Some nice surprises about funding a medical negligence claim
3 Min Read
Sadly, doctors are not infallible and medical mistakes are an unfortunate fact of life. Sometimes, these mistakes lead to the early or avoidable death of a loved one.
After a bereavement, taking legal action may be the last thing on your mind. But if you are suffering from the impact of medical errors, taking legal advice could be the first step in helping to provide you with much needed compensation for financial security in the future.
Many people believe that they cannot afford to instruct solicitors, but solicitors are not always unaffordable. Sometimes there is not cost at all. There are several ways of ‘paying’ for legal fees.
INSURANCE
One option may be to take advantage of legal expenses insurance. This is sometimes part of insurance policies you have already taken out, such as home insurance, car insurance or as part of insurance provided by your employer, and can be a great help in covering legal fees.
Check the terms and conditions of insurance policies carefully to see if they provide legal expenses cover, and in what circumstances.
If relying upon your insurance check that the firm of solicitors to be instructed are specialist. Those with specialist panel membership with Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) or Action against Medical Accidents (AvMA) are recommended
CONDITIONAL FEE AGREEMENTS (“NO WIN NO FEE”)
If you don’t have the benefit of legal expenses insurance, what might be the best option is a Conditional Fee Agreement – better known as “No Win No Fee”.
The Conditional Fee Agreements on offer vary between law firms, but to put it simply: if you don’t win your claim, you won’t have to pay any fees to your solicitor.
If you win your claim, under a Conditional Fee Agreement, the other side will pay most or all of your solicitor’s costs but there may be some costs to be met out of your compensation.
You may only have to pay your solicitor a “success fee”. The size of the success fee depends on the arrangement with your solicitor, but we make sure that you receive at least 75% of your compensation.
The key advantage of a Conditional Fee Agreement is clear: if your claim is not successful, you are not saddled with expensive legal bills. If you win, the other side will pay most or all of your legal fees, and any further fees or expenses you need to pay can be paid out of the damages you receive.
By managing legal bills in this way, instructing solicitors is much more affordable.
Again, when approaching a solicitor ensure that they are a specialist and have solicitors who have specialist panel membership with Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) or Action against Medical Accidents (AvMA).
If you would like to find out if we can help you make a no-win, no-fee claim, please contact us.
