Talk to the solicitor behind the post
Richard Meggitt
Partner/Solicitor
Major Trauma Cases
0114 2672472
Year of call as a solicitor 1996.
Richard is a qualified solicitor, having joined the firm in 1996. He has deliberately restricted his case load to serious injury claims. Having acted for more than 500 Claimants in major trauma cases, his expertise is recognised by the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers; Richard is a senior litigator.
Most personal injury firms offer a ‘no win no fee’ scheme for individuals who have been injured at work, but what does this actually mean and do all solicitors offer the same terms?
‘No win no fee’ simply means that if your claim is unsuccessful, you will not be charged. Some solicitors do ask their client to pay for expenses such as medical reports if the claim fails. However, the most likely scenario is that there will be nothing to pay.
No Win No Fee – but what happens in the event of a win?
Since 2013, solicitors have been forced by the government to charge their clients a success fee rather than the insurers. The success fee charged is usually 25% of the compensation recovered. Some solicitors also arrange an insurance policy to pay for expenses, such as medical report fees in the event the claim fails. The insurance premium is then deducted from the damages in the event of a win and premiums can range from £80 to £2000. In addition some solicitors also ask their clients to pay the shortfall of their costs if they can’t recover all of their costs from the insurance company. We have heard of cases where tens of thousands of pounds have been deducted from a successful client’s damages, which the client did not expect.
The ASD approach in Accident at Work cases
At ASD, I insist on transparency, so the client knows exactly what they have to pay and when. If the claim fails, my client never has to pay a penny unless the claim was fundamentally dishonest. If the claim succeeds, all the client pays is a fixed success fee. There are no insurance premiums to pay or loans to take out, my firm funds the claim and if it fails, we pay the expenses. Clients do not have to pay any shortfall if we can’t recover all of our costs. In an accident at work case the success fees we charge are never 25%, but range from 10% to 20%, plus VAT of the compensation recovered depending on the value of the claim.
A clear policy from a local firm, that still offers a home visit by a solicitor. Get in touch or visit our Accidents at Work page for more information.
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