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Can I make a personal injury claim?

Legal costs information

 

There are several ways in which you can fund your claim.  We will discuss with you which is the best method for you to pursue your personal injury claim.

It is important to remember that in the vast majority of successful personal injury claims the injured person's legal fees are paid by the opponents or their insurer.  Those costs are paid in addition to the compensation which you will recover.  This is the general rule.

  • Private Funding
  • Conditional Fee Agreements
  • Trade Union Funding
  • Legal Aid and the Legal Services Commission
  • Legal Expense Insurance

 Private Funding

This means that you pay for your own legal fees, VAT and payments made by your solicitor to others (for example, medical report fees).  If you win your case, the court will generally order that the person who caused your injury, or his or her insurer, will have to pay your legal fees.  This means that any fees which you have already paid can usually be rebated upon receipt of the fees from your opponent.

If you lose your case, you are responsible for not only your own legal fees, but also the court may order that you have to pay the legal fees of the solicitors representing your opponent.

Undoubtedly, you will be more exposed to having to pay legal fees if you choose to pay your solicitor on a privately paying basis. Not surprisingly, this is the least popular method of funding a claim for personal injuries compensation.

Conditional Fee Agreements

Conditional Fee Agreements (CFA's) were first introduced by the government in 1995.  A large part of our work is undertaken using CFA's.  The attraction is that we do not charge you for our fees (known as the basic costs) if you do not win your case.

If we win your case, we recover our fees from your opponent or their insurers.  We also recover your compensation at the same time, and charge a success fee, which is paid by your opponent or their insurers.

Your opponents or their insurers also have to pay to us any payments which we have made on your behalf to the others.  This would include payment for medical reports, medical fees, barrister's fees, court fees or any expert's fees.

We strongly advise that all our clients who use a CFA should take out After The Event insurance (ATE).   ATE insurance generally can provide up to £100,000 worth of insurance cover.  This cover insures you against having to pay your opponent's legal fees, should you lose your case.

So, if you do use a CFA with ATE insurance, you have 360° protection from having to pay legal fees. However, we shall check with you before entering into a CFA if you have any other insurance or methods of funding available to you, which may assist you with your legal fees to cover your claim.

Generally, we do not charge our clients in successful cases which are funded by a CFA or "no win no fee" agreement. Our general rule is that clients should keep 100% of the compensation which they recover.

Trade Union Funding

Trade Unions generally provide free legal advice, if you have paid contributions to the union.  The trade union may also meet your legal costs in the event of you bringing a claim.  The Trade Unions generally have a panel of approved solicitors, and they will select a solicitor on your behalf to conduct your case.

Please let us know if you feel you have any Trade Union cover for legal fees, and we will investigate this further with the Trade Union.

Legal Aid and the Legal Services Commission

As a general rule, legal aid was withdrawn in 2000 for personal injury cases.  The Legal Services Commission will consider applications for legal aid in assault cases.  The Community Legal Service, has a website with a Legal Aid Calculator, which assists applicants in finding out if they are eligible for legal aid.

Legal aid is available in clinical negligence cases.  A Certificate of Public Funding acts in most cases as an insurance certificate against having to pay your opponent's legal fees, however, you may have to pay contributions towards legal aid.

Legal Expense Insurance

At the beginning of your case, we have a duty to investigate whether you might benefit from having your legal fees covered by any legal expenses insurance (LEI) which you may have.  An LEI policy is a policy of insurance which has been purchased before the incident which caused your injury occured.

Motor insurance sometimes has legal expense insurance as part of the insurance package.  You may have paid extra to have this added to the policy.  In road traffic accident cases, often the driver and passengers are covered by the driver's policy of insurance, which also includes legal expense insurance.  Sometimes, the household insurance policy which covers buildings and contents can provide legal expense insurance cover.

Credit cards sometimes provide legal expense insurance cover in relation to foreign holidays when you have purchased the holiday on your credit card.

If you have any type of insurance cover, we will ask you for sight of the policy document and will liaise with the insurer concerned to confirm whether appropriate legal expense cover is in place.  We shall then see if they are prepared to extend cover in relation to your claim for personal injuries.

Why not contact a specialist personal injury solicitor today and get compensation for your personal injuries, call us on 0870 998 9000 or request more information online.