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No Win No Fee Explained

By Megan Black. Last Updated 6th February 2024. Welcome to our guide exploring how you could hire a solicitor under a No Win No Fee agreement to represent you for your claim.

You may have questions such as “Do I need to choose No Win No Fee solicitors near me?” and “Are there any No Win No Fee disadvantages that I should be aware of?” We will answer these questions and much more.  Throughout our guide, we’ll discuss the benefits of using this type of agreement to seek compensation.

We’ll provide information on the different claims you could make using this agreement, such as personal injury, medical negligence and data breach incidents.

Additionally, we’ll take an in-depth at what the agreement entails, including the fees that may be required in successful claims.

If you have any questions after reading our guide, please don’t hesitate to contact a member of our team. You can use the following details to get in touch:

Please read on to learn the benefits of using our No Win No Fee solicitors.

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Choose A Section Below To Find Out More

  1. What Does No Win No Fee Mean?
  2. What Are The Benefits Of Using A No Win No Fee Solicitor?
  3. Are There Any Drawbacks To No Win No Fee Agreements?
  4. Different Claims For Which You Could Use No Win No Fee
  5. How Much Compensation Could A No Win No Fee Solicitor Help Me Claim?
  6. No Win No Fee Accident Claims With Legal Expert
  7. Additional Resources

What Does No Win No Fee Mean?

So, what does No Win No Fee mean?

A No Win No Fee agreement can be used to fund legal representation for various types of claims. For example, accidents at work, road traffic accidents, public place accidents and medical negligence claims.

The agreement is a contract that sets out the terms a solicitor needs to meet before they get paid. It stipulates the work they will carry out on your case and the fee that you may be required to pay if the claim is successful.

When you employ a solicitor under a No Win No Fee agreement, they will aim to collect all the details of your accident and injury.

They will use these facts to analyse your case and determine whether you have a valid claim and a good chance of successfully claiming compensation. If they feel you do, then they will formally offer to represent you on this basis.

For a claim to be valid, you need to demonstrate that negligence occurred. Negligence may have occurred if:

  • Someone owed you a duty of care
  • They breached their duty of care
  • You sustained harm as a result

Whether you choose to find a solicitor by searching “No Win No Fee solicitors near me” or use a lawyer that is more specialised in the relevant field, they would all attempt to establish that negligence occurred. For more information about whether you’re eligible to claim, please get in touch with our team on the number above.

How Much Do Solicitors Take Under A No Win No Fee Agreement?

In the past, when personal injury cases were won by a No Win No Fee solicitor, the claimant would often keep the total sum of their compensation. The reason being, the defendant would pay both the claimant’s compensation as well as their solicitor’s legal costs and success fee.

However, the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 made changes to the way these agreements worked. According to Section 44 of this act, it was no longer the defendant’s responsibility to pay the claimant’s solicitor success fee.

However, in order for it to be financially viable for solicitors to continue to represent claimants on a No Win No Fee basis, it meant that changes were needed. Now, the claimant pays a success fee from their compensation award to cover the shortfall in solicitor’s fees.

In 2013, the Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013 capped the success fee at 25% in personal injury claims.

Furthermore, your solicitor may offer you insurance to help cover any fees. For more information about using No Win No Fee solicitors, please get in touch with our team on the number above.

What Are The Benefits Of Using A No Win No Fee Solicitor?

In general, there are many benefits to making a claim using a solicitor that offers No Win No Fee terms:

  • No upfront costs to pay: This means people with limited financial resources will not be restricted in hiring a solicitor for pursuing any claim for damages caused by a breach of duty of care.
  • No ongoing legal fees to pay: Initially, there are no costs involved in starting a claim without a solicitor. However, ongoing costs could incur during the course of your claim such as fees for medical evidence or court fees. Under No Win No Fee, these costs are covered.
  • No solicitor fees to pay if your claim is unsuccessful

Additionally, you don’t run the risk of having to pay large legal fees to your solicitor in the event of an unsuccessful claim. 

By funding your solicitor on a No Win No Fee basis, you can potentially lower your financial risk. Expensive solicitors’ fees can be a major blow to unsuccessful claimants who then have to pay their solicitors, despite not having been awarded any compensation.

