By Terry John. Last Updated 10th November 2023. Welcome to No Win No Fee Expert! Our site is dedicated to providing you with legal advice you can trust, and shows you how you can make a claim for a variety of different accident types on a No Win No Fee basis, from accidents at work to car accident claims.

But what does No Win No Fee mean? It’s a term you’ve probably heard before. In short, if your claim is accepted, your solicitor will offer you a contract that promises them a small percentage of your compensation award if they achieve a successful outcome. This percentage is capped by law, meaning you walk away with the bulk of your compensation.

If the claim doesn’t succeed, like the name suggests, there will be no fees to pay to your solicitor. That means no upfront fees and no on-going fees while the case progresses either.

To help you take the next steps with your own case, we’ve put together a complete guide to No Win No Fee solicitors, which you can read on our site. In it, we discuss how to find solicitors, how to use reviews and testimonials to determine if they’re the right fit for you, and we discuss in more detail the benefits that this type of agreement can give you when seeking compensation.

No Win No Fee agreements (also called Conditional Fee Agreements) allow people to pursue the compensation and justice that they deserve without risking their financial security. With no fees to pay unless you win, it’s an option preferred by many people.

Welcome to No Win No Fee Expert. We are proud to provide free expert legal advice to people who wish to seek compensation for accidents and injuries that weren’t their fault. We are also happy to provide you with legal support in making a claim through our panel of solicitors, who all provide no win no fee claims.  Our panel of solicitors operate all over the UK and can handle claims for all sorts of different types of accidents and injuries.

To see no win no fee claims explained and to learn more about some of the many different types of accident claims a solicitor can help you make, please read on.

To speak to our team about making a claim or to receive free legal advice, call our team at any time on 0800 073 8802, or you can send an enquiry request to them with this form.

What Is No Win No Fee?

No win no fee is an arrangement you can make with a solicitor when you begin a claim. It’s an arrangement which can save you from having to pay solicitors fees upfront, and if you don’t make a successful claim you won’t have to pay any legal fees at all.

To see no win no fee agreements explained further, keep reading below.

How Do No Win No Fee Claims Work?

Some claimants may be worried about how they are going to afford to pay their solicitors, or they may have concerns about being in an even worse position than they started out in if they are left with heavy legal costs after making a claim that fails to win compensation. Don’t worry about that, there are a number of different arrangements which you and your solicitor can make which will ensure that you won’t have to worry about paying any legal costs until or unless you have won your case.

All of the solicitors on our panel offer no win no fee claims which allow you to make a claim without being liable for any legal costs out of your own finances. None of our panel of solicitors will expect payment from you if they have failed to win compensation for your case, provided that the claim you were making had some grounds in the first place.

Any costs that you will be expected to pay can be taken out of the compensation sum you will receive if your claim succeeds, without overly diminishing the value of your compensation.

The liable party can also be required to cover legal costs in the event of a successful claim. No win no fee claims mean you don’t have to worry about the financial impact of making a claim on your own finances. Read on to the next two sections to find out more about how two different methods of making a no win no fee claim work.

If you’d like a more visual overview of our service, why not check out our helpful video below?

About Conditional Fee Agreements (CFA)

A conditional fee arrangement (CFA) is another term for a no win no fee claim. A conditional fee is one in which payment of the solicitors fees are conditional on them winning their client’s case.

In this kind of arrangement the solicitor is permitted to charge over their standard rate for their legal fees, this increase is known as a “success fee”. Most of the legal costs in a conditional fee arrangement can be recovered from the liable third party. Until recently the solicitors “success fee” could be recovered this way as well, but in 2013 the law was changed.

What Percentage Do Solicitors Take For No Win No Fee?

Nowadays the “success fee” of a conditional fee arrangement will be deducted from the compensation you get for your claim.

Technically solicitors may charge up to double their normal rates in success fees, but they are limited to taking only up to 25% of your compensation fee. The exact terms of your conditional fee arrangement will be negotiated and agreed upon between you and your solicitor before your claim begins.

What Is A Contingency Fee Agreement?

A contingency fee agreement is another type of no win no fee deal similar to, but different from a conditional fee arrangement.

Unlike in a conditional fee agreement a solicitor in a contingency fee agreement cannot charge a success fee and is required not to charge over their standard rates for their services.

However, like other forms of no win no fee agreements you will not be required to pay your solicitor if they do not secure a compensation fee on your behalf.

Some of the legal costs in a case made under a contingency fee agreement can be recovered from the liable third party.

What Types Of Compensation Claims Can We Cover?

Let’s take a look at some of the types of compensation claims that we can help with.

