No win no fee Claims-True or hidden expenses?

Question

I was a passenger on a bus that crashed into a car in front, we think he skipped the lights. Anyway the police say its the bus drivers fault as he crashed in to the car in front. Im thinking of making a claim with one of these no win no fee companys for my injurys, whiplash and back pain. Has anybody had any experience with these companys or knows anything about them? They say i dont pay a penny if i win or lose, keep all the compensation and the bus company pays their legal expences. There has to be a catch somewhere, but where?
Any idea's, has anybody claimed with one of these companys, love to hear your experience of it, good or bad.Thanks

The people i have spoke to have said yes i have a case and are willing to take it on. They say it would be resolved in 6/9months if i do choose to accept them. They say i do not pay anything if i lose and if i win i keep 100% comp and they take their fees from the other party. Im worried that if i have to have examinations and medicals i might have to foot those bills. I am in the UK and we cannot sue or arrange settalments ourselves and have to go through solicitors. Also the hospital i went to after the accident for x-rays, we have NHS but the leaflet they gave me when i was discharged said regarding road accidents the hospital tries to get their money back? would i have to pay this also?
I'd rather go to a normal solicitor as you know where you are with them, would they take on the case?

Answer 1

My son in law was a passenger in a non fault accident and he went to one of these no win no fee companies and they ask you to take out an insurance plan in case you lose your case and sometimes they take a large percentage of your claim but its deducted before you receive payout but in the long run you still pay.In the end he just went to a solicitor and got legal aid and won,no fee.

Answer 2

In the UK it is the losing party in court who pays the costs of all sides, except under special circumstances (e.g., money sufficient to pay the ultimate judgment was offered as a settlement and paid into court; of costs were wasted, etc.)

The advantage of no-win-no-fee is that the litigating party doesn't have to put up cash in advance: not even -- as is sometimes the case in the USA where "contingency fee" lawyering is well developed -- when there are substantial investigation and preparation expenses for trial.

But you also lose control of the litigation. As with "workers compensation" (workplace injuries) claims in the USA, the lawyer's incentive is for a quick settlement, often for far less than the injured party would get in court. A settlement can be arranged with a few quick telephone calls.

You might want to see what the other injured parties do. If all of you use the same solicitor, then you might be able to afford advancing at least part of the fee.

I had an injury earlier this year, and I did not use such a firm. I would prefer to control the negotiations with the insurance company. Liability has already been admitted, and the insurance company is now saying it will pay me for my medical costs to date without prejudice to the rest of my claim. I'm sure that I would not have had a decent recovery through one of those no-win-no-fee firms.

It is my understanding that the worst of those firms -- and perhaps the bulk of them -- use mainly paralegals and that they refuse cases that they don't think will settle easily. I do not see them advancing large sums to barristers (or committing to pay such sums) if there is any risk at all of losing the case. Unlike with legal aid funded litigation, somebody is risking having to pay the other side's (the defendant's) legal expenses if your case founders.

Answer 3

No win no fee is the colloquial name for Conditional Fee Arrangements. You will only be accepted onto a CFA if you have a good chance of winning, or almost certain chance at least. It works because when you win a case, the other side has to pay both your compensation and your costs. A good example of this is a case that came through my office yesterday. We lost the case, and had to pay £1270 damages. That's not too bad, it was a good settlement, however their costs were over £15,000. We paid for their advice, their counsel, their time, their photocopies, their travel expenses to court etc... That wasn't on a CFA but the fact remains the same - we paid for ALL their costs. The idea is that if you have been wronged you shouldn't have to pay for someone else's error.

Now there is one down side to CFAs - you will have very little control over your case. As your solicitor could end up paying for their costs they may very well settle at an early point in your case. Should you be 100% sure that you will win you should fund the case yourself, insuring that you have full control.

In your case without knowing too many facts I would go for a CFA as the court tends to find that if someone has gone into the back of someone else it is their fault for not keeping a safe braking distance behind the car in front, whatever their reason for stopping. I would be doubtful that you would win, or at least you would not win 100% compensation. Go no win no fee in this case.

Answer 4

These companies do not accept clients unless they are almost dead certain that they are going to win. They get their pay through the costs that they charge to the insurance company representing the at fault party. If there is any element of doubt over whether they will win or not, they sometimes ask you to pay an amount of insurance that guarantees that whatever happens, they will be paid.