Furthermore, there is nothing to pay your solicitor unless they win your claim. Also, any payment they do take is legally capped and something you’re made aware of prior to beginning your claim with them.

Do you want to know if our service is the best? Our No Win No Fee solicitors reviews could help put your mind at ease regarding the quality of service we provide.

Are There Any Hidden Costs With No Win No Fee?

You might be wondering, “Are there any hidden costs with No Win No Fee agreements?” This can depend on the service you use, but our No Win No Fee solicitors do not take a fee for their work unless your claim succeeds. This means there are no service fees to pay upfront, and no fees to pay to retain your solicitor’s services.

There may be some fees to pay outside of this, such as the cost of an independent medical assessment. But these costs will always be discussed with you in a clear, upfront manner, and there will be nothing to pay for their work unless your claim succeeds.

To find out if you could be eligible to work with one of our solicitors under a No Win No Fee agreement, contact our team today. One of our advisors can evaluate your claim for free, and if they find it valid, they may be able to connect you with one of our solicitors.

A solicitor sat behind a set of scales working on a claim on a No Win No Fee basis.

Different Claims For Which You Could Use No Win No Fee

In the sections below, we have looked at examples of claims you could make under a No Win No Fee agreement.

However, if you have experienced a different situation, please don’t hesitate to contact our team on the number above. An advisor can discuss the specifics of your case and determine whether you’re eligible to claim on this basis.

Personal Injury Claims

You can pursue a personal injury claim if you sustained harm in an accident after someone breached the duty of care they owed you. A duty of care describes the responsibility that certain parties have to take reasonable steps to keep you safe.

There are various pieces of legislation that set out the duty of care you may be owed in different circumstances:

If the duty of care outlined in these pieces of legislation is breached, negligence may have occurred leading someone to make a personal injury claim with a No Win No Fee solicitor.

For example, another driver may have pulled out of a junction unsafely while they are under the influence of alcohol. As a result of their drink driving offence,  they hit the side of your car as you pass, causing you to sustain a fractured skull.

In this case, you may use No Win No Fee solicitors following a road traffic accident.

Further Reading – Car Accident Compensation Claims

Medical Negligence

In this No Win No Fee claims guide, we’ll discuss seeking compensation for medical negligence. This is where a healthcare professional fails to provide you with the minimum standard of care causing you to sustain further or avoidable harm as a result.

When you seek medical attention, you are entitled to receive care that could be reasonably expected of the profession. This is the case whether you’re visiting an NHS or private healthcare provider. It applies to all trained medical professionals such as dentists, doctors, nurses and surgeons.

However, in some cases, your condition can worsen or harm can be caused when the healthcare professional treating you is doing all they can to provide you with the right standard of care.

For example, you may go into the hospital with a badly broken leg. Because of the extent of your injuries, your leg has to be amputated. Even though the surgeon who performs the amputation is causing you further harm, it’s within their duty of care to do so.

However, in some cases, the care you receive may fall below the standard expected resulting in you sustaining harm that could have been avoided. For instance, during childbirth, the midwife may have failed to properly monitor your baby’s vital signs. As a result, your baby may have sustained a birth injury causing a brain injury.

As previously mentioned, simply searching “No Win No Fee solicitors near me” may not get you the most appropriate legal counsel for your needs. Our No Win No Fee lawyers could represent you when seeking compensation in a medical negligence claim. Please get in touch with our team for more information on the number above.

Data Breach

There is a wide range of organisations that hold our data for a number of different reasons. The General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) was enacted into UK law by the Data Protection Act 2018 as a way to monitor how organisations can store, process and handle personal data.

However, since the UK has left the European Union, data protection laws have been updated. Now, the UK GDPR sits alongside an updated version Data Protection Act 2018 as a regime for monitoring organisations use of personal data.

A data breach is a security incident that results in personal data being destroyed, altered, disclosed, accidentally or unlawfully lost, or accessed by an unauthorised party. “Personal data” is any information that could be used to identify you, either alone or in conjunction with other information.

A data breach could cause you financial harm, for instance, if your identity is stolen and money is taken from your account.

