No Win No Fee Medical Negligence.

Under a No Win No Fee agreement you will not be liable for your own solicitor’s costs if your claim is unsuccessful however, you will be responsible for your own disbursements. Disbursements are third party expenses such as court fees or medical expert fees.

In terms of your opponent’s fees, the general rule is that if they have successfully defended the claim you will not have to pay their costs. However, you will also be responsible for your opponent’s costs if you are ordered to pay the same.

Even if your No Win No Fee claim is unsuccessful, there are ways of protecting you from costs you may be ordered to pay a successful defendant. The legislation around such involves a system known as ‘Qualified One-Way Costs Shifting’ (QOCS).

QOCS means that your opponent will generally be ordered to pay your costs if you are successful but, subject to certain exceptions, you will not have to pay the Defendant’s costs if you are unsuccessful. As such, costs will only flow one way.

This is designed to offer Claimants costs protection on the basis that Claimants can bring a valid claim against a Defendant but, if the claim is unsuccessful the Claimants do not need to be concerned about the Defendants potentially enforcing large costs orders against them. However, there are situations where you can lose the protection of QOCS.

The most common situation is where the Defendant obtains an order for costs where the Claimant has been successful. In this scenario the Defendant can enforce their costs order against the damages, interest and costs awarded to the Claimant.

If this situation were to occur in your claim this would reduce the compensation that you would ultimately receive.

We therefore generally advise our claimants to obtain After the Event Insurance (ATE) or other suitable legal protection insurance to protect you in these circumstances. Lanyon Bowdler’s team can arrange this for you, ensuring you receive the best possible protection against unforeseen costs.

In the unfortunate event of your claim being unsuccessful, you will be liable for your own disbursements. As advised above, there may also be circumstances when you are liable for some of your opponent’s costs. As such, it is likely that you will be advised to take out an insurance policy to protect you against these risks. This is known as an After the Event (ATE) insurance policy and is something which we are able to arrange on your behalf.

Should your claim be unsuccessful, the cost of the insurance cover is self-insured, and you will not be liable for any charges related to it. You will only need to pay the cost of the policy if you win your claim.

If your claim is successful then part of the cost of the policy is recoverable from your opponent. The remainder of the cost will need to be paid by you and is deducted from the compensation you receive.

The amount of compensation you may receive from a successful claim depends on many different factors. The court may consider, when calculating your compensation award, the following factors:

• How severe are the injuries you have sustained
• How long of a recovery period you may be facing, and if a full recovery is predicted
• Medical costs, both past and those that can reasonably be predicted
• Home or vehicle adaptation costs
• Loss of earnings, past and future, and pension

Our medical negligence solicitors will assess your situation carefully in order to try and secure the maximum compensation for you in the event that your claim is successful.

The time it can take for your claim to reach a settlement can vary greatly, depending on the extent of your injuries and recovery time. Generally speaking, medical negligence claims take time to investigate and progress, and on average can take up to three years before conclusion.

Depending on the severity of the injuries involved, and the gravity of the prognosis, the legal process surronding medical negligence claims, and claiming compensation for your pain and suffering, may be far longer. There are, however, options for those involved in these claims to obtain partial compensation before reaching a final settlement, such as interim payments if admissions of negligence have been made.

Most medical negligence claims never make it to court – they are either settled by negotiation or are abandoned if there are deemed to be low prospects of success. However, for some cases, formal court proceedings may be necessary, and sometimes cases can go to trial.

We understand that bringing your case to a court can be stressful. We will always aim to settle your claim outside of court if it is possible to secure you the compensation you deserve. However, if we deem that court proceedings are necessary, we will provide expert guidance through the court process.

You can be assured of the highest standard of legal representation at all times – whether in or out of court.