Facts About No Win No Fee Litigation

If you have recently suffered an injury for which you think it was not your fault you might want to make a claim for compensation. You might have had an accident at work, while driving, in the street or somewhere else in a public place.

In legal terms this is what is called as ‘personal injury’. Unless you have an insurance policy of some kind that covers you, your best option is to seek compensation is through a solicitor who offers ‘a no win no fee’ or ‘conditional fee’ service.

If you enter a 'no win, no fee' agreement, you won't have to pay your solicitors'
fees if you lose (although you may still have to pay some expenses). If you
win, you will have to pay your solicitors' fees and these will be much higher
than if you lost your case. However, you should get back most of these from
the other side and still be left with most of the compensation you have been awarded.

It could be easy to think that with a no win no fee case that you can’t really lose out financially. That essentially you will win if your claim is successful and not pay out anything if you lose. The reality is that you may actually have something to pay and this can vary depending on the legal firm. Under a no win, no fee agreement, you will have to pay the other side's costs if you lose your case. These cost could be quite high. There is a way round this called ‘after-the-event’ insurance. After the event covers you for any losses that you may have to pay out if you lose you claim. Most solicitors will advise you to take out this insurance. If you have trouble for any reason obtaining after the event insurance you should seriously consider if you want to go ahead with your claim.

Taking out after-the-event insurance can be very expensive. You will not get
the cost of this back if you lose. If you win, you may get most of it back from
the other side, but you might still have to pay some of it yourself.

For example, the court may decide that the cost of the insurance policy is too
high and that the other side does not have to pay the full amount. If this
happens, you would have to pay the difference out of your compensation.

If you can't afford to pay for the insurance upfront, you should discuss this
with your solicitor. Your solicitor might offer to pay for it. However, if this isn't
possible, you may be able to put off payment until your case has been
decided.

Alternatively, you will have to take out a loan. If you put off payment
or take out a loan, you may be charged interest which you will not be able
to get back, even if you win your case.

Your solicitor costs will include basic fees and also a success fee if the claim is successful. Basic fees will be the charges for the solicitors services including costs for things like reports and such if they are needed. If you lose your case you won’t have to pay these basic fee costs and if you win the other side have to pay for them.

Before you enter into a 'no win, no fee' agreement, check with your solicitor
how much of your compensation you will have to pay towards the success
fee, and how much will be paid by the other side. If the amount seems too
high when compared with the amount of compensation you are likely to get,
you might want to think carefully about whether to go ahead with your claim.
Alternatively, you might want to think about choosing another solicitor who
charges a lower fee.