In the UK making a no win no fee legal agreement with a solicitor is necessary if you wish to pursue a personal injury compensation case without having to pay out the high fees that lawyers will charge. Legal aid is unlikely to be available for anyone claiming compensation after an accident at work or on the roads. Similarly any other type of personal injury compensation claim is highly unlikely to qualify for legal aid. Because of this claimants would have to pay legal costs in advance and would run the risk of losing that money if the claim was lost in court. To avoid this scenario most solicitors now offer to take personal injury cases on a conditional fee basis.
Unfortunately, despite the no fee part of the agreement there will still be costs that you will have to meet in order for the solicitor to move your claim forward. Even if you have a no win, no fee legal agreement, there could be still be other costs attached to your personal injury claim. You will still be liable to pay any medical and accident report expenses, court fees and any expert witness expenses. The expenses could be very large and are not covered by a conditional fee arrangement. These expenses can soon add up to quite a large sum and they will not be covered by the arrangement you have with your solicitor.
Before signing any legal agreement with your solicitor ensure that you confirm, point by point, all the possible fees and costs that you may be liable for. Make sure that you check the terms of the contract very carefully as you may also be liable to pay fees if the case is dropped or if you refuse a settlement offer.
As the no win no fee slogan suggests, if you lose your case than you will not have to pay your solicitor anything. But, if you are successful than you will have to pay your lawyer a fee. This fee is usually recovered from the losing side but the court can sometimes decide that the loser should not be liable for the full cost of your solicitors fees. If this happens than you will be liable to make good the amount from your compensation payment.
Not all solicitors charge the same fees or offer the same service so it is usually worth your while to shop around to find the best terms.
No win no fee arrangements are also known as conditional fee agreement. If you unfortunately lose your personal injury claim, you will not owe your solicitor any fees. The costs are usually claimed from those defending the case. If the case is won then you will have to pay your solicitors fees though, in reality, those costs are usually claimed back from the other side.
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