Accident Claims Procedure Time frame - no win no fee

When solicitors take on clients cases, the same questions are usually asked by all, these include will I be liable for any costs? How long will it take? How much will I get? Our solicitors and our staff are there to help you with these questions. Here at Accident compensation aid it is our mission to ensure you are not charged a penny that your case concludes as quickly as possible and you get the maximum compensation. As a solicitor the first question is the easiest as you would explain to your client what no win no fee means both in terms if they win and if they lose and how you would protect their interests by taking out for them an after the event policy.

The question of how long will it take is a very difficult one. Firstly it starts with how quickly will your client co-operate and supply you with the information that you require to effectively run the case. Secondly there will be many factors outside the solicitors control. Even assuming that the solicitor is extremely efficient and deals with all the correspondence on the same day there will still be factors outside of his control. For example, the solicitor has to obtain the medical records of the client. Like every professional there are efficient doctors surgeries and not so efficient. If the solicitor is unlucky enough to be dealing with an inefficient surgery he could be waiting anything up to 3 months to be sent medical records. Unfortunately this accusation can be levied against hospitals.

The solicitor may have to also acquire information from the police and employers. Even when the solicitor has all the information required to take your case forward, he may be up against an insurer who does not respond timely. This will mean that the solicitor will have no option but to issue proceedings just to force the insurance company to admit or deny liability.

When the new pre-action protocol was introduced to govern cases, the aim of it was to ensure that small cases in particular under the no win no fee system were dealt with quickly and efficiently. In effect the defendant has three months from the time he is given all the information required for him to assess the case and be able to admit or deny liability. In addition he is under obligation to supply documentation required under the provisions. It is surprising for many no win no fee solicitors how many defendants cannot come to a decision as to whether they consider themselves negligent or not within a three month period.

Even if the solicitor has an admission of liability on a no win no fee case and has all the documentation and reports required to quantify a case he still has the inevitable battle of trying to obtain a settlement with the insurance company. Once again it is open to him to issue proceedings against the defendant and his insurance companies. It is interesting to note that whilst insurance companies are the first to complain about escalating costs in no win no fee actions, they are often responsible for increasing the cost of litigation by failing to comply with procedures forcing solicitors to incur additional costs by issuing proceedings in order to compel them to comply.

Therefore as you can see the difficulties that a solicitor may have in advising his clients with any certainty as to how long a case will take. In many cases the delay in a client obtaining compensation can be merely inconvenient and frustrating, however in major accidents where the result has been that the injured is the main bread winner of the household the effects can be disastrous. An example which one of our solicitors had to deal with was a 44 year old man who whilst a passenger in his work vehicle had a major accident which was the fault of his co-worker. The client was in intensive care for a period of 8 weeks and was not expected to survive the accident. Against all odds the client did but has sustained serious injuries such as broken back, knee, ribs, heart problems and it would appear some form of brain damage. The injured man was the sole bread winner and has five children under the age of twelve. The client was taken on a no win no fee basis. Although the solicitor has done an excellent job in obtaining the client interim payments before any proceedings have occurred, the family still finds the financial pressure severe. In addition the family has received adaptations to the property to enable the injured person to be more comfortable.

No Win No Fee