What Happens if I Lose My Personal Injury Claim?
In a legal case of any kind, there is always the chance you might lose. This includes personal injury claims.
You might wonder about the risk involved in making a claim. Is there anything to pay if you don’t win?
We’ll talk you through what happens if you win your claim – as well as if you don’t.
How do personal injury claims work?
A personal injury claim is a civil legal case. You could be entitled to make a claim if you’ve suffered an injury in the last three years that was caused by someone else.
In most cases, these claims will be managed on a No Win No Fee basis. This is formally known as a conditional fee agreement as your solicitor’s fee is conditional on them being successful.
That means that our solicitors won’t receive a payment for their work if your claim is not successful. And that means that a solicitor will usually only take your case on if they think there is a good chance of success.
This is what happens if you lose your injury claim – as well as what happens if you win.
Only pay a fee if you receive compensation
Our No Win No Fee solicitors will take a success fee from the compensation you are awarded for a successful claim in the form of a percentage of your damages. This could be up to 25% but it won't be more than that, except in cases of road traffic accidents. Changing laws mean our solicitors will now take a payment of 35% of the final compensation amount plus VAT for all road traffic accident claims.
First4Lawyers are an award-winning claims management company with a track record of delivering service that our clients love.
What happens if I lose my personal injury claim?
As we explained above, there is no legal fee to pay if your claim is unsuccessful. This removes the financial risk associated with taking legal action. Importantly, you will also not have to pay any other costs associated with a claim.
These could include the cost of your medical assessment, the fees of any expert witnesses and the legal costs of the person responsible for your accident. None of these will be payable if you lose your personal injury claim.
As part of your claim, you may also have to take out an insurance policy. This is known as after the event (ATE) insurance. It covers the responsible party’s legal fees if you lose your claim. But if this happens, you won’t have to pay for the cost of the policy.
All this means you won’t end up in a worse financial position than before you started your personal injury claim if you lose. The most significant result of an unsuccessful claim is that you won’t receive any compensation for your accident.
We understand how frustrating that is, especially when you could have used those finances to help your recovery. This is why our solicitors always do their utmost to give you the best chance of success.
What happens if I win?
If you win, you’ll be awarded compensation for your injuries and any financial losses you’ve suffered. Compensation will be based on certain legal guidelines, as well as how much impact the accident had on your finances. This includes a loss of earnings or medical care you’ve paid for.
In this case, your solicitor will receive payment for their work. How much they receive will depend on the type of accident you were involved in. This is because the law around road traffic accidents changed in May 2021.
From that date, you’re entitled to different amounts of compensation for certain injuries, particularly whiplash. These changes have made it more difficult for solicitors to recover their fees from the responsible party. They will now charge up to 35% of the final compensation amount plus VAT for a road traffic accident claim.
Other accident types won’t be affected by these changes. So if you’ve unfortunately been involved in a workplace accident or had a slip or fall while out and about, your solicitor will receive a payment of up to 25% of your final compensation. It won’t be any more than this.
Your solicitor will always make sure you know just what their fees will be at the beginning of the claims process. You’ll never have to face any surprise costs.
The cost of your ATE insurance will also come out of any compensation you’re awarded for a successful claim. This means that there is no final bill for you to settle, which can make the process more straightforward.
Making a personal injury claim
We understand that it can be intimidating to go ahead with a personal injury claim. There is always a lot to consider.
But one thing that you shouldn’t worry about is the financial impact of making a claim. The process has been designed to make sure that you don’t face any risk.
Even if you lose your personal injury claim, it will not have a negative impact on your finances.
To find out how First4Lawyers could help you make a compensation claim, just give us a call or start your claim online and we’ll get back to you.