Other companies charge a percentage of the compensation that you are paid as their fee.

Do you yourself have any form of insurance at all? Like motor insurance? If you have legal expenses cover as part of your insurance, it may be possible for their lawyers to pursue this claim for you, in which case it definitely won't cost you anything. Or if you are a member of a union or something, sometimes they have legal cover that can help.

Answer 5

You just need to be careful what you are signing. You could be subjected to an adverse costs order, for example if your case fails, when you go to Court there are no definates when it comes to law. If the case went to Trial and you lost at Trial the costs could run into the tens of thousands. It is not likely you would get to Trial and lose on one of these agreements as they only really take on cases which are sure to win, but it is a consideration. You may get charged also for after the event insurance.

Answer 6

Let's start off with a couple of thoughts. If it seems to good to be true, then it is too good to be true and it isn't what it seems. In other words if someone wants to sell ou something for a dime that is supposed to be worth a lot more, then it probably isn't worth the dime they are selling it to you for!

Now, what can or should you do? If you were injured and the fault of the accident, to some extent lies with someone else and you want to make a claim, you have options:

You can represent yourself. The problem with this is that this is not your area of expertise. You don't look at the case objectively. And you don't know what your case is realistically worth.

You can go to one of these "free claim" companies. But actually, if they are really making a claim for you, then they are practicing law without a license, they are not regulated by the state and they may have a conflict of interest as they may represent one of the insurance companies that gets involved. You have minimal recourse if they don't do a proper job and you lost your rights.

You can hire an attorney. The best part about this is that most attorneys who handle personal injury cases take them on a contingency, meaning they get paid a % of what they get you, and the % is actually controlled by state law! They are uintied with your interest because the more $$ they get you, the more $$ they get! They are regulated by the state, so if there is something improper going on, you have recourse. If you go to an attorney who specializes in this field, he/she should be able to handle your case, advise you on the applicable law and move the case along without unreasonable delay.

In any situation, most state laws state that the client is responsible for all Court costs and case disbursements. But many lawyers law this money out and get reimbursed at the end of the case. Further, many lawyers, if the case is lost for some reason, will waive the obligation of the client to repay these expenses. (Most lawyers won't waive reimbursement up front, but most realize it was they who evaluated the case and accepted the risk of the investment in the event the case ends up a loser.)

Finally, don't assume that just because you were a passenger that you automatically recover against the bus driver/company. Both the bus and car drivers and (in some states) owners should be sued. Let them fight out who is at fault and to what degree. Then you must deal with thresshold statutes that may come into play that require you to sustain a certain type or degree of injury. (It is possible to be in an accident, not be the person who caused the accident, be in pain, but not be entitled to recover based upont eh searious injurry thresshold that may apply in your jurisdiction.)

One really good thing to consider is to consult with an attorney. Most attorneys will offer a free consultation on a personal injury matter. Of course they expect you to hire them if they spend their time and tell you there is a case, but that decision is up to you. In practice, you should get a good enough feel about the attorney by calling his/her office up and explaining your situation before you meet face to face. Then you can go to them and hire them.

The last caveat is to stay away from people who try to "steer" you to particular lawyers. They are referred to as "runners" and are paid by various offices to direct you to them. (This is common in emergency rooms, hospital settings, etc.) This practice is illegal and an attorney can be charged and ultimately disbarred for participating!

Answer 7

It depends. No win no fee can be accurate, but if you lose you may still have to pay the other party's COSTS.

If police have said it was their fault it sounds like a pretty solid case so i would ask a local solicitor where he thinks you stand.

Answer 8

Normally they take your case if its reasonable for them to win.
If its reasonable they will win automatically on the most part as the insurance companies do not like to go to court.

The full claim is paid to you by the more enlightened ambulance chasers.

However they also charge the guilty party their expenses thereby paying for their services to you.

So its a win win situation with one draw back your fare will probably go up as the insurance rate goes up.

Answer 9

What they do not tell you is that if you lose you will probably be ordered to pay the other sides costs. You may also be asked to pay for "disbursements" i.e. medical reports, expert reports, etc.

I suggest you check you home insurance as this often has Legal Expenses Cover on it and this might cover you for legal action and both sides costs win or lose!

Answer 10

No, these attorneys take a great deal of the money won-between 40-60%. I don't think the bus company pays their expenses. That's a new one. Usually, they run up a bill and you pay it at the end out of your settlement.