No Win No Fee Agreements In Personal Injury Claims

Welcome to our guide exploring No Win No Fee agreements in personal injury claims. Below, we’ll answer questions you may need help with, such as:

  • What is a personal injury claim and how could a No Win No Fee agreement help me?
  • How are Conditional Fee Agreements funded?
  • Are there any hidden costs?
  • How does a solicitor operating on this basis work?

We’ll answer each of these questions in further detail throughout our guide. In addition, we’ll look at the different types of personal injury claims you could make using this type of funding arrangement.

For more information, speak to a member of our team via the details below:

  • Call the number at the top of this page
  • Fill out the form for an advisor to contact you
  • Instant advice through the live chat system

Select a Section

  1. No Win No Fee Agreements Explained
  2. How Are No Win No Fee Agreements Funded?
  3. Are There Any Risks Involved With No Win No Fee Claims?
  4. Which Types Of Personal Injury Claims Do No Win No Fee Agreements Apply To?
  5. Can I Make A No Win No Fee Claim?
  6. Learn More About No Win No Fee Agreements

No Win No Fee Agreements Explained

When looking into how you can fund legal representation when seeking compensation, you may have heard a few phrases. For instance, Conditional Fee Agreement or No Win No Fee agreement.

This is a type of agreement between you and a solicitor which allows you to avoid:

  • Upfront costs
  • Ongoing costs that accrue throughout your claim

Additionally, if your claim for compensation is unsuccessful, you won’t pay solicitor fees.

If your solicitor successfully recovers compensation, you’ll need to pay a small success fee. This covers their costs. The amount they can deduct is capped by law. We’ll explain further below.

How Are No Win No Fee Agreements Funded?

No Win No Fee agreements are funded through the success fee that will be deducted from your compensation package should your solicitor win your case. The success fee is capped by law and you will be made aware of the fee before starting your claim.

no win no fee agreements

Learn more about No Win No Fee agreements

In addition, they are funded based on risk and reward. For instance, your case may be high-risk if it’s unlikely to win due to the lack of evidence obtained to support the validity of your claim. Similarly, if there are uncertainties over the cause of your injuries, this may be a risk.

This could present you with a lower chance of being awarded a compensation settlement, and therefore, you may not qualify for a No Win No Fee agreement.

Are There Any Risks Involved With No Win No Fee Claims?

Although you may still be apprehensive about the idea of this type of agreement, you should be aware that the majority of the risk falls to the solicitor. For instance, if the claim doesn’t win, then they won’t be paid and you won’t be charged.

Additionally, with other solicitors working under different contract types, you would normally have to pay upfront without knowing whether your case will win or lose. You may also have to pay ongoing fees, known as retainers.

However, with a No Win No Fee solicitor there are no upfront costs which means you won’t lose money if your case loses.

Types Of Personal Injury Claims No Win No Fee Agreements Apply To

Under personal injury law you have the right to claim compensation for any accident that caused you injury. However, it must have been a result of someone breaching the duty care they owed you.

See below for examples of how someone may have been liable for an accident at work, road traffic accident or public place accident.

If you’ve suffered something similar, our panel of solicitors all operate under No Win No Fee agreements so you could start a claim with them. All you need to do is give us a call on the number at the top of the page.

Accident At Work Claims

An accident at work claim could be made if an employer has failed to adhere to the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. In accordance with this Act, they have a responsibility to keep you safe from harm as much as reasonably possible.

In the event that they don’t abide by the legislation, they could cause serious harm to their employees. The following examples explore some instances where an employer has breached their duty of care:

  • A warehouse worker being struck by a forklift truck being driven by someone who hadn’t been given adequate training to use it
  • An office worker tripping over loose wires that hadn’t been secured after maintenance work had been completed.
  • Someone developing occupational dermatitis after being continuously exposed to harmful substances due to a lack of any personal protective equipment

Road Traffic Accidents

When using the road, it’s not unreasonable to expect other road users to give consideration to your safety. The Highway Code stipulates that all road users should do everything they can to prevent causing harm to each other.

All road users should abide by the rules set out in the likes of the Highway Code and the Road Traffic Act 1988.

Failure to comply with these rules may result in unfortunate consequences for anyone involved in an accident. For instance:

  • A driver crashing into the back of someone causing them to suffer a damaged spinal cord because they failed to get their defective brakes fixed
  • A motorcyclist failing to signal at a roundabout causing a collision with a car leading them both to suffer multiple injuries including a fractured skull

Public Liability Claims

If you made plans to go to the supermarket, the gym or another public place, it’s likely you weren’t expecting to suffer an injury.

However, accidents could happen if the party in control of a public place fails to provide a duty of care in accordance with the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957.

The following accidents demonstrate how an occupier could breach their duty of care:

  • Failing to clean up a spill or put down a wet floor sign in a supermarket causing someone to slip and fracture their neck
  • Having a poorly lit stairwell in the gym causing someone to fall down the stairs and sprain their ankle

Can I Make A No Win No Fee Claim?

The most important thing to remember when seeking compensation is that you have to hold a valid claim to move forward with a personal injury solicitor. In order to hold a valid claim, negligence has to have occurred.

In personal injury law, there are three requirements for establishing negligence:

  • Someone owed a duty of care
  • They breached that duty
  • And as a result of the breach, you suffered an injury

Additionally, your claim needs to be made within three years in accordance with the Limitation Act 1980. This may either be from the date the accident occurred or the date you obtained enough knowledge that someone’s failings at least contributed to the injuries you suffered.

However, it’s important to note that the time limit above doesn’t apply in all personal injury cases. For instance, for anyone under the age of 18 the three years only starts when they turn 18.

Additionally, the three years are suspended for anyone who lacks the mental capacity to claim themselves. This will only start from the date of recovery. However, if they don’t recover their mental capacity, the time limit will be frozen indefinitely.

Furthermore, for anyone who can’t put forward a claim for themselves e.g. under 18’s and people who lack the mental capacity to do so, can have someone make the claim for them. For instance, a parent, guardian or solicitor could act as a litigation friend.

To learn more about No Win No Fee agreements,  get in touch with our team to find out if you meet the requirements to put forward a claim. If we can see your case has good prospects of success, we can connect you with a solicitor from our panel. See below for our details:

  • Call the number at the top of this page
  • Send us your enquiry and an advisor will get back to you
  • Receive instant advice through the live chat system at the bottom of the page

Learn More About No Win No Fee Agreements

Visit the government website to find out more about road accident statistics.

See the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents for more information on public safety.

For any workplace statistics, see the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) website.

Below, you can find links to more of our guides on personal injury claims:

Thank you for reading our guide on No Win No Fee agreements. We hope you found it useful.