Accidents At Work

Our panel of solicitors cover accident at work claims. Accident at work claims cover all forms of harm caused to a claimant because their employer did not meet their obligation, set out by the Health And Safety At Work Act 1974 to take all reasonable steps to make the workplace as safe as possible.  This might include

  • Injuries caused by faulty equipment, a lack of training or a lack of safety equipment.
  • Mental health problems such as stress or anxiety or depression brought on by bullying, harassment or overwork which the management was aware of but did not take steps to rectify.
  • Injuries sustained in violent criminal behaviour which staff are subjected to as a result of inadequate security features or policies in the workplace.

Public Liability

A person or a business which owns or is responsible for a public area is responsible for making sure that the area is safe for the public to visit and use. If a member of the public suffers an avoidable accident while in the area which could have been prevented if the owner of the property had taken more steps to ensure safety, then a public liability claim can be made against them to compensate the claimant for their injuries. Our panel of solicitors can provide public liability claims against almost any kind of business. Public liability claims include:

  • Slips, trip and fall claims: These are some of the most common types of public liability claims. If someone has hurt themselves by falling over on a tripping hazard or a slipping hazard which should have been cleared safely away, then the business operating the area could be liable. Actionable tripping and slipping hazards include, spills that were not cleaned up, wet patches of floor unmarked by a warning sign, potholes and damage to pavements and ripped or frayed carpets and flooring.
  • Falling object injury: If an object which should have been securely placed falls and injures a member of the public, that person can seek compensation against the owner of the premises I.e. if objects fall from the shelf in a supermarket and hit a customer.
  • Faulty equipment: If a business operates equipment designed for public use they could be liable if a member of the public injures themselves because said equipment was not maintained to a standard of being safe for use. This can include faulty playground equipment, faulty gym equipment or faulty specialist equipment, such as in a zip-lining course.

Road Traffic Accidents

Compensation can be recovered for injuries suffered in a road traffic accident that was caused by a third party.

Damages will be claimed from the driver who caused the accident through negligent driving (i.e. driving with windows obscured by frost, driving over the speed limit or driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs.)

In cases in which the driver responsible for the accident cannot be identified and a claim brought against them, or if they were uninsured, the National Insurance Bureau will deal with the case.

Or, if the RTA was caused by the condition of the roads, from the authority responsible for maintaining the road where the accident took place.

In most cases, this would be either the local authority or the National Highways England body (or Traffic Scotland in Scotland). More information on this government accident injury claims website.

Medical Negligence

Claims can be brought against the NHS and any private medical practitioners for medical negligence, also known as clinical negligence. Healthcare providers are liable for medical negligence claims if they, or their staff and doctors, can be proven to have caused harm to the claimant by falling short of the standards of care expected of them or by not carrying out protocol and procedures properly. Cases of medical negligence can occur if

  • A GP has misdiagnosed a health issue, provided an incorrect prescription or failed to refer you to the appropriate specialists and scans.
  • A dentist has injured a patient while operating on a tooth or provided an incorrect dose of anaesthesia or painkillers.
  • A patient has suffered harm as a result of botched surgery, either through infections, retention of medical instruments in the body or the incorrect application of anaesthesia.
  • An elderly or disabled resident in a nursing care home has suffered neglect or abuse.
  • A patient has suffered from an infection of sepsis, pneumonia, MRSA or other infections while staying in hospital. Or if negligence has resulted in wrongly dispensed medications, inadequate monitoring of vital signs or undernourishment.
  • If a pharmacist has dispensed the wrong dose or type of prescription.

Financial Misconduct Claims

As well as physical injuries and psychological distress caused by accidents, in some circumstances a no win no fee claim could be made for financial losses which the claimant has suffered due to the negligence of a bank or other business trading in financial products.

Claims for financial misconduct can be made when the business has engaged in financial mis-selling in order to get the claimant to purchase their products.

Financial mis-selling is failing to provide the information to the customer to enable them to make an informed decision on what product is best for them in a way that violates financial regulations set out by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Some of the ways that a company might engage in financial misselling include

  • Omitting the most beneficial option for the customer from the options they present to them in favour of options which provide greater profit to the business.
  • Selling stock investments in risky market sectors which risk the claimant losing money without informing the claimant of said risk.
  • Failing to take into account their clients health history and current health situation, including relevant personal information such as drinking and smoking habits and weight.
  • Attempting to push the client towards a particular option or rush the client into making a decision.

Holiday Accident Claims

Not all claims handled by our panel of no win no fee solicitors need to be about incidents caused by UK based third parties. Compensation claims can also be brought against foreign businesses that have caused a claimant harm while they were staying abroad. A British solicitor can bring about a claim against a foreign business provided they know the law concerning compensation claims in that country. The claim may be brought against a British travel agent if that business was responsible for organising any dealings the client had with the negligent business.

