How does a No Win No Fee medical negligence claim work?

You could be eligible for a No Win No Fee medical negligence claim if inadequate or improper treatment by a medical professional has resulted in your experiencing:

• An accident or injury
• Pain (acute or chronic)
• Trauma (physical and/or emotional)
• Birth injuries or birth defects
• The worsening of an existing medical condition.

To find out if your claim is likely to be successful, talk to one of our specialist team today!

How do you start a No Win No Fee claim?

Making a medical negligence claim is simple and straightforward:

1. Your solicitor will determine if your claim has a good chance of success.
2. Your solicitor will draw up a No Win No Fee agreement for you to sign – this is known as a ‘Conditional Fee Agreement’ (CFA).
3. Once you have a CFA in place, your solicitor will begin gathering evidence to support your claim.

The type of evidence your solicitor will gather depends on your claim but may include obtaining medical reports and records. Your solicitor will also contact the insurance company or legal representative of the opponent (defendant) to notify them of the claim.

What is a No Win No Fee CFA?

CFA stands for ‘Conditional Fee Agreement’ and is just another name for ‘No Win No Fee’. It is a straightforward contract that you sign with your solicitor. Payment is conditional on the success of your claim.

Will I have to go to court?

In nearly all cases, No Win No Fee medical negligence claims are settled out of court by your solicitor and the lawyer or insurance company of the defendant. They will offer you a settlement, which you can either accept or reject. Your solicitor will advise you on any offers. If an agreement is not reached after a reasonable amount of negotiation, or the defendant does not accept liability, the case may proceed to court.

To take your claim to court, you will need a barrister. Our barristers will also work on a No Win No Fee basis and we will make sure you have the very best representation. Again though, nearly all cases settle well before court.

What happens if you win your No Win No Fee case?

If you win your case and your claim is successful, either in court or through settlement, you will be awarded damages. These damages include:

• General damages – in respect of your injury
• Special damages – to account for such things as loss of earnings, out of pocket losses and the cost of any treatment either now or in the future.

How do No Win No Fee solicitors get paid?

If your case is unsuccessful, then your solicitor does not get paid and will write off all of their fees under the terms of the ‘No Win No Fee’ agreement. Essentially they will have undertaken all of that work for free.

In successful personal injury and medical or clinical negligence claims, your opponent pays all of your solicitor’s legal fees. Under the terms of the conditional fee agreement, solicitors are entitled to deduct a percentage of your fee, decided on a case by case basis and always agreed with you upfront before any paperwork is signed.

At Patient Claim Line, we will always advise you of the success fee before we enter into any agreement. We are completely transparent.

In addition, your solicitors will charge an amount relative to the difference in costs incurred and recovered.  This is called a shortfall.  The amount of the shortfall applicable to your case will be confirmed to you upon specific request and no later than when you discuss your paperwork.

What does this mean for your take-home compensation? In practice, if your claim is successful, you will likely be awarded a slightly higher amount than you might have been awarded in previous years. This will help to cover your solicitor’s fees and legal costs. Fees for each case can vary and your file handler will discuss your personal circumstances with you an advise.

What happens if you lose your No Win No Fee case?

If your case is unsuccessful and you are not awarded damages, and you cooperated throughout, you don’t pay any legal fees. It’s that simple!

To make sure you’re protected against any other costs of making a claim, such as court costs or any costs of obtaining medical treatment records and reports, solicitors typically offer something referred to as ‘After the event’ (ATE) insurance. You would take out an ATE insurance policy at the start of your claim to help cover what might be considered ‘hidden’ fees (because they are unknown at the start of the case).

Most companies charge up to £900 for ATE insurance, but Patient Claim Line offer you this insurance for free!

Are there time limits on when I can make a medical negligence claim?

In the UK, medical negligence claims generally have to be brought within three years of the ‘Date of Knowledge’ or ‘Date of Discovery’. This means the date when the medical negligence was first identified. This may be the date of injury itself, or could be days, weeks, months, or even years later, when your symptoms or injuries are attributed to earlier treatment (or lack of treatment).

Why is there a time limit on medical negligence claims? The reason is threefold:

1. Pursuing a legal claim closer to the time of injury or discovery gives you a better chance of success – more medical evidence is likely to be available to support the claim
2. A timely and successful claim means you receive compensation earlier, helping you to cover immediate medical costs related to the injury.
3. The cap on litigation means that medical practitioners are freed from the constant worry of retrospective claims.

There are some exceptions to the three-year limit. In general, though, it’s best to obtain legal advice as soon as practical if you have concerns over medical negligence. If you are unsure if your claim qualifies, talk to Patient Claim Line advisor today.

Why choose Patient Claim Line?

The experienced legal team at Patient Claim Line has helped thousands of individuals who have been affected by a medical mistake. We are the UK’s highest rated medical negligence specialists on Trustpilot and we will fight on your behalf to get you answers and compensation. Unlike most firms, medical negligence is all we deal with, and our legal team has over 400 years combined experience in this area of law. Patient Claim Line is owned and operated by the UK’s largest Medical Negligence firm, Fletchers Solicitors.

Our No Win No Fee service means there are no upfront payments and it costs you nothing to find out if you have a case. Not sure if you have a claim for medical negligence? Take our 30-second claim test to find out!