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What does ‘No Win No Fee’ mean?

“What is a No Win, No Fee agreement is a question I am asked all the time.

It is important to understand what a ‘No Win, No Fee’ agreement is before beginning your claim.

A “No Win, No Fee” agreement is also known as a Conditional Fee Agreement or CFA.

Under the “No Win, No Fee” agreement:-

If You Win
If you win your claim, your opponent will pay the majority of your basic legal costs and they will also pay your disbursements (e.g. court fees, medical reports).

If you win, your opponent will not pay the following:-

– your basic legal costs which cannot be recovered from them;

– the insurance premium for the policy taken out to protect you against the risk of legal costs or if you lose your claim;

– my “success fee” which compensates me for the risk of not getting paid for my work if you lose your case.

Therefore, if you win, the insurance premium and my success fee only will be deducted from any compensation you receive at the end of your case. Unlike many firms, I will not ask you to pay any additional basic legal costs not paid by your opponent. This is where other firms charge you “hidden costs” which they will ask you to pay on top of their success fee and the insurance premium!

If You Lose
If you lose your claim:-

– I cannot charge you at all for the work I have done pursuing your claim;

– You do not pay the success fee;

– Your disbursements will be paid for by the insurance policy;

– You do not pay anything at all for the insurance policy but it will pay out of you lose!

Therefore, if you have the benefit of a “No Win, No Fee” agreement and you lose, you pay nothing at all*.

A “No Win, No Fee” or conditional fee agreement gives you security and peace of mind when pursuing your personal injury claim.

At the outset it is important that I assess the prospects of your case being successful with you and review all the funding options available to you. If it is your best interests to do so I will offer you a ‘No Win, No Fee’ agreement.

Please be assured that I will do everything I can to protect and support you throughout the claims process and I will keep you up to date at all times.

*Provided you have also taken out the recommended policy of legal costs insurance and have complied with its terms and conditions and the terms and conditions of the conditional fee agreement.

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Low value injury claim been turned down?

Has your lower value injury claim been turned down?

It has been reported in recent weeks that many solicitors and law firms are no longer accepting personal injury cases that are of lower value. This is because they only attract “fixed” costs and so many lawyers are taking the view that they are no longer financially viable for them to take on. This is especially so since a change in the law last year which introduced more fixed costs in personal injury claims.

I’ve been told my claim is not worth taking on
This creates a problem for many people who have low value claims especially if the claim is also not an easy or straightforward one. Many such “riskier” but deserving cases are simply not being taken on by law firms leaving many injured people with perfectly valid claims without the all important solicitor representation they need to succeed or even get their cases off the ground.

The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) has suggested that solicitors are distancing themselves from such cases because they are “not financially viable to run”.

Many lower value injury claims are being turned down, for example, there has been a particular rise in the number of abused dementia sufferers being unable to claim due to a hesitance on the part of law firms. In these cases it is proving more difficult than ever for the injured person to pursue a claim because of lack of willing solicitors to represent them.

However, Nigel Askew Solicitor continues to accept these cases and will be happy to assist with any lower value and difficult injury claims. He says “To me it’s not just about how much money can be made out of a case or client, as it is for many firms nowadays, but about making sure the public still has proper access to justice even where they may have a difficult case and unprofitable case.”

Nigel Askew Solicitor can help if your claim has been turned down by another solicitor or claims company
Despite the increased difficulty in making smaller personal injury claims, Nigel Askew is happy to take on such cases. Even if you have been previously turned down by law firms and solicitors, there is still hope that you can get the financial compensation you deserve for a personal injury.

How to make a claim
If you have suffered a personal injury that is deemed “lower value” or “too difficult” to pursue a claim for compensation, contact Nigel Askew to make a claim. Although other solicitors may have turned down your claim, do not let that deter you. Get in touch with Nigel Askew Solicitor by using the online contact form or by calling 01507 609027. Your claim will be handled just like any other regardless how small or difficult, and there is a free, no obligation consultation which will help you to determine whether your claim is valid. All cases are pursued on a no-win no-fee basis.