When making a personal injury claim it is important to obtain expert legal advice. Janine Griffiths, a personal injury specialist at Harding Evans Solicitors explains some of the important aspects to consider.
 

1. How will I fund my claim?

This is an important starting point and there are a number of ways a claim can be funded including:

•     Before The Event (BTE) Insurance / Trade Union Membership
The first step is to check through your existing insurance policies, including building and contents, motor and credit card insurance, etc to see whether you have legal expenses insurance in place which would cover the costs of your claim. If you were injured as a passenger in a road traffic accident, you will need to ask the driver to check their motor insurance to see if any such cover is available for you on their policy and ask for their permission to use such cover.

Alternatively, find out whether you are a member of any trade union or other organisation which may provide you with cover. Your solicitor will be able to examine your insurance policies to verify whether any such insurance is in place, and can discuss the funding of your claim direct with your insurers or trade union representative. Your solicitor will keep you fully updated on the outcome of any such discussions.

•    Public Funding (“Legal Aid”)
Public Funding from the Legal Services Commission has not been available for the vast majority of personal injury claims, unless there are extenuating circumstances which your solicitor will discuss with you if appropriate.

•    Private Funding
Your solicitor should discuss with you the potential for paying for the costs of making the claim privately. However the costs of pursuing a claim for damages for personal injuries can run into thousands of pounds, and it is unlikely that many clients will be in a position to consider this as a viable option. However, the matter will still need to be addressed by your solicitor.


2. What do I do next?

Having discussed the funding options available, the next step will be to look into Conditional Fee Agreements (“CFAs”), more commonly referred to as “no win, no fee”.

A Conditional Fee Agreements (“CFA”) is, in the simplest terms, an agreement between you and your solicitor under which they will act for you in your claim and, if the claim is not successful, they will write off their costs, with nothing for you to pay. (You will need to check with your solicitor whether you will have any liability to pay for the out of pocket expenses incurred in relation to the claim, known as disbursements.)

If the claim is successful the solicitor, at the end of the claim, will charge their costs, plus what is known as a “success fee”. This is a percentage of the costs, not the damages, and is assessed by reference to the degree of risk involved.

In a successful claim for damages for personal injuries, where the damages are assessed at over £1,000, the general rule is that the losing party pays the winning party’s reasonable costs, i.e. the solicitor’s costs, success fee and disbursements will be recoverable from the defendant.

Your solicitor should fully explain the meanings and implications of entering into such an Agreement with you before you sign. If you are unsure about any aspect of the CFA, ask before signing.


3. Do I need to take out Insurance?

Solicitors are required to discuss the issue of insurance with clients at the outset of their instructions. In particular, whether the client’s liability for their own costs may be covered by a pre-existing insurance policy.

If no such insurance exists, then your solicitor should discuss with you the need for an alternative form of insurance, known as an After The Event (ATE) insurance, in relation to your claim. In other words, if your claim is unsuccessful and you are ordered to pay the Defendant’s costs of defending the action, and have also incurred disbursements, the insurance should cover those costs and disbursements.

You will need to check the maximum amount of the costs and disbursements that the insurance will cover to ensure that you will not become liable for any shortfall. Most ATE insurances will provide more than sufficient cover, and your solicitor will of course keep a check on the amount of any potential future liability.

Your Solicitor will go through all the funding options available to you prior to commencing the claim upon your behalf. If you are unsure of anything they have advised you, ask before signing anything.