No Win No Fee: Does winning mean there ARE fees?

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No Win No Fee

The concept of no win, no fee compensation claims came to the UK in 1995, shifting the cost of claims from the legal aid system. It also removed the need for an independent regulator who assessed whether there was a reasonable case. This decision is now made by a solicitor who will not proceed with a case that has little chance of success.

No win, no fee means just what it says. If you don't win the case, you don't pay anything. If you do win, you may also not pay a fee because all the costs may be paid by the losing party. However, this isn't always the way it works.

Sometimes you'll see '100% compensation' quoted at the same time as 'no win, no fee'. People often view them as the same thing but they're not. The former means you'll pay no fees out of your winnings while the latter means you'll pay nothing if you lose. If both apply, you'll pay nothing either way, so check the situation before you start and make sure any agreement you sign says what you think you're agreeing to.

You may be asked to sign a 'conditional fee arrangement', which means you might have to pay a fee out of your winnings. There's sometimes also a requirement to take out an insurance policy to cover the costs if the case is lost. Such policies can attract high premiums of several hundred pounds but normally they're 'self underwritten', which means you actually pay nothing.

No win, no fee is available for many types of cases, including personal injury and car accidents. However, you will not be able to have this kind of service for all accident claims, particularly for criminal injury and medical negligence cases. These may be complex and difficult to win and so many firms are reluctant to take them on without payment from the client. Personal accident claims in Scotland are also generally subject to fees if the case is won, with the claimant being expected to enter into a conditional fee arrangement. This isn't in the control of the solicitor, it's just the way the Scottish legal system works.

No win, no fee is a great concept because it gives the option to pursue a claim with no risk of loss. However, you need to have a substantial case in the first place because no lawyers are going to take on a case that they have no chance of winning. If they do agree to pursue it, make sure you check the terms and conditions before you sign so there are no nasty shocks.

Other popular articles related to this one include: No Win No Fee, Personal Injuries, Compensation Claims, Personal Injury Claims, Accident Injury Claims, Personal Injury Compensation, Government Compensation Schemes, and . Please let us know if you find any errors.

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