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No Win No Fee Agreements Explained
Now the term ‘no win, no fee’ is a term which most of us are familiar with. This may be due to personal injury advertisements on the television and radio or from someone on the street stopping you for marketing purposes.
So, ‘no win no fee’ may be a term we are used to hearing, but do we really know what it means. Well at The Injury Lawyers we are here to inform and educate our blog readers in all aspects of personal injury and so to fulfil our duty we write this blog to educate you on one of the most important parts of bringing your claim – the no win, no fee agreement.
No win no fee means that if you do not win your case you do not pay any of the solicitors costs in dealing with the claim. So you may think – ‘How do we get paid?’ Well, in the event you lose your claim we have insurance which covers anything we paid out as a result of your claim – however, we lose being paid on any of the time we spent on your case. So it is a risk to the solicitor in taking on a case – however a solicitor will only ever take your case on if they believe there are genuine prospects for success. However, even if you win your case, you still pay none of our costs – you get 100% of your compensation and no bill from the solicitor. This is because the other side pay our costs and we take nothing from your compensation. Compensation is meant to put the claimant back in the position they would have been in had the accident never happened, therefore if the solicitor took a portion of this, the victim would not have been fully compensated.
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Personal Injury claims are on the increase and this may be for a number of reasons, one reason being that more people are aware of their rights and what they can claim for. However, this does not mean that everyone who comes to us is fully confident in the fact that their injury can give rise to a claim. The Injury Lawyers are open from 9am – 10 pm and we have experienced staff on hand to explain there and then whether you have a claim – this advice is also free of charge whether you have a claim or not. You have nothing to lose by trying.
At The Injury Lawyers we are approached by clients who have suffered injuries in a variety of accidents. I will list some of the sorts of claims which we deal with here at The Injury Lawyers:
- Accidents at work – these can include injuries from heavy lifting, slips and trips, and falling from a height. If you feel your employer has been negligent in some way and this has led to your accident then you may have a claim for compensation. Industrial disease cases can also come under this with cases such as Vibration White Finger and Beat Knee.
- Road Traffic accidents – these are extremely common types of claims and include all means of transportation – whether your accident is in a car, on a motor bike, or even if you were travelling on a bus, you can claim for compensation if the accident wasn’t your fault.
- Clinical negligence – if you feel that you have not received adequate care from a clinical professional and it has lead you to suffer in some way, then you may have a claim. This can include care whilst in hospital, a walk in clinic, or whilst visiting your General Practitioner. It also covers any private care you have as well.
- Accidents at school – we have a vast amount of experience in dealing with accidents within schools. You can act as an agent on behalf of your child by becoming their Litigation Friend and dealing with the claim on their behalf if they have been failed by their school.
- Accidents in a supermarket – Supermarkets have a duty keep their customers as safe as is reasonably possible. There are many possible hazards in a supermarket from slipping on a spillage to tripping on an item left in an aisle or having items fall on you from a poorly stacked shelf.
We all love to go on holiday. It may be for the sunshine, the change of scenery and culture, or simply just to spend quality time with your loved ones. However, the last thing on your mind whilst you are filled with excitement is that you will fall victim to an accident that was not your fault.
If the unthinkable happens to you and you suffer an injury from an accident whilst on holiday that was not your fault, you may have a claim for compensation through your holiday package provider if the accident is in some way linked to the service you have bought. For example, if your accident is in the hotel that your package provider organised for you, you may be able to claim through the provider rather than against the hotel (due to differences in the law, going through the provider is the feasible option).
Now, one of the differences about claiming for an accident that happened abroad through a package provider is that the defendant is allowed a longer amount of time within which to investigate the matter before they admit or deny fault. Now this can be seen as an obstacle or you can think – well, is it better getting a compensation pay out a little later rather than never at all?
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Product / Service Compensation Claims
The Sale of Good and Service Act – you may be aware of this important piece of legislation we have in place to protect us from poor products and shocking services. When we buy a product or invest in a service, we expect that the outcome provided will be of a satisfactory standard. In fact, that’s precisely the reason the Act is in place.
Know Your Rights!
Under the Act, a product sold must primarily adhere to three main factors. The product must (under the Sale of Goods Act 1979) be:
- As Described – The product must fit any description of it, whether written or verbal from the seller. If the product is clearly not as described, you should be entitled to a full refund or replacement (if appropriate).
- Fit for Purpose – The product must do what it is intended to do. A can opener should open cans; a phone must make and take calls; a car must drive. If the product cannot do what it is intended to do, you should be entitled to a refund or a replacement.
- Of Satisfactory Quality -The product must be free from defect, have a good appearance, and be, most importantly, safe to use. If a product is not of a satisfactory quality, you again may be entitled to a refund or replacement.
No Win No Fee – Conditional Fee Agreements
You may hear the term ‘no win, no fee’ on a regular basis. Whether it be on advertisements on television, being stopped on the street by marketing people or whilst completing your preliminary research on which firm to take your claim.
So, the term ‘no win, no fee’ is common. However the term ‘Conditional Fee Agreements’ I can guess is not so familiar with our blog readers. The Conditional Fee Agreement is a document which sets out the terms of the ‘no win, no fee agreement’. Depending on the solicitors, these can be fairly lengthy documents and there is always the temptation to simply trust your lawyer and not read the small print. However, I cannot stress how much we at The Injury Lawyers advise against this.
