ClaimsGuide.co.uk

Q1 Will there be any cost to me of any kind?

There are now many personal injury organisations to choose from and many of them suggest that there will be no cost to you if they arrange your claim for personal injury. You should, however, be cautious.

Sometimes they will not directly charge you any costs themselves, but they will allow the solicitor they appoint to make various deductions from your compensation award. Are you going to be provided with a cast-iron written guarantee that there will be no cost to you?

Examples of how costs and charges can be disguised are discussed separately.

Quite simply, you should not incur any costs from any source – only deal with a personal injury claims specialist who will guarantee that to you in writing

Q2 Will I have to take a loan out under any circumstances?

The justification given for you having to take out a loan is that it is used to pay for insurance cover and also to fund the solicitor’s disbursements. Disbursements are various costs for things that the solicitor has to pay for, e.g. medicals, court fees etc. However, most solicitors will be happy to fund these costs anyway if they think you have a good case.

The insurance cover is a valid requirement; however, this can be arranged in such a way that a loan is not necessary and the cost is recovered from the third party. Don’t forget that if the organisation that you are dealing with goes out of business, the bank providing the loan will still expect you to repay the loan, plus of course the interest.

A good, bona fide personal injury claims specialist will ensure that you will not be required to take out any loan

Q3 Will I be charged in any way for the cost of insurance?

The purpose of insurance is to protect you from costs for which you become responsible if your case goes to court and you lose. In other words, if you do lose, your solicitor should not charge you anything, either for his services or the insurance, but you would still be responsible for the legal costs of your opponent.

In such an event, the insurance pays for those costs. The law states that the cost of your insurance can be recovered from your opponent if you win. It does not, however, state what the cost should be – this is allowed at the discretion of the judge. If the judge thinks the cost is too high, he will not award it. The only organisations therefore that can guarantee that they will not charge you anything for the cost of the insurance are those that know that the cost is not excessive.

If you lose, the insurance cover provided should pay for any costs for which you become responsible. Your personal injury claims specialist and/or solicitor should arrange the insurance and the cost will be deferred until the end of your claim. If you win, the cost of the insurance should be recovered in full from your opponent on the basis that it is a reasonable cost. A reputable personal injury claims specialist will guarantee this

Q4 Will you allow the solicitor to make deductions from my compensation award for any reason?

As long as the solicitor’s costs are reasonable, they will be recovered from your opponent. If these costs are judged by the court to be unreasonably high, they will only be recovered in part. If your personal injury claims specialist retains a solicitor who is allowed to make deductions for such ‘unrecovered’ costs, disbursements, success fees or insurance premiums, you would be open to an unquantifiable exposure.

Satisfy yourself that your personal injury claims specialist will only appoint a solicitor to your case who will not make deductions from your compensation award

Q5 Will I be charged an administration fee, search fee, investigation fee, or any other fee in any way?

The personal injury claims specialist you appoint will derive their income from the solicitor that they appoint to pursue your claim. If he also wants to make a charge to you, then they are just being plain greedy.

You should not be required to pay any fees to your personal injury claims specialist – he should derive no income from you directly. Instead, he earns his income from the solicitor he appoints to your case

Q6 Will the solicitor charge me anything or make any deductions from my compensation?

If you’ve chosen the right personal injury claims specialist, he will put your case with a solicitor who will do two things. Firstly, he will speak to you on the telephone and assure you that, irrespective of any terms of any conditional fee agreement (that is a ‘no win, no fee’ arrangement) you will asked to sign, he will not, in any circumstances, make any deductions from your compensation award. Secondly, he will then follow that up with a letter to you which says the same thing and guarantees that you will receive 100 % of your award.

A good specialist will provide a written guaranteefrom both themselves and their appointed solicitor that there will be no deductions whatsoever made from your compensation award*

*note that the law in Scotland is different from England and Wales. Check with your specialist adviser if your accident and claim originated there.

Q7 Will you insist on visiting me in my home?

Many of you have endured the uncomfortable experience of a charming salesman sitting in your front room, helping himself to your tea and biscuits, telling you what a lovely family you have … and virtually refusing to leave until you sign his paperwork. Sometimes you will later regret signing that paperwork. There are some occasions where it could be desirable to visit, for example if you are disabled or ill, yet even then the solicitor would be able to deal with a “Litigation Friend” instead, perhaps a parent, guardian etc.

However, if their service is straightforward, easy to understand and without the dreaded small print, there is no reason why a personal injury claim cannot all be arranged by post, email and phone.

Personal injury claims specialist should not insist on visiting you in your home. In some complex cases, there may be advantages all round but, remember, the choice is yours

Q8 Will I be denied access to testimonials?

No one can better assure you about the quality of the service that you will receive than previous clients. There is little point, however, in an organisation publishing testimonials if they cannot be shown to be genuine. Reputable personal injury claims specialists will understand that you’ll want to see evidence of testimonials from reasonably recent cases that are similar to your own.

Ask your personal injury claims specialist to show you evidence of testimonials from previous clients that are reasonably recent and similar to your own.

Q9 Will I be denied access to your address details?

This may sound a daft question, but it is surprising how many organisations only advertise their telephone number and sometimes a PO Box address. There can be some valid reasons for some organisations using a PO Box address, but such an address can also be used to disguise their location. Obviously, one wonders why this may be.

You need your personal injury claims specialist’s full address and contact details so you can visit them if you really need to.

Q10 Do you engage in any of the following marketing activities?

• Approaching people in the street?
• Knocking on people’s front doors uninvited?
• Making unsolicited telephone calls to people at home?

Ethics in business cannot unfortunately be assumed nowadays. The way in which organisations seek potential clients can give a good indication as to how they are likely to treat you in the longer term. While you may have a perfectly valid claim, are you sure you want to be dealing with an organisation that has approached you on an unsolicited basis?

We believe your personal injury claims specialist should answer ‘No’ to all these questions. Why not print this out and use it as a checklist when talking to the specialist you are considering?