Personal injury claims "no win, no fee" - anyone any experience?

Yes, I have very bitter experience, but of a medical negligence claim against the surgeon who brought my daughter close to death. Choose your solicitor carefully, preferably one with great experience in the field and also close enough to your home as you will almost certainly need to visit them.
Make sure you have all your medical records and photographs available. Don't expect anything to happen quickly - it took seven years to settle my daughter's case out of court, the week before the trial was set, even though the surgeon admitted liability after 17 months.
Read the small print in the contract very carefully and take the 'no win, no fee' and 'you will get 100% of any damages' with a pinch of salt.
Please send me a pm if I can answer any specific questions.

Thanks greatnan - I will pm.

Anybody have a good experience!?

Sounds as if you had a horrid time Mishap and that you are having to cope with a lot, so sorry. On a purely personal and rather nosey level I am curious that you are only taking this route because of the way your injuries are healing. In law, is it not more about how negligent the original incident was i.e. was the accident foreseable and was someone not doing something they should have, and not what the eventual outcome is?

Yes. I was pushed forward by a surge of people exiting a concert and broke my wrist. The lighting was very poor, there was no handrail and insufficient stewards. It took some time but I got a very acceptable amount in compensation.

You are right, Hilda, some accidents are just that, but the 'Man on the Clapham Omnibus' rule will be followed - ie. was somebody negligent in the provisions made for passengers in various circumstances. Could an accident have been foreseen by a reasonable person?
In my daughter's case, it was agreed that no reasonably competent surgeon would have left my daughter with a punctured stomach and failed to diagnose it. Surgeons do make genuine mistakes, it is bound to happen, but patients have to be reassured that their injury is not the result of negligence, incompetence or malice. There were 75 separate complaints about David Jackson but he was not suspended for many years.

PS I got 100% of the damages. The parties were insured against this sort of claim.

DH has had 2 claims one for a work injury and one for a RTA which was caused by a diesel spill. Both claims were arranged by his union. The solicitors were specialist. However they were based in different counties both times. The 1st took 12-18mths the 2nd 4yrs! In that time they changed the person handling the case 5-6 times. As has been said keep ALL med records photos etc
DH had to see other parties doc on more than one occasion, and present himself for professional pics of his scars.

Hilda - the facts of the case have always been the same - but to begin with I decided not to pursue a claim as I did not want the hassle. It was only as I began to realise the extent of the injury and the implications for the future that I started to take the idea of making a claim seriously. Also my SIL has encouraged me to do so - he runs outdoor events and is used to the possibility of claims and his insurers deal with it.

The pub made no provision for helping people off the ferry even though the river was so high from the heavy rain. There was no step to alight on or a person to help you off. The firm of solicitors that I have contacted think there is a clear case to answer. I am assuming that it will be a simple case like miceElf's and just involve the insurers meeting the claim (or not).

I just need to feel reassured that I will not be liable for any costs - the bumf from the solicitors looks that way - I just hope I have understood it correctly.

No win no fee insurers won't take your case unless they feel you have a very good chance of winning - say more than 70%. I think in a straightforward negligence case you would get 100% of the damages plus any costs incurred for private reports and consultations. Medical negligence is a very different field - more like a quagmire!

Mishap, thanks for being so candid. Its certainly a fraught subject, I hope you get sorted.

I am still not sure I am doing the right thing as the whole compensation culture is one that I abhor. But we have incurred lots of expenses (including having to get an automatic car) and the future for this injury is somewhat uncertain - Boring foot update" thread. If surgery is needed it mwould be good to get it done privately and speedily.

Mishap Have you checked your household insurance? Some policies give you cover for legal expenses. I used mine for an employment tribunal issue seven years ago. The insurance company contacts your solicitor to get details of the case and then lets you know whether they will accept the claim.

Yes "merlot" I did check that - the personal injury solicitors are obliged to get you to fill in a form that looks at other sources of covering the legal expenses, so I went into all that.

One suggestion on the form was that my credit card might cover this - but seeing as the ferry charge was £1 paid in cash this seemed a bit of a long shot!

I am afraid references to the compensation culture upset me somewhat. MY daughter had her life ruined, and I was told on one forum that she was a scrounger. She lost her home, her business, her looks and almost her life. When people cause harm to others by being negligent, reckless or careless they have to be challenged or they will never improve.
If any of the other dozens of women had put in a formal complaint against her surgeon in time, he might have been stopped long before he was.
To the best of my knowledge, there have been no convictions of any senior personnel of any UK company for corporate manslaughter, in spite of the mountains of evidence of cost cutting measures which have resulted in death and injury of employees and others.
Perhaps the ferry company will be forced to take action to improve their service once Mishap makes her complaint. She might save others from injury.
I am not talking about claims for injured feelings because some woman has received unwanted attention from some man at work, or the many false claims for whiplash injuries. These simply detract from the seriousness of genuine claims.