At The Injury Lawyers we have many clients who have transferred their claim to us due to poor service from their previous solicitors. We are always amazed at the different sorts of Conditional Fee Agreements we see our clients have entered into before coming to us. This is why we like to inform and advise our readers to READ THE PAPERWORK.
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Road accidents are a common occurrence – they really do happen all of the time, every single day. There are so many ways you can end up injured through the negligence of another driver out there on the roads; but there are also ways in which you can claim for compensation even if another vehicle is not involved.
A few road accident examples:
Rear End Collisions
If another car crashes in to the back of you, unless you broke suddenly without good reason, it’s pretty much safe to say that you have a successful claim for compensation. If someone goes in to the back of you, they have not allowed enough distance between their vehicle and yours. They are likely at fault for the accident.
Roundabouts
Accidents on roundabouts can so easily occur! The simple and easy rule to follow is – always give way to your right. If another driver pulls on to the roundabout and hits your vehicle, they are at fault if you were already proceeding on the roundabout. If you and another vehicle to your left approach the roundabout at the same time, you have the right of way – the other vehicle must give way to you on their right. If they don’t, it’s likely you have a successful claim for compensation. Unless you’re driving abroad of course…
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Accidents at Work – Questions Answered
Work accidents are a common occurrence – especially if you work in construction or the manufacturing industry. But a lot of people don’t know they can claim for a work accident when they’ve had one; in fact, there’s probably thousands – if not, millions – of pounds worth of unclaimed compensation because people unfortunately just don’t know when they’re entitled to make a claim.
So – here’s the answers for your convenient digest:
Q: Can You Claim?
If the accident was not your fault, then perhaps you can. If the accident is a direct result of your employers’ negligence, then you can definitely make a claim for compensation. If you’re at work when the accident occurred, it’s definitely worth contacting an injury lawyer for advice.
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Almost everyone reading this blog will be aware of the term ‘No Win, No Fee’. It is a common term nowadays and is featured heavily in the television advertising of personal injury solicitors. But what exactly does ‘No Win, No Fee’ mean. Well, unfortunately, for different law firms it means different things. However, at The Injury Lawyers, it means only one thing – Simply put, it means that if you do not win your claim you do not pay us a penny. Not a single penny. What then if you are successful? Great news! It also means that you do not pay us a penny. That is what separates The Injury Lawyers from other personal injury law firms. Even if you win, you keep 100% of your compensation; guaranteed. After all, it is your compensation, and we genuinely believe you should receive every single penny for it. We believe this because you are awarded compensation in order to place you in the position you would have been had your accident not occurred and you had not been injured. So, for us to ask for even a penny of that compensation would be to your detriment – ultimately you would end up being under compensated. That is something we at The Injury Lawyers could not stomach.
So, under our Conditional Fee Agreement (the technical term for our genuine No Win, No Fee agreement) if your claim is unsuccessful you owe us nothing. It could not be any simpler.
Does that then mean that if I win my claim you will take a percentage of that or try and recover your costs from me? Absolutely not! We recover our fees from the other side. Even if we do not get all our fees back we will never come to you for those fees – that is our problem – and under our agreement we cannot seek these fees from you. We enter into a contract which explicitly states we cannot get our fees from you – so you have absolutely nothing to worry about; which is what separates our agreement for the other law firms. You keep all of your cash guaranteed.
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Bicycle and Motorcycle Accidents
The topic of this blog may be bicycle and motorcycle accidents; however, this can include mopeds, quad bikes, and other similar forms of transportation.
It is easy to see why people like to cycle as it is cheaper (especially with these growing fuel prices), it’s a good exercise, and it’s better for the environment. It is easy to see why people like to get about using a motor bike as it has the thrill factor and there is a great community within bikers. However, along with all these great perks comes the sad news that accidents involving these types of vehicles are on the increase – and can often lead to fatalities.
The fact that these accidents are on the increase may come as no small shock to many readers as if we take the example of motorcycles – these can seem to come out of nowhere on the road. Accidents involving motorcycles tend to occur most predominantly due to traffic meeting at junctions, cross roads or roundabouts, defects on the road surface, items left in the road, or bad weather conditions.
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Sport has a place in many people’s lives, whether this is through direct participation or simply watching it on the television in the comfort of your home. In fact, for some people sport is everything. It is what they live for. For such people, and indeed others, playing sport is an important part of their daily routine. However, as I am sure many of you are aware, playing sport can lead to injury. Fortunately, many injuries are minor and are cured on the spot with a little help from the ‘magic sponge’. However, other injuries are more serious and can take a matter or months, even years to recover from. If you have suffered a personal injury as a result of your participation in sporting activity you may be able to make a claim for compensation.
When we play sport we know that there is a high likelihood of physical contact between players. We know of that risk and we accept it. For instance, in a game of football, the players are well aware that they may get tackled. Likewise, during a boxing match the boxers are fully aware that they will inevitably be punched. Does that then mean that if we are injured whilst playing sport we cannot make a claim for compensation? No, not at all. It all depends on your injury and how it was sustained. It is therefore important that you seek the advice of a quality personal injury lawyer who can advise you as to whether you may be entitled to compensation.
If you are playing football for example and someone purposely does a horrendous tackle on you and as a result you suffer a broken leg, you may well deserve compensation. This is because they have been reckless and this was not what you signed up for when you said you would take part in the football match. Sure, you might get a mistimed tackle, but you certainly did not permit someone to deliberately break your leg. This action was well beyond what you would anticipate and so a claim for compensation can follow.
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