Will I have to pay to bring a clinical negligence claim?
NO. There are three possible ways of funding a claim which we will explore with you, none of which will cost you anything at all.
These are:
1. No Win No Fee
If your claim has good prospects of succeeding, we will happily run the claim on a “No Win No Fee” basis (also called a Conditional Fee Agreement). This means that we take the risk of your claim on ourselves because if your claim is unsuccessful, we do not get paid.
We will insure your claim, so that there is insurance cover for the other side’s costs in case the claim does not succeed, and insurance cover for expenses (such as for medical reports) as the claim goes on. The insurance policy will not cost you anything.
If you win the claim you will get all of your damages.
There will be no deductions, as we will be paid by the losing party.
2. Legal Expenses Insurance
It’s possible that you have an insurance policy in place already which will pay for your claim. Often this may appear (for example) as an “add-on” to your Home and Contents Insurance policy. Sometimes it may come with a bank account or credit card.
If you have such a policy, we can act for you under the terms of that insurance policy.
Again, there will be no cost to you.
3. Legal Aid / Public Funding
It may be the case that you are financially eligible for Legal Aid (also known as Public Funding). If your child has a claim, it is very likely that he or she will be able to get Legal Aid as the assessment is made of your child’s financial resources, not yours as a parent. If you or your child is eligible for Legal Aid, we can make an application on your behalf. Because we hold a Specialist Quality Mark from the Legal Services Commission, we can get Legal Aid for any sort of clinical negligence claim. Many firms do not have the Specialist Quality Mark, and would not be able to get Legal Aid for you even if you are eligible.
What’s the best method of funding for me?
We will look at each case individually, and assess what is the best method of funding your claim. For a birth injury claim on behalf of a child, Legal Aid is usually the best method. If you have Legal Expenses Insurance, we will always have to consider using that insurance policy, but if another way of funding your claim is better for you (for example because the indemnity is insufficient) we will advise you of that.
The main thing to remember is that, if your case has reasonable prospects of succeeding, we can find a way to fund it, at no cost to you.
