If you have suffered injury due to an accident that was not your fault, you may be thinking about using a lawyer to make a claim for compensation.
There is often an assumption that lawyer’s fees are expensive, and many lawyers do charge a high rate for their extensive knowledge and experience. However, when making a claim for personal injury, many lawyers, including Lamb Brooks, operate on a ‘no win, no fee’ basis.
The simple answer is, if you lose then you pay nothing. However, there are some considerations to make, explained below…
No Win No Fee Injury Claim
No win, no fee is quite self-explanatory. As a client there are no legal fees or costs to pay whatsoever. Your lawyer will front all the costs; typically this can include medical reports, expert opinions, court fees, administration fees and all their chargeable time of dealing with your claim.
Once your claim has reached settlement stage, a small percentage of your compensation award is deducted as a contribution towards the legal fees incurred in pursuing your claim. The amount is typically somewhere between 15% – 25% depending on the type of claim and the severity of your injuries. This figure is agreed before any work is carried out. Should your claim not be successful for any reason, then there are no fees to pay. A no win, no fee agreement is often referred to as a ‘Conditional Fee Agreement’.
Legal Expenses Insurance
It is always worth checking what type of insurance policy you hold. Most of us have various home or motor insurance policies which can carry some additional benefits such as Legal Expenses Insurance (LEI). Sometimes people do not realise that they pay a premium for this extra benefit, but it can mean that your legal expenses are covered, so it is worth checking.
Compensation Values
As you might expect, there is no set compensation scale and the amount of compensation you receive will depend on a number of different factors. The type of injury you have sustained, the severity of your pain and suffering, loss of income or ability to work and any long-term care or adjustments in lifestyle will all be taken into account when calculating what is a fair and reasonable sum.
Life-changing and devastating injuries that leave someone unable to work or permanently disabled, are likely to be at the higher end of the scale compared to those who are fortunate to make a full and quick recovery from their injury.
Payments that you receive by way of settlement are not subject to tax, but they may affect certain means-tested benefits. If you are in receipt of benefits, it is sensible to speak to your lawyer as provisions can be put in place to ‘ring fence’ your compensation to ensure that your benefits are not affected.
Start Making a Claim
If you or someone you care about has suffered injury after an accident that was not their fault, then please get in touch to see if we can help you navigate a claim for compensation.
After an initial phone call with our team, they should be able to tell you whether you have a viable claim. They can also talk you through your options, the next steps and give you an overview of the process and expected outcome.
Call our team on 01256 844888, email enquiries@lambbrooks.com or speak to our online chat assistant at any time of day, who can take some initial information and arrange for a lawyer to call you back.
Other Articles You May Be Interested in Reading:
6 Signs That You May Have a Personal Injury Claim
What is the Time Limit for Making a Personal Injury Claim?
Dangers of Making a Compensation Claim Yourself
The contents of this article are for the purposes of general awareness only. They do not purport to constitute legal or professional advice. The law may have changed since this article was published. Readers should not act on the basis of the information included and should take appropriate professional advice upon their own particular circumstances.