Personal Injury - Legal Costs and Success Fees

The Law Society Gazette has reported on the outcome of the Court of Appeal case of Belsner. Darya Belsner instructed Cam Legal services to pursue a Road traffic injury claim. They recovered £1,916.98 by way of damages and deducted 25% of the award (£385.50) as a contribution towards their costs and paid the balance to the claimant. The claimant later issued a Part 8 application asking that the firm of solicitors deliver a final statute bill. The statute bill came to a figure higher than the damages. However, the solicitors only deducted the £385.50. The High Court held the client had not been advised about the deduction and they were ordered to make a refund. The Solicitors took the case to the Court of Appeal and won. Darya Belsner was ordered to pay the money back.

This case is a good example of how many solicitors deal with costs and deductions when conducting accident claims.

At Forbes Solicitors, we operate a fixed fee, no win, no fee scheme, for soft tissue whiplash injury claims valued at less than £5,000. We charge a fixed-fee of £700 plus VAT.

In other cases, where the claim is worth more than £5,000, we operate on a, no win, no fee basis and claim our base costs from the losing party. Those costs are calculated by reference to the stage the case gets to and depending on that stage, a percentage of the damages you recover. We calculate our costs based on the time we spend pursuing your claim. Those costs may exceed the costs we can recover from your opponent. In the event they do, the shortfall will be payable from your damages, but we guarantee you will always receive at least 70% of your damages, providing you have followed our advice.  

Success Fee

If we win, we will charge a success fee to reflect the fact we have taken the risk will not get paid if your case fails. This is limited to 25% of your past losses. It does not apply to any future losses and cannot exceed the costs we recover from your opponent.

Past losses include damages for your injuries, loss of earnings and expensed incurred up to the date your case concludes.

Future losses can include treatment costs, loss of earnings and other expenses you may incur as a result of any long-term effects of the injury.

Recovery Promise

Providing you follow our advice; we guarantee the deductions will never exceed 30% of your damages. Leaving you with at least 70% of the damages awarded.

If the Claimant is a child or under a disability, lacking capacity to manage their financial affairs, we will not charge a success fee.

Contrary to the common misconception, the success fee cannot exceed the amount of costs recoverable from the opponent. Future losses and deductible benefits must be ignored. The success fee only applies to the past loss.

By way of example. If total damages are £10,000. If £5,000 of that represents past losses, as at the date of settlement, and the remaining £5,000 represents future losses, the success fee would be £1,250. If, however the case settled quickly and the costs are limited to £600, then the success fee would be limited to 100% of those fees i.e. £600. If the costs were £2,000 then the success fee would be limited to 25% of the past loss i.e. £1,250

This formula applies to all types of case where costs are recoverable from the opponent.

No Deductions Option

If you would prefer not to pay a success fee or the potential short fall in in costs, we can proceed on the basis you pay our costs on a win or lose basis. We would however need you to provide us with money on account to start the case and we would require further payments as the case proceeds.  If the claim is successful, you should be able to recover most of your costs from the other party at the end of case.

If you, a friend or family member have suffered an injury as a result of someone else's fault, whether that be at work, on the road, in the street, in a medical or dental setting please contact us for some no win no fee, no obligation advice.

How Forbes Solicitors Can Help You

Our expert no win, no fee solicitors will discuss your personal injury claim with you and ascertain whether you have a viable claim and a strong chance of success. We offer services nationwide. We can offer consultations by telephone or video call or in any of our branches across the UK. Our no win, no fee solicitors will focus on recovering maximum compensation for your injuries quickly.

 If you have experienced an injury at work or need legal guidance, our team is here to help. For more information, or to discuss your case, contact our Personal Injury division.