Personal injury advice from
Thompsons Solicitors
Miscellaneous
Q. What is meant by ‘Cost Free - Risk Free?
Q. When is litigation (‘After The Event’) insurance used?
Q. Will I have to go to court?
Q. Will I need to attend any meetings?
Q. If I decide to proceed what happens next?
Q. What is an expert witness?
Q. Why are there so many injury claims companies?
Q. What is meant by ‘Cost Free - Risk Free?
A. This means that if you win your personal injury case, or even if you lose your case, you pay absolutely nothing. Our lawyers ensure that you will receive 100% of any compensation and can recover their costs from your opponent in a successful case.
There are some exceptions, for example criminal injury claims and some accidents outside England and Wales. Further details of these can be found in our costs and risks section.
The Court however does always have the right to award costs against any party that it may feel has acted unreasonably, although this happens very rarely.
Q. When is litigation (‘After The Event’) insurance used?
A. This type of legal expenses insurance can be taken out after an accident has occurred. It covers all legal costs of settling the compensation claim including going to court and the other side’s legal bill if your case is lost.
Our solicitors will arrange After The Event insurance on your behalf if they consider it necessary. This is to protect you from the risk of having to pay your opponent’s legal costs.
Some unscrupulous claims companies sell After The Event policies at extremely inflated prices to fund the payments of sales commissions. Because of this, the premiums can be unrecoverable and you could end up paying anything not considered reasonable (and therefore recoverable).
Our lawyers would not accept any such artificially inflated price for After The Event policies or seek commission. This means the cost of the insurance is reasonable and therefore fully recoverable from the other side.
Q. Will I have to go to court?
A. In most cases, your lawyer will approach the insurance company of the defendant and try to negotiate a compensation settlement for your injuries and losses. If they admit liability and a suitable figure of damages can be agreed upon, there should be no need to pursue the case via the courts.
No insurer wants to waste time and money in court defending a case where they are going to have to pay out and the facts about who was at fault in any given case are usually fairly clear. Therefore, more than 90% of cases are settled without going to court.
Q. Will I need to attend any meetings?
A. Our specialist personal injury lawyers, Thompsons Solicitors, have offices throughout the UK to handle your case. They are based in the major UK cities and you can meet them there if you wish. If you are unable to travel, our specialist lawyers will see you at home or some other venue that you feel is suitable.
Q. If I decide to proceed what happens next?
A. Someone will contact you within 1 working day of us receiving your call or claim enquiry form to discuss the matter and, if necessary, obtain further information.
Based on your situation, we will then arrange for the most appropriate of our specialist lawyers to assess the circumstances surrounding your accident, give you clear advice and handle any claim.
Q. What is an expert witness?
A. This is a person who has expertise in a particular field such as medicine, employment or accountancy. An expert witness provides specialist advice during the preparation of your personal injury claim.
Q. Why are there so many injury claims companies?
A. Legal Aid has effectively been withdrawn for personal injury claims in England & Wales. When that happened many people found it difficult to pay for a personal injury lawyer. The Access to Justice Act 1999 was introduced to deal with the lack of Legal Aid and introduced a system that allows lawyers to take out insurance against the risk of losing.
Many claims companies grew up to fill the gap created by the lack of Legal Aid and to exploit the insurance situation. They started keeping part of the compensation, selling unnecessary insurance polices (often at vastly inflated prices) and even insisting that their clients take out loans. It is this exploitation that has led to the current Compensation Bill with its clampdown on claims companies.
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