The frivolous claims are the ones that earn the title 'compensation culture' GN!
Not genuine ones like your daughter!

I appreciate that, jeni, but I have been told by a couple of people that she should not have sued because 'mistakes happen'. All surgery carries some risks, but this surgeon carried on operating long after it was obvious that he had become incompetent - and nobody in the whole bloody system blew the whistle. Then he tried to get voluntary deregistration on the grounds that he did not want his own health problems to be made public. I am guessing that he knew he was suffering from some condition that affected his work but just wanted to boost his pension pot by doing as much private work as he could before he retired.
I have read so much about 'medical accidents' in the last nine years, and I know how much covering up goes on, and what happens to whistleblowers.
This is why I find it completely unacceptable for anyone to say that people who have been genuinely injured should not bring a claim for damages. (Nobody has suggested that here.)
This is about Mishap's accident, and I really hope she continues with her claim and makes the ferry company accept responsibility for the safety of their customers. Why should she have to suffer so much pain and inconvenience without some redress?

I'm agreeing with you

Thank you, jeni!

Yes "greatnan" I am sure you are right. Frivolous claims get the claimants a bad name and make those with genuine claims feel uncomfortable. I cannot believe that anyone made you feel your D's claim was frivolous - it all sounds truly dreadful. The whole "whistle blowing" issue is a difficult one and it is dreadful that people are continuing to practice medicine/surgery when they have become incompetent. Proper systems for reporting are needed that do not leave the whistle blower vulnerable.

I am expecting a call soon from the solicitors to take me through the details of the no claim no fee document that I have to sign. If I feel happy with the answers then I do plan to go ahead. I am not expecting a huge amount of money any time soon, but hopefully some thought will be given to the safety of their passengers and they will be motivated to take this seriously.

The term 'compensation culture' gets my blood boiling. No win no fee is a lifeline for people who cannot otherwise afford to get justice from people cutting corners on safety. The vilification of claimants as scroungers is a good way of putting all but the dishonest off. It's always best to get advice about a claim asap & collect evidence early rather than leaving it until past the deadline., though .

My experience is in helping people involved in traumas & major disaster. The medic-legal process was more traumatising for most than the original trauma. Some who felt too guilty to claim felt embittered later when their problems mounted - the one who overcame the guilt just in time was pleased with the result - psychologically as well as financially. Others had no option but were soon made to feel terrible. Medical & occ health assessors employed by the insurance companies reduced even the strongest 'stiff upper up' types to tears telling them they were not in pain. I had to act as advocate many times against reports by highly paid psychiatrists who clearly had no idea about real-life trauma or the lives of ordinary people. By being persistent (for up to 4 years or more) & not being fobbed off, most people got what they'd hoped for & some did much better - but paid a price for what the process involved & rarely felt that real justice had been done. Solicitors usually made 2-3x as much money from the process as the claimant. They have insurance cover for if they lose.
Test the water first - you may be lucky & have no problems settling. However, my advice from my experience is only do this if you have good support, detailed evidence of physical, psychological & economic loss, an excellent solicitor, your losses make the process worthwhile & you won't feel worse for not trying. Not doing it because you feel guilty about claiming is not a valid reason. You need to be very business like & cut out any emotions like guilt as these will be played on by some insurers.
Good luck & go for it. Just thinking about this makes my blood boil about the way people are vilified for making honest claims and about what traumatised & injured people are put through by the medico-legal process.

What a helpful post, Gadabout.
We were told that a claim must be made within three years of the date when the injury became known - i.e. in the case of an adverse effect which emerged after the three years, a claim could still be made.
In my daughter's case, she developed a huge incisional hernia about a year after the operation to repair her stomach which was still in date.
Of course, you can have a provisional settlement which can be revisited if adverse effects develop later.
There used to be very limited access to Legal Aid for these case, but it was means tested and the equity in your home was taken into account. Nobody could explain where my very ill daughter and her four childrem were supposed to live if she had to sell her house or how she could possibly face putting it on the market and finding a cheaper property. In the event, with the loss of her business I had to sell my house in France and lend her the proceeds, then rent for over four years at my own expense.
As usual, all the advantages are on the side of big business or the huge Medical Defence Union, which can afford to drag things out and pay for the best solicitors.

Glad it was helpful. Is this the daughter you are visiting in Nelson?

No, I am visiting my older daughter who cannt blame anybody but her dogs for her broken ankle!

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