FINANCING MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE CASES

Funding Claims

Financing medical negligence cases is a matter that can often be resolved by the use of either legal aid or the no win no fee scheme both of which are available for this type of legal action. For those who are financially well off there is the option of privately funding a legal action however this option has almost fallen into disuse since the advent of the no win no fee scheme whereby the solicitor dealing with the claim takes most of the risk. A small percentage of cases are pursued using legal expenses insurance which is sometimes included in a house contents policy. Insurance provided by trade union membership can occasionally cover legal action however most trade unions now recommend their members who need legal advice to a panel solicitor who will deal with legal action using the no win no fee scheme.

Legal Aid

Medical negligence cases can still be publicly funded by the Legal Services Commission which was formally known as the Legal Aid Board. There are strict parameters which must be complied with before an applicant will be granted a certificate of legal aid. The commission will need to be satisfied that the ratio between the value of the claim and the anticipated legal costs is within reasonable parameters. The board will generally not grant legal aid if the anticipated chances of success are less than 50%. The Legal Services Commission can however ignore there general rules and grant legal aid if the case is of exceptional importance to the applicant.

No Win No Fee

The no win no fee scheme was introduced in 1998 and operates by the solicitor backing a case and taking a risk on his legal fees. A solicitor acting under the no win no fee scheme is only entitled to be paid his legal fees if he wins the case and that payment is made by the losers or more usually by their insurance company. If the case is lost then the solicitor will lose his legal fees. In medical negligence cases most firms of solicitors will expect the client to pay for any expenses that are incurred as the claim proceeds which can mean that the client is also at risk of losing money advanced to cover these costs. Legal expenses under this category can include the cost of medical records, medical reports and ‘after the event’ insurance which is usually necessary to safeguard the claimant in the event of the case being lost from the risk of being ordered to pay the other sides legal costs.

Expert Lawyers

We represent a network of specialist lawyers operating throughout the United Kingdom. In England and Wales our solicitors are all members of the Law Society clinical negligence panel and are franchised to make an application for legal aid. Less than 1% of UK solicitors are clinical negligence specialists. If you would like to talk to an expert lawyer just complete the contact form and a solicitor will phone you to give free advice without any further obligation whatsoever.