No win no fee claims!

Statistics show that more than 11 million people sustain minor to major accidental injuries per year. Out of these, nearly 2.5 million are caused by the negligence of some other party involved; another driver, a person, or a hospital etc.

Sometimes the victim is partially responsible for the mishap. In either of the cases, under the UK law, the liable party should compensate the injured for any damages he/she has suffered. This award is expected to help him recover from the financial and non financial losses.

The person might have suffered due to stress, anxiety, loss of pay, loss of job in some cases, forced
abstinence from social opportunities, to name a few. Unfortunately, only one third of the victims evoke their legal right to avail the compensation.

In the year 2000, the UK government withdrew the legal aid for personal injury with the exception of medical negligence (where it is available depending on qualifying terms and condition), and introduced no win no fee claims. The financial risk of the personal injury claims were pushed from the government to the solicitor, who receives compensation only if he wins the case.

If the case is lost, neither the client nor the solicitor receives any monetary awards. Solicitors deal with no win no fee claims differently. Some make you purchase a legal insurance policy which might require an upfront payment. You can choose a self underwritten policy that will not require you to pay, should you lose.

Alternately, you may be required to enter into a ‘conditional fee agreement’ (CFA). This conditional fee can go upto 30% of your compensation money. Again, you don’t pay anything in case you lose the case. Usually solicitors discuss these conditions in detail, and the terms are agreed upon based on a mutual consensus.

The new system is not without any caveats. It is not rare that the consumers are hastily made to agree to legal process by unqualified intermediaries. Consumers get little or no insights into the risks of CFA and might end up signing the same inappropriately. The current system doesn’t effectively regulate the CFA, leaving the consumer vulnerable at times.

Another major drawback is that, as against other developed countries, UK’s no win no fee claims do not pursue to rehabilitate the victim. The victim doesn’t get any mentionable support to get back to work or earlier lifestyle. This intangible cost erodes the effective value of the compensation received. Always read the small print of the solicitor’s conditions that would qualify or disqualify a particular case as no win no fee claim.

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No win no fee claims!

Make sure that there is no scope for ambiguity later on. Speak to the solicitor in person before signing up for the process. They are more likely to explain the nitty-gritty of the matter and possibilities to you; lest there be any differences later on. Before you hastily purchase a legal insurance, do a bit of scouting around and figure out
which one is the best fit for you. The system, in its essence, provides quality legal aid to persons who are unable collect evidence and pursue the case on their own.