No Win No Fee solicitors could help you claim compensation. Learn how the claims process works in this guide.
You are owed a duty of care at work, on the roads and in public spaces. If this duty of care is breached and you are injured as a result, you might have an eligible claim. We discuss the duty of care you are owed and ways in which it could be breached. Also, we look at the legislation that guides the different areas.
In addition, we explore compensation you could claim with examples from the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). We also look at potential costs you could recover under the special damages head.
Following an injury at work caused by employer negligence, the actions you take could help strengthen your claim. We explore what you could have done after an accident and how this might help your claim.
The claims process could seem easier with No Win No Fee solicitors. We explore Conditional Fee Agreements and why one might prove beneficial for you.
Our advisors are available to discuss your injuries due to a third party’s negligence.
Contact us today:
- Phone the number at the top of the screen.
- Begin your claim online
- Use the live chat feature
Choose A Section
- What Does No Win No Fee Mean?
- Why Work With No Win No Fee Solicitors?
- How Do Solicitors Calculate Compensation For A Personal Injury Claim?
- What Types Of Cases Can No Win No Fee Solicitors Help Me With?
- Do I Need To Provide A No Win No Fee Solicitor With Evidence?
- How Much Do I Pay My No Win No Fee Lawyer?
- Learn More About No Win No Fee Solicitors
What Does No Win No Fee Mean?
No Win No Fee means what it says—that if you don’t succeed in your case, you don’t pay your solicitor any fees.
Only if you receive compensation do you pay a fee, and this is deducted from the compensation you receive at the end of the claim. This means that no money comes out of your pocket directly.
Why Work With No Win No Fee Solicitors?
No Win No Fee solicitors offer their services under No Win No Fee agreements.
You might want to hire No Win No Fee solicitors if you’ve been injured due to third-party negligence. Sometimes these cases are complex, and if you need to recover from your injuries, having to deal with a legal case can be overwhelming.
Let’ take a look at some of the benefits of working with a No Win No Fee solicitor.
What Are The Benefits Of Working With No Win No Fee Solicitors?
There are various benefits to working with a solicitor on a No Win No Fee basis. Here’s a handy breakdown:
- You don’t pay any fees upfront
- You pay no fees while the case progresses
- You get immediate access to quality legal representation
- The No Win No Fee solicitor can only deduct a legally capped limit from your compensation award, meaning you’re guaranteed to take home the bulk of your payout
- Much of the risk is placed on the solicitor. If they don’t succeed, they don’t get paid
How Do Solicitors Calculate Compensation For A Personal Injury Claim?
No Win No Fee solicitors could help calculate how much compensation you could claim. However, we have provided a few examples in this guide.
As part of the personal injury claims process, you might be invited to an independent medical assessment. A full range of your injuries and what impact you’ve experienced due to them is required to more accurately claim.
Your award could come with two heads: general damages and special damages. We explain each head below.
General Damages
The head of your claim that compensates for your injuries and any connected psychological distress is called general damages. The Judicial College Guidelines (JCG) is a document that legal professionals use to help assign value to your injuries. The JCG contains information on injuries and the compensation brackets they could bring in. In the table below are examples from the 16th Edition of the JCG released in April 2022.
| Injury | Potential Compensation | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Moderately severe brain damage | £219,070 to £282,010 | Serious disability with substantial dependence and need for care. |
| Severe back injuries (i) | £91,090 to £160,980 | Very serious consequences extending beyond the back, such as with sexual dysfunction, from damage to the spinal cord and nerve roots. |
| Traumatic injury to digestive system (i) | £43,010 to £61,910 | Continuing pain and discomfort from severe damage. |
| Severe leg injuries (iii) | £39,200 to £54,830 | Serious: Instability and prolonged treatment from serious compound or comminuted fractures. |
| Chest injuries (c) | £31,310 to £54,830 | Continuing disability from damage to chest and lungs. |
| Partial hearing loss and/or tinnitus (i) | £29,710 to £45,540 | Noise-induced hearing loss with severe tinnitus. |
| Moderately severe psychiatric damage | £19,070 to £54,830 | Significant problems coping with life, but with an optimistic prognosis. |
| Facial injuries (b) | £14,900 to £23,950 | Permanent facial disfigurement from multiple facial bone fractures. |
| Serious shoulder injuries | £12,770 to £19,200 | Pain and sensory problems travelling down the forearm from dislocation and lower brachial plexus injury. |
| Wrist injuries (c) | £12,590 to £24,500 | Some permanent disability from less severe injuries. |
Special Damages
The head of your claim that recovers costs that occurred due to your injuries is called special damages. To claim under this head, however, you will need to supply cost evidence. This could look like saving receipts for any purchases made that you wouldn’t make if not for the injury, such as specialist makeup to conceal scars.
