Making a professional negligence claim on a No Win, No Fee basis
To make a professional negligence claim on a No Win, No Fee basis contact our free legal helpline by calling 0333 888 0403 or sending us an email at [email protected]
Can I make a professional negligence claim on a No Win, No Fee basis?
Let’s face it, making a legal claim is expensive. And not only id there a possibility that you may lose your case and will be faced with meeting your own legal fees but, as the loser usually has to pay some of the winner’s costs, you may also be liable for your opponent’s costs as well. Is it any wonder therefore that we are regularly asked, ‘Can I make a professional negligence claim on a No Win No Fee basis?’
It is probably a good idea if we explain very briefly about how a Conditional Fee Agreement (“CFA”) works in a professional negligence claim.
If we enter into a CFA with you, we agree to defer our fees until the conclusion of the claim. If you lose your claim, our fees get written off – hence the name, ‘No Win, No Fee’. You may however still be liable for the other side’s legal fees. These are fixed by law and an insurance policy can be taken out to cover you for that eventuality.
If you win your claim, then we will charge you our hourly rate, plus a percentage uplift on those costs – known as a success fee. This percentage uplift is set at the outset of a claim and takes into account the risk that we will be taking in supporting your claim as, in effect, we will be gambling on the success of the case.
If you recover fixed costs from the losing party then we will credit this against what you owe us. We also offer to cap our fees (including the success fee) so that you are guaranteed to receive a minimum percentage of your compensation, no matter what the costs ultimately are.
Working under a CFA involves certain obligations and responsibilities that both parties to the agreement must comply with. Plus, the Agreement will cover issues like termination, interim payments and the like. Before you enter into any CFA with us, we will spend time with you going through the Agreement and explaining to you the full effects and consequences of a CFA.
But going back to the beginning of this article and the question we so often get asked, “Can I make a professional negligence claim on a No Win No Fee basis?” what actually is the answer?
Well, as you can see, when we agree to take on a professional negligence claim under a CFA, we will be gambling on its prospects of success. Obviously, we will not take on cases that do not have a good chance of winning. There must also be a certain level of financial loss that arises from the negligence for it to be cost effective for a No Win, No Fee arrangement. The starting point for a No Win No Fee claim to be commercially viable is £25,000.
We are happy to review your case to see if we think that there is a good claim. If there are poor prospects of success or the value is too low, we will tell you so candidly and discuss the other options available to you. If you choose not to take the matter further, we will not make a charge for our initial review. However, if we think the prospects are good enough and we are happy to enter into a CFA, gambling our time and fees on it, you can be safe in the knowledge that your claim must have reasonable prospects of success if a lawyer is prepared to bet their time and money on it.
For a free assessment of your No Win, No Fee professional negligence claim call us on 0333 888 0403 or send an email [email protected]
