No Win, No Fee Explained — Personal Injury and Industrial Disease Claims

What Is a No Win, No Fee Agreement?

A no win, no fee agreement is formally known as a Conditional Fee Agreement, or CFA. It is a method of funding a personal injury or industrial disease claim that removes the need to pay solicitor's fees upfront.

Under a CFA:

• If your claim is unsuccessful, you generally do not pay your solicitor's legal fees, provided you have complied with the terms of the agreement.
• If your claim is successful, a success fee is deducted from your compensation award. The success fee is agreed with you at the outset and set out in the CFA.

You should not proceed with a CFA unless you have read and understood the terms and are comfortable with the potential success fee deduction.

The Success Fee

The success fee is a percentage of your solicitor's charges, payable by you from your compensation if the claim succeeds. Under the current rules:

• The success fee cannot exceed 25% of the general damages and past financial losses element of your compensation.
• It cannot be taken from any element of your award that relates to future care costs or future loss of earnings.
• The specific percentage will be agreed with you before you sign the CFA.

This is an important point: if your claim includes significant future losses, those elements of your award cannot be subject to the success fee deduction.

After-the-Event (ATE) Insurance

In addition to a CFA, your solicitor may recommend that you take out After-the-Event (ATE) insurance. This policy covers certain costs that might arise if your claim is unsuccessful, such as:

• The defendant's legal costs (if you are ordered to pay them in certain circumstances).
• Disbursements, such as court fees and the cost of medical reports or expert evidence.

The ATE premium may be payable by you (sometimes deferred until the end of the case) or it may be recoverable from the other side in certain circumstances. We will explain the position in your specific case.

What If My Claim Fails?

If your claim is unsuccessful and you have complied with the terms of the CFA, you should not pay your solicitor's legal fees. However:

• If you have ATE insurance, it should cover certain other costs such as the defendant's costs and disbursements.
• If you do not have ATE insurance, you may be liable for certain costs or disbursements.
• If you breach the terms of the CFA (for example, by not cooperating with your solicitor), the agreement may be terminated and fees may become payable.

We will explain all of this clearly before you decide to proceed, so that you can make an informed decision.

Is No Win, No Fee Available for My Type of Claim?

No win, no fee is available for many types of personal injury and industrial disease claims, including:

• Accident at work claims
• Road traffic accident claims
• Slips, trips and falls
• Public liability claims
• Industrial disease claims — hearing loss, asbestos, HAVS, and more
• Medical negligence claims (subject to individual assessment)
• Serious and high-value injury claims

Each case is assessed individually. We will only offer a CFA where we believe the claim has reasonable prospects of success. If we do not think we can take your case on this basis, we will tell you and discuss alternative funding options where possible.

What We Explain Before You Sign

Before you sign a CFA with us, we will explain:

• Whether we are offering a no win, no fee agreement and why.
• The percentage of the success fee and what it will be applied to.
• Whether ATE insurance is recommended and the cost of the premium.
• Any other costs or disbursements you may need to pay or fund.
• What happens if the claim is unsuccessful.
• Your obligations under the agreement.

You should take time to read the agreement carefully and ask questions before signing. There is no pressure to proceed.

Honest Advice About Your Chances

We will always give you an honest assessment of the prospects of your claim before offering a CFA. If we do not think the claim has a reasonable prospect of success, we will tell you — we will not take on a case simply to generate fees.

If you proceed under a CFA, we aim to keep you informed at every stage. If the prospects change during the case, we will discuss this with you promptly.