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In many of our personal injury cases we are prepared to act for our Clients under a ‘No Win No Fee’ agreement. This is also known as a Conditional Fee Agreement.

Under such an agreement our Clients are not charged costs unless the claim is successful. Where the claim is successful, the costs are payable by the Client but they are recovered by the paying party and any costs that are not recovered are consequently written off so the Client’s liability to meet any unpaid costs is nil.

Personal injury cases do incur expenses such as medical report fees, Court fees and in some more complex cases Barristers fees. These are known as disbursements and are separate to costs. These disbursements remain payable even if the case is unsuccessful. Our Clients are therefore liable for these expenses and can be charged for them under a Conditional Fee Agreement.

In order to protect our Client from having to pay these disbursements we have access to various insurance policies that will not only cover these expenses but also the other sides costs which become payable in the event the case is lost.

Chris Cooney, Senior Partner at our firm, who has over 25 years of experience comments that “we highly recommend taking out an insurance policy in all but the most straightforward cases, and where no other funding is available. In most cases the premium is treated as a disbursement and is also protected by the insurance cover.  Thus the premium is not itself payable in the event the claim fails, making personal injury cases truly risk free as to costs”.

Conditional Fee Agreements allow us to charge an additional percentage of the basic fee if the case is won. This is called a success fee and is calculated on each individual claim and based on the risk there is to bringing the claim. Success fees range from 12.5% to 100% depending on the type of case. The government introduced the success fee to encourage solicitors to accept the risk of litigation and to enable Claimants to have access to justice following the withdrawal of legal aid.

If you wish to bring a personal injury claim we will advise you on the prospects of your claim and more thoroughly explain how the ‘No Win No Fee Agreement’ works. This will include how the success fee is calculated and the funding options that are available to you.

Everything will be explained in layman’s terms and you need not sign anything until you are happy. We can visit you in your home and we always allow you 7 days to change your mind once you sign up with us, allowing us to act on your behalf.

More information can be found on our website www.ccc-law.co.uk or you can contact our specialist solicitors Chris Cooney or Amanda Williams on 01276 685941 or by email on enquiries@ccc-law.co.uk