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Distilled Information on No Win No Fee solicitors for Ready Reference of Accident Victims

July 3, 2012 by  Filed under News

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Claiming compensation for negligence and breach of duty is a fundamental right of the injured individuals. The English Tort Laws are aimed at providing compensatory benefits to the accident victims and victims of other negligent acts. It is a common practice in the mainland UK to use no win no fee solicitors for filing compensation claims. However, the widespread notion is about these solicitors is an amalgam of wrong and right beliefs. If you have made your mind for hiring a solicitor who works on a ‘no win no fee’ basis, here’s an attempt to refine the exact information from the hundreds of preconceived No win No win solicitorsideas that partly generated from nebulous advertisements and materials scattered on the web. Let’s first understand what you need to pay after winning or losing your compensation claim, the insurance coverage basics and then move on to where to complain about the solicitor you appoint in case you are satisfied with the service.

Understanding the payment structure

A claimant has to discuss and decide on the payment structure with the solicitor prior to filing a case through him or his agency. These no win no fee attorneys sign on Conditional Fee Agreements or CFA. According to Conditional Fee Agreement, you need to pay the solicitor his basic fees and a success fee as well. You will also have to requite other incurred cost such as medical cost or telephone bills (commonly referred as ‘disbursements’). In case you lose, you may have to pay the legal expenses of the defendant. In case you are not capable of paying it, the solicitor can arrange an ATE or After the Event insurance for you. However, not all no win no fee solicitors provide this additional service.

What is After the Event insurance?

ATE or After the Event policies can be arranged by your attorney so that you need not to take the burden of paying the lump sum. ATE policies are mostly applicable for compensation claimants who opt for ‘no win no fee’ agreements. Getting ATE coverage is essential if you do not have any insurance coverage till date. You can easily pay the legal costs of the winner and other disbursements as well. Trustworthy no win no fee solicitors always advise their clients to get ATE coverage. As per as repayment is concerned, these insurance policies work just alike the no win no fee agreements which implies that insurance premiums need to be paid only if you win .

Understanding the solicitor’s bill

If you win the compensation claim case, you need to pay the fees of the attorney. However, it is important to scrutinize the bills sent to you by your solicitor so that you do not pay an undue amount. How do you work it out? Here below is a brief summary.

  • Scrutinizing the bills: All bills ought to come with exact dates and other particulars. This will help you to assess whether you are paying a reasonable amount or not. Esteemed no win no fee solicitors also attach work summaries and other pertinent documents with the bills. You can request a more detailed from your solicitor if you feel that the summary bill amount was unjustified and requires itemization. You need to request for a detailed bill within three months of getting the summarized bill.
  • Calculating the charges of the solicitor: A solicitor can work in two ways, contentious and non-contentious. If the legal service provided by the solicitor involved court proceedings, it was contentious and if the services did not involve legal proceedings, the modus operandi was non-contentious. Your solicitor must give you all the bills irrespective of his work was contentious or non-contentious so that you can easily calculate his charges. You should at least request a gross sum bill from your solicitor.
  • Crosschecking the bill: You can get the solicitor’s bill crosschecked by the court. The Legal Ombudsman comes instrumental in this regard. This procedure is termed ‘assessment’.

Free advice on the web

Many no win no fee solicitors have their own websites where special enquiry cells are open within regular business hours. You can ask for legal advice for free and it is not necessary that you will have to take their legal services.

Finding a no win no fee attorney

Glancing through newspaper classified advertisement columns or waiting for commercials to flash on your television screen for endless hours is an obsolete idea. Use the power of web to get to know more about these no win no fee solicitors. The Law Society has an extensive directory containing the names and contact details of the no win no fee lawyers operative in England and Wales. Alternatively, you can run an independent search on the web to find the best no win no fee attorneys in your area. Narrow down your search according to your specific requirement. For example, if you have met an accident at work, you should look for legal experts who deal with these cases only.

When can you use these solicitors?

No win no fee solicitors offer legal services for all sorts of compensation claim cases. They provide legal assistance for work accident compensation claims, road traffic accident compensation claims, medical negligence road traffic accidentcompensation claims, slip or trip cases and industrial disease claims and whiplash injury claims as well. Let’s take a brief look at the main areas and scope of their services.

  • Road traffic accident claims: These solicitors propose legal solutions for the road accident victims. Whether your car was hit by another car or you were hit while cycling by a negligent driver, you can use these solicitors.
  • Work accident claims: If you feel that you were the victim of your employer’s negligence at your workplace, you can file a claim against him through a no win no fee attorney.
  • Clinical negligence claims: If you have fallen prey to medical negligence instead of getting good treatment, you can file a compensation claim through a no win no fee attorney.

Words of advice

Do not opt for a legal agency which is not regulated by a competent authority. Using no win no fee solicitors who are regulated by either the Ministry of Justice or affiliated to the Solicitors Regulation Authority is advisable.

Related posts:

  1. No Win No Fee Legal Services for the Workplace Accident Victims
  2. Victims of tabloid press urge Cameron to spare privacy and libel cases from conditional fee agreements