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- UK's highest-rated medical negligence solicitors
No Win No Fee – chances are you have heard this phrase on the TV or radio and wondered how such a thing could work in practice. What happens when you win? What happens if you lose? Are No Win No Fee companies reputable? The idea of hidden charges and fees, or being left with a huge legal bill, can understandably be very worrying.
Rest assured, No Win No Fee just means exactly that. If your claim is not successful, providing you have cooperated with us throughout, you walk away without having to pay a single penny and we write off all our fees.
At Patient Claim Line, we know that the last thing you need if you’ve suffered personal injury or medical negligence is to be worrying about hidden charges and fees. That’s why we make it easy for you to bring a claim without fear of unexpected costs. We ONLY work on a No Win No Fee basis, and we NEVER ask for money upfront. That’s our promise to you.
What is ‘No Win No Fee’?
No Win No Fee is a legal agreement associated with pursuing financial compensation for medical negligence and injury, regardless of your personal financial situation. A ‘No Win No Fee’ arrangement eliminates the need for upfront payments and relieves the burden of legal fees in the event that your claim is unsuccessful. This means that you won’t have to worry about paying to have your claim assessed.
At Patient Claim Line, we firmly believe that nobody should have to pay upfront costs to seek fair compensation for medical negligence that wasn’t your fault. That’s why our No Win No Fee policy ensures that you can initiate the claims process without upfront financial obligations.
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We're the highest-rated No Win No Fee medical negligence solicitors on Trustpilot
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:
- Your solicitor will determine if your claim has a good chance of success.
- Your solicitor will draw up a No Win No Fee agreement for you to sign – this is known as a ‘Conditional Fee Agreement’ (CFA).
- 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:
- 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
- A timely and successful claim means you receive compensation earlier, helping you to cover immediate medical costs related to the injury.
- 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!
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Medical Negligence FAQs
Meet our medical negligence team
Peter Rigby
Director of Medical Negligence
Peter leads the Medical Negligence Serious Injury department, which now boasts some of our most knowledgeable, dedicated and hardworking team members.
Peter is dedicated to supporting victims of catastrophic medical negligence injuries and endeavours to provide a clear and coherent approach to claims. He recognises the effects serious injuries can have and therefore ensures his customers’ need for support is met. Peter also has a vast amount of experience working with customers who have been injured abroad and is able to act under international law to provide the best outcomes.
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Christian Beadell
Partner, Head of Strategy and Legal Operations
Christian is Head of Medical Negligence at Patient Claim Line and has specialised in clinical negligence claims since qualifying in 1998; having dealt with a wide variety of claims throughout his career. He is also featured in the Legal 500 as a recommended claimant solicitor in the North West.
Christian qualified as a solicitor in 1998, specialising in clinical negligence. From 2010 onward he has had a particular interest in gynaecological and urogynaecological claims, having represented several hundred claimants in the George Rowland Litigation against the Liverpool Women’s and Aintree Hospitals. This investigated the treatment given to women in the Merseyside area over several decades, and in particular focused on the introduction and development of mesh into the UK in both the treatment of stress urinary incontinence and pelvic organ prolapse. The development of this area involved pursuing claims under a unique ADR protocol with the NHS and also looking to develop the current thinking on the valuation of compensation for complex urinary symptoms. He has successfully recovered hundreds of thousands of pounds in compensation on behalf of my clients.
Christian was also involved in setting up and chairing a Claimant Support Group for those involved in the Rowland litigation, which provided a discussion forum for the many women who were left isolated and damaged by negligent gynaecological treatment. He now co-ordinates the firm’s mesh claims and has delivered training and commented extensively on the medico-legal implications of urogynaecological / mesh complications. He is a member of APIL, Liverpool Law Society and Legal 500 recommended.
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Francesca Paul
Associate Solicitor
Francesca Paul is an Associate, Senior Solicitor and Team Leader within the Clinical Negligence Department. She is one of the driving Solicitors in the Group Litigation Team dealing with this niche and specialist area of work that Fletchers undertakes.
Francesca previously worked in Nottingham, dealing with Group Action work. She now works at Fletchers, bringing with her those years of experience heading up a team of 10 people. Francesca is involved in the early identification of potential new Group Litigation Work and analyses information from the collective pool of new enquiries into the business, of which there are hundreds per week looking for hot spots or recurrent issues which might suggest a potential pool of Claimants.
One of the highlights for Francesca and her team is that they have successfully recovered over a million pounds in compensation for clients who have received treatment from a single orthopaedic surgeon who was operating in the Colchester area. Her role requires a specific set of skills, patience and a forensic approach to detail whilst being able to see the wider picture.
Francesca has previously acted for a claimant in a case that reached the Supreme Court in the case of NA v Nottinghamshire County Council.
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Sion Wynne
Senior Solicitor
Sion is a team leader and senior solicitor with many years’ experience in dealing with a wide range of medical specialisms and different types of injuries. He is an experienced medical negligence solicitor and manages a team of lawyers within our department.
Sion joined Fletchers in 2018 as a Team Leader in the Medical Negligence Department. Throughout his 24 year legal career, he has specialised in conducting medical negligence claims on behalf of Claimants, previously working for other highly ranked leading firms in the field.
He has undertaken claims covering the full spectrum of medical specialisms, clinical settings, categories of defendant and types of negligent medical care and treatment.
These include high value and complex maximum severity cases, such as those involving limb amputations and permanent neurological injuries.
Sion is experienced at representing bereaved families at inquests and has a particular interest in fatal accident claims.
Notable Cases
JI v Warrington and Halton Hospitals NHS Trust: £1.25m recovered for client left paraplegic after spinal anaesthesia.
RS v Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust: £150,000 recovered for client in respect of a failure to recognise complications after a kidney transplant, where her father was the donor.
JN v MA: £100,000 recovered for a client who suffered 2 years persistent pain and disability after knee replacement surgery undertaken as a private patient.
CS v Pennine Acute Hospitals NHS Trust: £400,000 recovered for a child who sustained Erb’s palsy during her delivery.
WO’C (Deceased) v Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust; £450,000 recovered for the family of the deceased who died as a result of a delay in diagnosing a brain tumour.
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Sarah's Story
"Now we have peace of mind"
My husband, Nick, went back and forth to the doctors for a long time and tried everything the doctor recommended. But his illness got worse, to the point that he was in agony.
In the end we got so desperate that we asked for a referral. The doctor was reluctant, so we had to consult a private hospital. That’s when we found out there was a tumour. It took years from the onset of his illness to finally start cancer treatment.
He used to be a man with a lot to live for, but in the end he was in so much pain that he withdrew from the family. He became angry that nobody had helped him sooner, and the legal team were able to give him the validation that he was desperately seeking. The NHS confirmed if they had done more, Nick would still be alive today.