If you have had an accident and you want to make a personal injury claim, understandably you will want to know how to go about making a claim and whether it will cost you anything.
When you contact our specialist injury team, we will be able to discuss the funding options available to you in more detail. The below information will help you understand the different forms of funding that could be available to you.
How are personal injury claims funded?
The most common options include entering into a conditional fee agreement (CFA) also known as “no win, no fee” agreement or utilising your own legal expense insurance policy.
How do conditional fee agreements (CFAs) work?
The majority of our clients enter into this type of agreement as you do not then need to make any payment until your case has settled successfully. At settlement stage, a success fee (usually capped at 25% of your compensation for injuries and past losses) will be deducted from the overall damages figure. We are also entitled to deduct any costs we have incurred which we have not been able to recover from the opponent but, again, the total deduction is capped at 25% of injury and past loss compensation so we would not take any more than this in total for our fees.
If your claim is unsuccessful, then you will not have to pay for any litigation costs or expenses that are covered under the CFA.
We recommend that our clients take out After the Event (ATE) insurance alongside the CFA, as this is a policy that would pay for any disbursements incurred (such as medical report fees or court fees) if your case was unsuccessful or the opponent’s costs and expenses if you failed to beat a settlement offer they made or were ordered to pay their costs for any other reason (unless there was dishonesty involved). This means that you would not be left with a bill if your case was unsuccessful or it was our advice not to proceed after initial investigations.
What is 'after the event' insurance?
This is a policy that is taken out after an accident has occurred which significantly reduces the financial risk of pursuing a claim. A policy is taken out in exchange for a premium (fee) to cover disbursements incurred and the opponent’s legal costs in certain situations. This policy would need to be taken out at the beginning of the claim to offer you maximum protection.
The policy does not need to be paid until the conclusion of the claim, when it would be deducted from your compensation. If your case is not successful, the premium would be waived.
Will my own insurance pay for the claim?
You may have taken out before-the-event legal expenses cover (otherwise known as LEI) when taking out home, car or travel insurance and it is always worth checking your existing insurance policies to see if they cover the legal costs involved in pursuing a personal injury claim. If so, this policy could cover your legal costs and a success fee would not be deducted from your overall damages. However, you will usually be required to instruct your insurer’s panel solicitor if you want to utilise the insurance cover from the outset.
It is worth noting that both after-the-event and before-the-event insurers are unlikely to cover any legal costs associated with your claim if you are found to have been dishonest in relation to any aspect of your claim.
I am part of a Trade Union; will they cover my costs?
Your trade union may be able to offer legal funding to their members who have suffered injuries whether this is due to an accident at work, on the road or anywhere else. We recommend that you contact your trade union representative to discuss your funding options if you are part of a union.
There may be other funding options we can offer in certain specific circumstances so it is always worth getting in touch to discuss your options in more detail.
If you have been injured in an accident, and would like some advice on whether you can make a claim, please contact our specialist personal injury team at Stephensons on 0161 696 6235.
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