New Changes in April 2013 are coming… claim now before it may be too late.
In April, new laws are being introduced that will radically alter the way in which personal injury claims are made.
At the moment, personal injury claims are either funded via legal aid, or through a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). CFAs, which are commonly known as no win no fee agreements, protect both solicitor and claimant. This is because if the case is:
- Not successful: the claimant is responsible for paying the defendant’s costs. But this is not a problem, because claimants are protected by an After The Event insurance policy which will cover any costs incurred. The claimant’s solicitor will not get paid.
- Successful: the losing defendant pays the claimant’s costs, compensation and solicitor’s success fees. The claimant receives 100% of their settlement, and their solicitor recovers all of their fees. The solicitor is also able to recover the cost of the insurance policy, which will be taken out at the beginning of the claim just in case.
But as of April, the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act means that legal aid will no longer be available. CFAs will still exist, but solicitors will no longer be able to recover their success fees or the cost of the insurance policy from the other side. Instead, both these costs must be deducted from the successful claimant’s compensation, thereby significantly reducing the sum of money they receive.
Furthermore, instead of obtaining all of their fees, solicitors can only recover 25% of the claimant’s settlement. Therefore it will not be profitable for personal injury lawyers to take on low value claims. Consequently only paralegals (support staff without any legal qualifications) will do PI claims, denying claimants access to specialist solicitors.
Things are even worse for road traffic accident claimants, as there is a proposal to raise the small claims limit to £5,000. The small claims court means that you are not paid for your legal representation and would also mean that success fees would not be recovered for any claim worth under £5,000, leaving you with no other option but to fight insurance companies on your own for what could be quite a serious injury. How could that ever be a fair fight?
In short, the changes will deny justice for personal injury victims, as solicitors will not be able to afford to run the majority of claims. Even if a case is successfully made, the sum of compensation you receive will be decimated.
That is why if you have been injured, we urge you to take action now, even if you are not sure if you want to pursue a claim for compensation. Claiming now will ensure that you keep all of your compensation and that you have access to proper legal help. Call us now and let us explain your legal rights and options, then you can decide what you would like to do.
For more information about this article or any aspect of our accident and injury claims services, please call us on 01772 424999 email enquiries@solicitordirect.com or complete the form below (there is no charge for initial telephone discussions).
