No Win No Fee Claims Broken Down and Explained

Every year in the UK 2.5 million people end up suffering due to injuries from accidents that weren’t their fault. The fault of these accidents may lie with the driver of a car, a public authority, a local authority, a hospital or your employer.

Under UK law it is stated that the liable party must compensate the victim of an accident that has left severe personal injury. However out of all the people that suffer injury each year due to accidents that weren’t their fault only around 31% of them pursue compensation claims. One of the main reasons for this is that most people don’t realise that they are entitled to claim for compensation when in fact it is your legal and civil right to do so after an accident that was caused due to the negligence of another person.

If you have been involved in an accident in the last three years that was caused through no fault of your own then you could put in an accident claim for compensation. If you are suffering after a road traffic accident, a public place accident or an accident in your work place then the first thing you should do is get in touch with a solicitor. A solicitor will review your case and if they feel you have a good chance of success they will then take up your case. It is important to remember that a solicitor doesn’t get paid if your case is unsuccessful so if your case is taken on by a solicitor you will have a high chance of your case becoming a success and your solicitor will do everything they can to help you.

A no win no fee case is an agreement between you and your solicitor, they are highly successful and many more people are now realising that they are entitled to make a claim for compensation. If you have suffered injuries due to an accident that was caused by the negligence of another person then a compensation award can help you to afford help and services to enable you to adjust and fully recover or make up for financial loss.

In 1998 the 1995 Conditional Fee Agreement was amended and allowed people to process a compensation claim via a no win no fee agreement. Prior to the Conditional fee agreement, which brought about the no win no fee process, anyone who wanted to pursue compensation for a personal injury would have to apply for Legal Aid or Public Funding. This was a means tested system and was unfair as some victims were entitled while other victims were not. Legal Aid was withdrawn in 2000 and in its place came the Conditional Fee Agreement.

A no win no fee claim means that in a successful claim you keep 100% of the compensation that you receive, with your solicitors fees being paid by the losing parties insurance company. If your case was however unsuccessful you wouldn’t have to pay your solicitor but you may face expenses to cover medical reports and expert opinions; these expenses are known as ‘disbursements.’ Your solicitor may however set up what is known as event insurance so that if this situation does arise your disbursements will be covered.