Costs you could recover include:
- Travel expenses (to and from medical appointments, for example)
- Additional medical costs
- Loss of earnings
Our advisors can estimate your general damages and discuss what you could claim under special damages.
What Types Of Cases Can No Win No Fee Solicitors Help Me With?
As already mentioned in this guide, in order to claim, you will need to prove you were owed a duty of care and this was breached. Below, we provide examples of places where you are owed a duty of care alongside what the duty of care means in that particular space.
Accidents At Work
Your employer owes all their employees a duty of care under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974. What this means is that your employer must take reasonably practicable steps to reduce risks to the workforce. If they fail to do so and you are injured in an accident at work you might have an eligible claim.
Reasonable steps could look like:
- Required equipment checks. Equipment needs to be safe to operate.
- Free training. Relevant and useful training should be provided and kept up-to-date. Bringing in new machinery also requires training to update skills. Hand injuries could occur, for example, if employees don’t realise that a new machine has sharp cutting tools that could trap their fingers.
- Adequate personal protective equipment (PPE). If you work on a construction site, for example, you might need a hardhat to avoid head injuries if an object falls from a height.
In Public
Under the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957, anyone accessing a public place is owed a duty of care by the owner or occupier of that space. The owner or occupier must take reasonable steps to reduce the risk to members of the public accessing that space.
This could look like:
- Signposting hazards, such as a step. Otherwise, someone could trip and break a bone.
- Ensure staircases are free of clutter and have safe-to-use handrails. Someone could fall and break their bones if staircases are not kept safe.
Under the Highways Act 1980 you are also owed a duty of care. Potholes, for example, can cause a road traffic accident. If the council has been alerted to the pothole, it’s on a road they control and they failed to take action in a timely manner, you might be eligible for compensation. You’d need to show that it caused the accident and your injury.
On the Roads
Road users owe each other a duty of care under the Road Traffic Act 1988. Breaching it could result in injuries for car drivers and their occupants, pedestrians, motorcycle users and other road users.
This could look like:
- Vehicle maintenance. If the brakes are faulty, for example, you may not be able to stop in time to avoid an accident. Also, this could mean ensuring your car is clean. Mud, for example, could obstruct the lights.
- Signalling. It’s important to let other road users know which way you’re turning in order to prevent collisions.
Our advisors can discuss the circumstances leading up to your injuries and who was responsible.
Do I Need To Provide A No Win No Fee Solicitor With Evidence?
Injuries could occur when a third party breaches their duty of care. Following an injury, the actions you take could strengthen your claim, should you wish to claim. This is because you must be able to prove you were owed a duty of care and it was breached, which led to your injuries.
You could:
- Seek medical assistance.
- Note witness contact details.
- Take photographs of the accident scene and/or your injuries.
- Seek legal advice.
Our advisors can discuss what evidence you could submit to strengthen your claim.
How Much Do I Pay My No Win No Fee Lawyer?
No Win No Fee solicitors could prove beneficial towards your claim. They can help by making the legal process seem easier for you. Legal representation has, traditionally, been out of reach for a lot of people due to the costs. With No Win No Fee solicitors, however, you can have legal representation while minimising the financial risk of funding their services.
An upfront solicitor’s fee isn’t paid. A success fee is payable instead, which is legally capped. This will be taken from the award of successful claims. If the claim doesn’t win, you don’t have to pay the success fee at all.
You may also hear your No Win No Fee solicitors refer to the arrangement as a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).
Get Advice On No Win No Fee Solicitors
Free legal advice is available from our advisors. If you are undecided about whether No Win No Fee solicitors are right for your potential claim, our advisors could help. An estimate of your general damages could be worked out based on your injuries. In addition, they could advise on what you could claim under special damages and what proof you could present to recover costs. Our panel of personal injury solicitors could look at eligible claims.
Contact us today:
- Phone the number at the top of the screen.
- Begin your claim online
- Use the live chat feature
Learn More About No Win No Fee Solicitors
We thought you might be interested in the following links:
- First Aid Guide from the NHS
- Health and Safety Executive Employee Safety Leaflet
- First Aid on the Road Guide
To learn more about how our panel of No Win No Fee solicitors can help you, please get in touch.
