Normally, this is one of the first three questions that we are asked by injured people who enquire about bringing a claim.<\/p>\n
Clearly, there are many myths circulating about legal fees including that it is far too expensive to make a claim, so we hope this article will clarify the position:-<\/p>\n
Nowadays, the majority of injury claims are brought by clients who have signed Conditional Fee Agreements (CFAs) and also taken out policies of After-the-Event Insurance (ATE).<\/p>\n
This situation means that if a client does not succeed with a claim (subject to the rare exception I will mention later), then they will pay nothing at all for legal fees or their solicitors\u2019 disbursements.<\/p>\n
If these clients do recover compensation, then, firstly, under the terms of the CFA they will have to pay a success fee to their solicitor. The amount of the fee will depend on the percentage of the success fee in the CFA itself and the amount of work performed by the solicitor at the point when the claim is concluded. However, it will never be more than 25% of the amount of the compensation that the client receives and is often less.<\/p>\n
If the claim includes an element of future loss (such as post-settlement wages, care or accommodation) then that part of the amount received is not included in the valuation for purposes of calculating the success fee. For example if a claim settled for 50k of which 30k relates to future losses, then the maximum amount the solicitor will deduct is 25% of 20k, namely \u00a35000.<\/p>\n
Secondly, the client only pays the ATE insurance premium if they win the claim. The amount will vary from around \u00a334 in straightforward road traffic cases to a few hundred pounds in a Fast-Track case (valued up to \u00a325k) although premiums will be more in higher value and complicated cases.<\/p>\n
Clients usually pay their success fees and ATE premiums out of the compensation they receive, so they don\u2019t have to pay out of their personal funds.<\/p>\n
Some fortunate clients have Legal Expenses Insurance (LEI) so do not need to enter into a CFA. Commonly found as additions to motor and house insurance policies, LEI policies ensure that, subject to terms and conditions, policyholders will not have to pay a success fee or an insurance premium if they win the case and still pay nothing if they don\u2019t succeed. We always advise clients to check for LEI before we enter into a CFA with them as many of us have such cover but don\u2019t realise that we have paid for it.<\/p>\n
Some clients may be covered by Trade Union funding which is similar to LEI if they or a member of their family is a member of a Union which offers such a scheme. Trade Union funding may work as in the CFA model in some cases.<\/p>\n
In rarer cases, such as Criminal Injury Claims and those made to the Motor Insurers\u2019 Bureau where the claimant has been injured by an untraced driver, Solicitors may enter into Contingency Fee or Damages-Based Agreements with clients so they are only paid if the claim succeeds, in which case, like many US lawyers, they receive a sum equivalent to a percentage of the compensation which the client receives. Common figures for these types of agreements are 25%, 33% and 40%.<\/p>\n
Legal Aid is only available in Clinical Negligence claims for clients who suffered injuries during childbirth, so is not really relevant to Personal Injury Claims.<\/p>\n
The exception to all of the above is very rare, apparently occurring in around 0.4% of cases. This scenario applies only when the injured Claimant is found to have been \u201cfundamentally dishonest\u201d. That means that the Court has ruled that they have lied or been fraudulent about a substantial issue in the case \u2013 examples include cases where Claimants have been proved to have been working after the accident when they stated that they were unemployed, have greatly exaggerated the effects of their injuries, have lied about how or where they were injured or were not injured at all.<\/p>\n
In those cases, the Claimants are usually ordered to pay all their own legal fees and those of the opponent and irrespective of whether they have a CFA, LEI or other funding. Fortunately these cases are much rarer than insurance companies and some elements of the press would have us believe.<\/p>\n
To summarise, an injury claim usually costs nothing if you lose and when you win, you may have to pay a success fee and an ATE premium or a percentage of your compensation, but nothing that is not deducted from your compensation.<\/p>\n
Remember that in some cases (where clients have the benefit of LEI and some Trade Union schemes) you will pay nothing if you win.<\/p>\n
We advise that you first consult solicitor that offer a free first interview before starting a Personal Injury claim so you are fully aware of the likely cost to you before you proceed. Of course, we offer such consultations by telephone, video conferencing and hopefully before long, in person at any of our offices in South Yorkshire and North Derbyshire.<\/p>\n