It could also cause you emotional harm. For example, you may suffer psychological effects, such as stress, if your medical records were exposed by your doctor’s surgery. You can seek compensation for both financial and emotional harm following a data breach.

Data breach claims may seem complex, so it could benefit you to use No Win No Fee personal injury solicitors. They can advise on the evidence you need to provide in support of your claim. Call our team about working with our solicitors on this basis.

Criminal Injury

We have a large criminal injury department staffed by some highly experienced No Win No Fee solicitors. They’ve dealt with all types of cases and understand how deeply traumatic being the victim of crime can be.

They can help you with claiming:

What Could You Claim In Compensation For Personal Injury Claims?

If your personal injury claim succeeds, your compensation could contain up to two heads. The first of these heads is general damages, which covers the pain and suffering caused by your injuries.

Those who value this head of claim may refer to the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) to help. This is because the JCG contains guideline compensation brackets for a number of physical and psychological injuries and illnesses. You can find some examples of these in the table below, but please note that these are only guidelines, and the top entry is not taken from the JCG.

 

Edit
Injury Description Amount
Multiple serious injuries with special damages If you’ve sustained numerous serious injuries, then your No Win No Fee claim could compensate you for these as well as special damages which may include care costs or loss of earnings. Up to £1,000,000+
Injuries Affecting Sight Complete deafness and blindness. In the region of £403,990
Paralysis – Tetraplegia/Quadriplegia The higher end of this bracket is applicable to cases where physical pain is present and the ability to communicate and the senses have been significantly affected. £324,600 to £403,990
Brain Damage – Very Severe The person will require full-time nursing care and will demonstrate very little meaningful response to their environment if any. £282,010 to £403,990
Amputation of Arms Both arms will have been amputated, leaving the person in a considerably helpless state. £240,790 to £300,000
General psychiatric damage – Severe The person’s relationships and ability to work will be affected, among other areas of their life – The prognosis for recovery will be poor. £54,830 to £115,730
Post-traumatic stress disorder – Severe Lasting effects that mean the person cannot function as they did prior to the trauma. £59,860 to £100,670
Leg – Severe (ii) Very Serious There will be permanent mobility issues with the person needing mobility aids for the remainder of their life. £54,830 to £87,890
Knee – Severe (ii) When a fracture to the leg also extends into the knee and causes permanent pain. £52,120 to £69,730
Foot – Moderate Continuing symptoms and a permanent deformity due to displaced metatarsal fractures. £13,740 to £24,990

 

Your compensation could also include special damages, which address the financial effects of your injuries. For example, this could cover the cost of:

  • Home adjustments
  • Lost earnings from taking time off work
  • Mobility aids
  • Prescriptions

However, you will need to provide proof of these losses to claim them back, such as payslips and receipts. 

For more guidance on how much you may be able to claim, or to ask questions such as “What does No Win No Fee mean?” contact our advisors today.

No Win No Fee Accident Claims With Legal Expert

One of the benefits of making a claim with the help of one of Legal Expert’s personal injury lawyers is that they work on a No Win No Fee basis. They do this by offering a kind of No Win No Fee contract known as a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). As we mentioned earlier on in this guide, if you claim successfully under a CFA, your solicitor will be due a small percentage of your compensation as their success fee.

However, if you don’t make a successful claim, then you usually won’t be required to pay your solicitor for their work on your case under the terms of the Conditional Fee Agreement. Likewise, when your claim begins, you won’t need to pay an upfront fee for them to start working.

A personal injury solicitor can help with compensation claims in a number of ways. They can help gather evidence to strengthen the case, explain things you might not understand, and help negotiate a settlement.

To find out if Legal Expert could help you make a compensation claim with the help of a personal injury solicitor, contact our team of advisors today by:

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Additional Resources

Below, we’ve included some more of our guides and external resources you may find useful.

Thank you for reading our No Win No Fee claims guide where we discussed queries including No Win No Fee solicitors near me. If you have further queries about potential No Win No Fee dangers or would like to know if you can use our No Win No Fee solicitors, please contact us for free legal advice using the above details.

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    • Patrick Mallon

      Patrick is a Grade A solicitor having qualified in 2005. He's an an expert in accident at work and public liability claims and is currently our head of the EL/PL department. Get in touch today for free to see how we can help you.