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> PERSONAL INJURY
10 Things You Didn’t Know
In Personal Injury law, the ‘No Win No Fee’ system means claiming the compensation you deserve is risk-free. It means if your claim is unsuccessful, you don’t pay a penny.
Unlike many other firms, we continue to provide a ‘No Win No Fee’ service and ensure that claimants keep as much of their compensation as possible.
Here are 10 things you may not have known about the ‘No Win No Fee’ agreement at Williamsons Solicitors:
- Solicitors were not responsible for the ‘No Win, No Fee’ system. It was introduced in the mid-1990’s by the Government as they began to withdraw legal aid for personal injury claims. Prior to this, people on a low income, benefits and children would have received legal aid to pursue their claims.
- There is a popular misconception that ‘No Win, No Fee’ is immoral or dishonest. In fact, the system was designed to enable the average ‘man on the street’ to put himself back in the position he would have been in, had he not been injured.
- If compensation is not claimed when there is a genuine claim, the burden falls on (to name but a few) the DWP, the NHS and the family and friends of the injured party to foot the bill.
- The ‘No Win, No Fee’ system is often considered to be to blame for a rise in the number of personal injury claims and it is believed that Solicitors will sue ‘anyone’ these days. If we agree to act for a client on a ‘No Win, No Fee’ basis, we have to be confident that our client will be successful. If our client is not, we do not receive one penny of our costs incurred in pursuing their claim.
- In order to agree to act on a ‘No Win, No Fee’ basis, your Solicitor must be confident that they can prove negligence. It is not simply a case of compensation follows an accident.
- The government changed the long standing ‘No Win, No Fee’ system on 1st April 2013. This means that all of a Claimant’s Solicitor’s costs are no longer recoverable from the opponent. For the first time in almost a decade personal injury claimants will pay a percentage of their compensation towards their Solicitor’s costs if their claim is successful.
- Solicitors fought long and hard to stop this change to the system. Unfortunately it was a battle we lost.
- The changes to the ‘No Win, No Fee’ system have also brought about a fixed fee system for most claims made following accidents on or after 31st July 2013. This has seen many practitioners withdraw from acting for personal injury Claimants.
- At Williamsons we remain committed, despite the recent changes in the law, to providing a genuine ‘No Win, No Fee’ service – however big or small your claim is.
- Between them, our team of ‘No Win, No Fee’ lawyers have a collective experience of 149 years acting for personal injury claimants!
Contact Williamsons Solicitors on 01482 323697.
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A&H
What was an extremely difficult time for us, was handled with care, compassion and total professionalism.
NEIL
I was always greeted with a smile and the offer of a cup of coffee.
PETER
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