Funding your injury claim: the options
Introduction
This leaflet is intended to outline the alternative ways of funding a personal injury claim. We will discuss these alternatives with you in more detail before agreeing to act for you.
The basic position
You will be primarily responsible for paying this firm's costs and any expenses incurred on your behalf. In litigation the usual rule is that the losing party pays the winning party's reasonable costs and expenses of pursuing the claim. This is conditional upon the value of the amount recovered exceeding £5,000 (£1,000 for injury compensation).
You can win your case but still "lose" on costs if at court you fail to do better than an offer made by your opponent during the course of the claim. If this happens you may still be ordered to pay some of your own legal costs and also the costs of your opponent from the date their offer was made.
If you win, the losing party is entitled to challenge the amount of costs. If costs cannot be agreed, they will be assessed by the court. Negotiation or court assessment usually results in a recovery of between 80% and 90% of all the costs that you have actually incurred. The difference lies in the fact that the Court's policy is to restrict a losing party's liability for costs to what is considered reasonable taking into account such things as the complexity of the claim and the amount of compensation recovered.
If you lose your case, then you would probably be responsible for paying your opponent's costs but you can take insurance to cover you against this event (see below).
Ways of funding your claim
Ashfords currently offers the following alternative ways of funding your injury claim:
Conditional Fee Agreements
If we sign a Conditional Fee Agreement with you, Ashfords will not charge you for its services if you do not win your case. This is sometimes referred to as the "no win – no fee" scheme.
If you win your case, then Ashfords will normally charge you a supplementary fee over and above our basic costs (explained above), this is called the "success fee". The success fee is charged as a percentage of Ashford's basic costs (explained above) and depends upon a variety of factors including the nature of the claim, the risks and whether the claim is settled before trial.
If your case is unsuccessful you would probably be ordered to pay the majority of your opponent's basic costs and disbursements. You can cover yourself against the risk of this happening by taking out Insurance. This is known as "after the event" (ATE) insurance cover. We can recommend a provider of ATE insurance suitable for your type of case. Often the premium for insurance cover is not payable until the end of the claim and if you lose is covered by the policy. Further details will be provided upon request.
In summary, if you win your case, you would be responsible to pay the following:
- our basic costs
- the success fee
- any expenses that we have incurred on your behalf (including the ATE premium)
BUT you will be entitled to make a claim for these legal expenses from your opponent.
For further information about how Conditional Fee Agreements work see our separate information guide.
Legal expenses insurance cover
We act for a number of clients who are funded by legal expenses insurance.
You may have cover without knowing it! Check whether you already have legal expenses insurance cover; either provided by a dedicated policy or legal expenses cover incorporated in one or more other insurance policies, for example:
- household home or contents insurance
- motor insurance
- even some credit cards provide some legal expenses
- travel insurance (if your accident happened on holiday)
If you have a policy your insurer may wish to instruct their own solicitor. Often those solicitors are not local to where you live. The insurers may agree to let you instruct Ashfords if that is your preference (check your position with them as soon as possible and we can advise you how to put your case to them).
If you have legal expenses insurance you only have a legal right to the solicitor of your choice once proceedings have commenced.
Although you remain primarily responsible to your solicitor for payment of your fees on a private client retainer basis, your policy will indemnify you against this. The legal expenses insurers will meet not only your opponents costs but also your own in the event that your claim fails or there is a shortfall in the costs actually recovered.
The insurance cover will be conditional on there being reasonable prospects of success in defending or bringing your claim. You will need to study the terms and conditions of your policy carefully as they can vary.
Because a legal expenses Insurer has a legitimate financial interest in the prospects of your claim, you will find that the cover provided will be subject to certain terms and conditions set out in your contract/policy of insurance.
The private client retainer
This is the traditional way to fund injury claims and will apply if you have no legal expenses insurance and no Conditional Fee Agreement is available to you. Under this type of agreement you agree to pay Ashfords for its professional services for the time spent on your case at an agreed hourly rate. Our rates vary depending upon the seniority and experience of the lawyer handling your claim.
The amount of time spent at the hourly expense rate known as basic costs. This term, is mentioned again under the heading: Conditional Fee Agreements.
Usually all expenses incurred by the firm on your behalf during the course of your case (these are called: disbursements) are paid either by you directly or by the firm and then refunded by you immediately afterwards. We will try to estimate the disbursements which are likely to be incurred on your behalf, such as Court fees and expert and Barristers' fees, at our initial interview.
It is common practice with privately funded clients for solicitors to ask for monies on account of costs. These funds are paid into a "client account" in your name, they provide the firm with some security for costs and expenses incurred on your behalf.
It is usual to present privately funded clients with an interim bill every few months. This is intended to broadly reflect the amount of work undertaken up to the date of the interim bill.
Legal Aid
We have a Legal Service Commission Franchise for Family, Crime and Personal Injury matters. As a general rule, legal aid is no longer available to claimants except in special circumstances.
Trade union funding
Some clients have the benefit of free advice and representation funded by their Trade Union. Trade Unions, like many legal expenses insurers tend limit the number of solicitors authorised to act on their members' behalf to a limited panel of approved solicitors. We act for a number of Trade Unions.
Initial enquiry/fixed fee work
Sometimes you may not be sure whether or not you wish to bring a claim or what your claim may be worth. Your claim may be below the Small Claims Limit where legal costs are not recoverable. We can still help by giving you advice on any aspect of your case and we may be able to quote a fixed fee for this service within your budget. We offer a free Small Claims Guide please follow link to download
Small Claims Guide in .pdf format [399kb] (opens in a new window)
Ashfords is regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. The information in this article is intended to be general information about English law only and not comprehensive. It is not to be relied on as legal advice nor as an alternative to taking professional advice relating to specific circumstances.
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