No Win No Fee agreements are also referred to as Conditional Fee
Agreements and allow you to make a compensation claim following an
accident or medical negligence without paying solicitor's fees. The
Agreement means that, if you win your case, your opponent will pay your
solicitor's fees.
However, under a No Win No Fee Agreement, if you lose your case through no fault of your own, your solicitor will not be paid. As your solicitors take a risk on winning your claim, they are entitled to receive both their basic fees (at rates set by the County Court) and a success fee (which is an additional fee for taking the risk on not being paid at all). Both these fees are recoverable from your opponent.
Listed below are five things you should know if you are contemplating hiring a solicitor through a No Win No Fee Agreement:
1. An experienced no win no fee solicitor will be able to tell you at your first interview whether you have a chance of a successful accident compensation claim.
2. Time limitation periods apply and it is often easier investigating your compensation claim if you take early legal advice. It is therefore essential that you contact a 'no win no fee' solicitor as soon as possible after your accident or injury.
3. A number of costs are payable during a compensation case. These include disbursements, or fees incurred by your solicitor in preparing your case. Hiring a barrister and getting hold of any medical reports can be expensive, but your solicitor might delay charging you for these until the case has finished. If you win, you can seek these costs from the opposition.
4. Evidence that is vital when putting together a claim for compensation includes medical records, contact details of any witnesses, and even a diary of the circumstances of the incident. A good no win no fee solicitor will advise you to keep a diary of events and take down notes about the events that caused your injury.
5. A no win no fee solicitor will usually strongly advise that you take out an 'after the event' insurance policy - this will give you protection by covering you against payment of costs to an opponent in the event that your claim is defeated.
However, under a No Win No Fee Agreement, if you lose your case through no fault of your own, your solicitor will not be paid. As your solicitors take a risk on winning your claim, they are entitled to receive both their basic fees (at rates set by the County Court) and a success fee (which is an additional fee for taking the risk on not being paid at all). Both these fees are recoverable from your opponent.
Listed below are five things you should know if you are contemplating hiring a solicitor through a No Win No Fee Agreement:
1. An experienced no win no fee solicitor will be able to tell you at your first interview whether you have a chance of a successful accident compensation claim.
2. Time limitation periods apply and it is often easier investigating your compensation claim if you take early legal advice. It is therefore essential that you contact a 'no win no fee' solicitor as soon as possible after your accident or injury.
3. A number of costs are payable during a compensation case. These include disbursements, or fees incurred by your solicitor in preparing your case. Hiring a barrister and getting hold of any medical reports can be expensive, but your solicitor might delay charging you for these until the case has finished. If you win, you can seek these costs from the opposition.
4. Evidence that is vital when putting together a claim for compensation includes medical records, contact details of any witnesses, and even a diary of the circumstances of the incident. A good no win no fee solicitor will advise you to keep a diary of events and take down notes about the events that caused your injury.
5. A no win no fee solicitor will usually strongly advise that you take out an 'after the event' insurance policy - this will give you protection by covering you against payment of costs to an opponent in the event that your claim is defeated.
We all know that suffering an injury can be traumatic and it is right to get the compensation that we really deserve. And by that, I would suggest that we should hire a well experienced no win no fee solicitor to have a successful claim.
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