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Helping You Understand The 25% Deductions From Damages

Success Fee For Personal Injury Claims

To help you understand how success fees for personal injury claims work, it is important to go back to A2013 where changes in law forced compensation solicitors to amend the way they charge for their legal services.

The law stated that those agreeing to Conditional Fee Agreements (CFA) after April 2013 must take out After The Event (ATE) insurance to cover the costs of their litigation. The premium is to be deducted from the claimant’s awarded damages.

Success Fees Explained

The more significant change was applicable to success fees which under the CFA was paid to No Win No Fee personal injury solicitors. The ruling asserts that success fees are now to be paid by claimants rather the paying party. However, the Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013 protects consumers by placing a 25% cap on the maximum the lawyers can charge their clients based on the damages awarded.

Find Out More About Conditional Fee Agreement

What Percentage Do Solicitors Take?

Of course the changes in the law are bound to have an effect on personal injury victims who will receive slightly less percentage of their compensation. Unless, they opt to instruct 100% compensation solicitors like ourselves where nothing is deducted from the awarded amount.

What is happening post April 2013 is that accident victims are entering into CFAs with success fees deducted from their damages up to the 25% cap. For instance, if you were awarded with £20k the success fee would be capped at £5k which is a quarter of the sum awarded and is payable to the solicitors.

Abuse Of Success Fees

Paying a £5k fee is a substantial amount that is within the terms of the contract. For many, it is not necessary had they used our 100% compensation service. Nevertheless, with success fee post April 2013 the plot thickens as, in brief, the valuation appears not to be adhered to which considers the risk factor in the completing the claim successfully.

The stated 100% success fee should be arguably of a value that is assessed according to guidelines which often is less that the amount deducted from the damages at a 25% cap. Whether this is reasonable for solicitors to do will no doubt attract attention and can be argued that it is to accept the risks taken.

If you are looking to instruct accident lawyers for a personal injury claim, then why not avoid the potential pitfall of 25% damages being deducted from your settlement and get our higher 101 percent compensation. We can arrange this for you when you get in touch.

Learn About The New Rules On PI Claims