How Much Will It Cost?

That's a good question, and it's one that many people ask because they are unsure whether they will be able to afford to pursue a case. The good news is that the legal system in England and Wales (Scotland and Northern Ireland have slightly different rules) provides various funding options so that people can pursue claims at little or no cost to themselves. 

Below are details of the three main options to fund a medical negligence case. We expect you are bound to have further questions and queries, so please call us on 0800 731 1874 and one of our solicitors will be happy to explain these choices in more detail. 

LEGAL AID (PUBLIC FUNDING)

Pearson Hinchliffe are one of only a few firms of solicitors who can apply for Public Funding (better known as Legal Aid) for Medical Negligence cases, on your behalf. This is in part made possible because Pearson Hinchliffe’s Medical Negligence department is approved by the Legal Services Commission. 

John Pollitt, who is Partner and Head of the Department, has also been recognised for his specialist skills and commitment to this area of work, allowing him to meet the stringent criteria to gain accreditation by the respected charity AvMA (Action Against Medical Accidents). John has also earned Membership to the Solicitors Regulation Authority Medical Negligence Panel.  

If you are on low income you may be eligible for public funding (Legal Aid). To get Legal Aid we would need to show that you have a reasonable chance of winning your case and that the value of the claim is likely to be enough to justify the costs involved. If the compensation you would receive is likely to be less than £10,000 you may not get public funding unless there is a clear admission of guilt.

NO WIN - NO FEE

If you do not qualify for Legal Aid there are other options to fund your case including a No Win No Fee agreement, otherwise known as a Conditional Fee Agreement. 

If yours is a suitable case, we will take it on with the understanding that if you lose we will not be paid a fee. It is, however, important to know that if you lose you may still have to pay:

• Your opponent's legal costs and
• Both your and your opponent’s “disbursements” (other expenses or charges such as fees for expert witnesses). 

We can advise you how to take out insurance to cover these payments. If your claim succeeds we can charge a success fee. The amount of the success fee depends on a number of factors including the risk of your claim failing. 

If you win your case the Court usually orders the opponent to pay most of our fees and disbursements including the insurance premium and the success fee so long as there charges are reasonable. 

LEGAL EXPENSE INSURANCE

There are two basic types of Legal Expenses Insurance. They are called “before the event” and “after the event” insurance and they work in different ways. 

After the event insurance: An after the event policy is for when you are already in dispute and you have to cover the cost of our disbursements and the opponents costs and disbursements if the case fails. 

Before the event insurance: A before the event policy is normally sold together with other insurance (such as household contents). It cannot generally be bought once a problem exists. If you have this kind of insurance to cover your costs, you would not need to enter into a No Win No Fee Agreement. Before the event insurance pays your costs only if your insurance company thinks you have a good chance of winning your case. The insurance will usually pay for:

• Our fees and expenses.
• Costs for expert witnesses and barristers.
• Court fees.
• Your opponent’s legal costs. 

If you want to use the insurance to cover your legal costs there are a number of conditions that you need to remember:

• In most cases you must report the incident that your case is about within 6 months of it happening.
• Most policies say that you can choose your own solicitor but some say you can do this only once legal proceedings have started. The Financial Ombudsman has said that in cases of sufficient complexity (such as medical negligence cases) the policy holder should have freedom of choice of solicitor.
• Once the case has started most policies say that you must accept any reasonable settlement offer.
• There may well be a limit on the amount of legal expenses that the policy will cover (for example: £50,000).  

If you reach that limit and your case has not yet finished a different kind of funding would need to be arranged. It may be that you hold a policy of insurance to cover the likely fees incurred both on your behalf and on behalf of the Defence. It is important therefore to check any policies of insurance, including household contents, building and road traffic to see if this cover is provided. 

So that we can check the position please let us have copies of the policies in force when this medical accident occurred. We will need to see the policy schedule and supporting policy booklet so that we can advise you upon the existence or otherwise of cover.