Due to the risk assessment stage, you can be sure that if a solicitor takes your case on, they believe that you have a strong case and can win, meaning that you’ll get your compensation and they will get their fees paid to them from your opponent, making sure they are compensated for their representation and services to you. They won’t take on cases they don’t believe in, and so can help put your mind at ease.
How Much Can Be Expected to be Won?
The compensation that you receive will depend solely on your own case. There’s no right amount of compensation for specific accidents, but when discussing your claim, our experts will be able to give you a guide as to how much you may be entitled to while considering the following:
- The severity of the result of your accident – how serious is your illness or physical or mental injury?
- Will you need further care and rehabilitation in order to return somewhat to normal like?
- How badly has your everyday life been affected by the result of your injury?
- Will you need your home adapting to accommodate your injury?
- How much have you lost or will lose in earnings as a result of your injury?
By taking all these points into account, we will be able to give you a personal calculation of how much money you could receive in compensation should you win your accident claims case.
It is essential that you understand the way in which your no win, no fee claim works, and when you come to the Claims Partnership, we talk things through thoroughly to make sure that you know your claim is in the safest hands.
With a team of successful accident claims solicitors on hand, we’re ready to help you receive the compensation you deserve. For more information, please feel free to call our team on 01772 562084 and we will be more than happy to take a look at the eligibility for your case on our no win, no fee basis.