In this months legal column
personal injury specialist John Davies of Harding Evans Solicitors
answers some key questions regarding the complicated area of
personal injury.
1. Explain the background to “No
Win No Fee” Legal Aid is no longer available for the vast majority of
personal injury claims. The Government has introduced a system of
“Conditional Fee Agreements”, often known as “No Win No Fee”
Agreements to replace it.
2. How do No Win No Fee Agreements work? Under a No Win No Fee Agreement the solicitor deals with the
claim on the client’s behalf. If the client is successful he becomes
liable to pay his solicitor’s costs but the costs are then claimed
back from the defendant. If the case is unsuccessful the solicitor
isn’t paid for the work he or she has done.
3. What about the defendant’s costs if the case is lost? It is usual for an “After the Event” insurance policy to be
taken out at the start of the case which will cover the defendant’s
costs if the case then turns out to be unsuccessful. The policy will
also reimburse any disbursements or out of pocket expenses such as
court fees which the solicitor has paid to third parties on behalf
of the client. Under the best policies the premium for this insurance cover is
only payable when the case is won and then it is reclaimed from the
defendants. Under these policies if the case is lost the insurers
waive the premium although they still pay out.
3. Will it cost me anything to pursue my case? The system of No Win No Fee Agreements and After the Event
Insurance described above seem complicated but it works well in
practice. The aim of most solicitors is to ensure that the client
recovers all of his costs from the defendant and receives his
damages with little or no deduction for costs. If the case is
unsuccessful and After the Event insurance cover has been taken out
at the earliest possible stage, there should be nothing for the
client to pay.
