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No Win No Fee

Many of you will have already have seen advertisements for ‘no win no fee’, but what does this actually mean? In recent surveys it is clear that the public are wary of the term and feel that if they enter into a ‘no win no fee’ agreement that they will still be bound to pay some costs. The name itself implies that if you do not win you do not have to pay, but if you win your case you might be expected to pay some or all of the legal costs. Is this right?

In short, the answer is that you should not have to pay any costs whether you win or lose your claim under a ‘no win no fee’ agreement. It is worth looking at the history of no win no fee agreements to explain why this is the case and to put your mind at rest.

If your child has been involved in an accident and suffered an injury, in addition to wondering how long it might take your child to recover, you may also be concerned about how much it might cost you to make a compensation claim on their behalf. Can you really pursue a claim without incurring any costs?

The process in Scotland

The system in Scotland states that if one party is successful in their claim for children accident compensation, the other party should also pay their reasonable legal costs. This means that as long as your child's claim is successful, their legal costs will be paid by the other person's insurance company. But what happens if your child does not win their claim?

In short, the answer is that you should not have to pay any costs whether you win or lose your claim under a ‘no win no fee’ agreement. It is worth looking at the history of no win no fee agreements to explain why this is the case and to put your mind at rest.

Why do ‘no win no fee’ agreements exist?

In the past, if you wanted to make an accident claim for compensation you would have been entitled to apply for Legal Aid. This would have covered your solicitor’s legal costs to pursue this claim. However, the government decided to cut the costs of Legal Aid and removed accident claims as an area of law for which they would not provide Legal Aid. When this happened, they needed to set up a system which would still allow innocent and injured accident claim victims to make claims for compensation.

They produced a document called the ‘Conditional Fee Agreement’ which is the legal documentation under which you can pursue a claim on a ‘no win no fee’ basis. The agreement largely provides that a solicitor will act for you and not charge you any of their legal fees as they are progressing the claim. It states that if you lose your case, once again, you will not have to pay any legal fees. The agreement does provide that if you win your case you are responsible for legal fees, BUT, the important part is that if you win your case your solicitor is entitled to recover the costs of legal representation from the other side (usually the insurance company). Therefore, at the end of a successful claim you will receive a cheque for your compensation and your solicitor will receive a cheque from the insurance company for their legal costs and charges, in addition to, and completely separate from, your compensation payment.

Therefore, you really can proceed safely under a ‘no win no fee' agreement knowing that you will keep your compensation if you win your claim and you will pay nothing if you lose your claim.

For more information see our Compensation Claim Costs section.

Why Choose Loyalty Law For Your Children Accident Claim?

All Loyalty Law solicitors are checked and vetted to ensure that they meet our criteria in the following ways:-

• Before they can start working for you, they are interviewed by our managing director, a solicitor himself (although no longer practising). He is quickly able to assess whether they have the legal skills needed, but also whether they are easy to speak with on the telephone and will give you the service that you deserve.
• At the end of every accident claim, we carry out an interview with each client to ensure that they have been completely satisfied with the service provided. This ensures that not only does the solicitor start off by providing an excellent service, but through continual feedback they continue to achieve the right levels of service for you. It means that people like you are constantly monitoring and providing feedback on the service and is one of the reasons why we believe that you should ask Loyalty Law to help you find the right solicitor.

Make A Quick Child Accident Enquiry?

Why not make a free enquiry now by contacting us in one of the following ways to find out if and how much you can claim (no cost and no obligation to proceed, we are here to help):-

1. Arrange for us to call you back – » Click To Request A Call Back.
2. Call us free on 0800 142 2775 between the hours of 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm on Saturday and 8am to 5.30pm on Sunday; or
3. Provide us with some details and one of our Loyalty Law solicitors will be in touch with you – make a Quick Enquiry now.