When you make a personal injury claim, usually your lawyer will agree to take on your claim on a no win, no fee basis. In the legal industry, no win, no fee is actually a term used to describe a ‘conditional fee agreement’ and these agreements stipulate that you have no legal fees to pay upfront nor any legal fees to pay should your claim be unsuccessful.
So it begs the question, just how do injury lawyers get paid?
An injury lawyer only gets paid when their case wins. They do not get paid if their case loses and if their case loses, then an injury lawyer has to write off their legal fees because under the agreement they cannot reclaim their legal costs from their client or from the other side.
If a claim is successful, then an injury lawyer gets paid in one of two ways. They will either bill the other side for their costs (this is particularly common with claims that go to court), or they will take a percentage of their client’s compensation as payment. At https://ukclaimlawyers.co.uk/ for example, the latter payment method is more common.
At the time of writing, the maximum percentage an injury lawyer can take is 25 percent and this percentage covers the hours put into your case and also forms the basis of your lawyer’s ‘success fee’, a fee they take as a ‘reward’ for winning your claim.
So depending on which way your solicitor gets paid, you will either get to keep 100 percent of your compensation or at least 75 percent of your compensation. So for example, if your lawyer is taking a percentage of your compensation as payment, on a settlement demand of £8,000 your lawyer can take £2,000 as payment, leaving you with £6,000. Although this may seem high, it’s important to remember the strenuous work lawyers undertake and the risks they take under a no win, no fee agreement. Overall, 25 percent is a worthwhile cost.
Remember – your lawyer should always be upfront about fees
It’s important to remember that your lawyer is obligated to be upfront about their legal fees at all times, and that you should have a clear idea of the costs and risks involved with making a no win, no fee claim before agreeing to go ahead. Moreover, not all lawyers take the maximum 25 percent as payment. Some take less. As such, it’s important to do research and find a lawyer who is fair and trustworthy. Lastly, it’s important to ascertain your ability and eligibility to make a claim before going ahead. Calling a claims line will help you to do this. Claims advisors are highly trained and will help you to ascertain your claim eligibility and they will also answer all of your claims-related questions.
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