Under the Montreal convention compensation can be sought from airlines if their negligence has caused a significant flight delay or caused passengers luggage to go missing or get damaged.

Other Claims We Can Help With

There are more different types of personal injury claims that our panel of solicitors can help you to make:

Criminal injury claims

No win no fee claims can be made to seek compensation for injuries or psychological harm suffered as a result of a violent crime or a criminal assault.

Unlike other compensation claims in which compensation and legal costs are recovered from the liable party themselves (i.e. a business or a negligent road user) Criminal injury claims are made to, and paid out for, by the government through the Criminal Injury Compensation Authority (CICA) scheme.

Criminal injury claims have a shorter claims time limit than personal injury claims, two years instead of three, although exceptions can be made in cases of historical sexual assault and childhood sexual abuse.

Housing disrepair claims

Compensation can be recovered from landlords and social housing authorities which neglect the properties they rent out to their tenants to the point that the condition of the property causes harm to the residents health.

Note that in cases like these it needs to be proven that the disrepair was result of the landlord failing to meet obligations laid out in the tenancy agreement, and not caused by the negligence of the tenant.

To get an idea of whether you might be eligible to make a claim for housing disrepair, you can read through this citizens advice page.

Can I Claim Compensation On Behalf Of Someone Else?

Not everyone who has an accident or develops an illness caused by negligence is in a position to take legal action on their own behalf. Children of course cannot make their own compensation claims.

As their parent or legal guardian you can seek out compensation on their behalf by being appointed what’s known as a litigation friend. No win no fee claims can also be made on behalf of adults with learning disabilities or who are suffering from neurodegenerative illnesses such as dementia or Alzheimer’s.

Who Is Eligible To Make A No Win No Fee Claim?

Anyone who has suffered harm to their health because of someone else’s negligence could be eligible to make a no win no fee claim. The harm to their health could be a physical injury ranging from one which would heal by itself after a few weeks, such as whiplash, to serious injuries which have life-changing effects.

Claims could be made for illnesses that the claimant has suffered; this could range from a bout of food poisoning they have suffered from eating at a certain restaurant, to chronic illnesses which could greatly reduce the claimant’s life expectancy, such as asbestosis.

It isn’t just physical harm which could entitle someone to make a compensation claim; mental health can be grounds as well. Stress and anxiety due to pressure, harassment or bullying at work as well as post-traumatic stress stemming from an accident or a violent incident can be grounds for a no win no fee claim.

In order to make a claim, a claimant has to have reason to believe that another person or a third party was at least partly responsible for causing the injury, compensation will not be awarded to claimants whose injuries were caused entirely by their own negligence. To prove liability the claimant and their personal injury solicitor will have to produce evidence that it was the other party’s actions which caused harm to the claimant, for example by providing evidence that another driver caused a car accident by driving negligently.

In some cases the claim will centre around a third party failing to meet a duty of care they had to the claimant. This could be a hospital or GP in medical negligence claims, or an employer in an accident at work case. Firstly the claimant and their personal injury lawyer would have to outline that the third party had a duty of care to the claimant, then provide evidence that through their actions they caused harm to the claimant by failing to meet that duty of care.

How Long Do I Have To Make A No Win No Fee Claim?

Claim time limits exist. They can vary depending on what kind of claim you wish to make and the specific circumstances in which you wish to claim, however you would not be able to claim after the time limit for your case has expired, even if you would otherwise have valid grounds for compensation.

For standard personal injury claims the time limit is three years, meaning three years after the diagnosis of the health issues. This means in some cases the three-year time span in which to make a claim could be some time after the incident took place.

For children a compensation claim can be made on their behalf at any time by their parents until they reach the age of 18. At this point, the standard three-year time limit will come into effect.

In claims for criminal injury compensation the time limit is shorter, just two years instead of three. However, victims making claims for being the victim of sexual violence or sexual abuse as a child can be eligible for exceptions to this two-year rule in order to claim for historical offences.

How Much Compensation Could I Get In A No Win No Fee Claim?

It’s helpful to have an idea of how much compensation you could receive in a No Win No Fee compensation claim before taking legal action.

In most claims, like personal injury and medical negligence, it’s possible to claim for both the injuries sustained and the financial cost they’ve had on you.

Each case is unique, so there are no average payouts or definitive amounts. However, we have provided you with figures used in the legal industry that help guide solicitors and lawyers to fair and accurate settlements.

These figures represent the value of injuries only and come from the Judicial College Guidelines.

INJURYSEVERITYCOMPENSATIONNOTES
Brain and HeadVery Severe£282,010 to £403,990The injured person needs full-time nursing care. Factors including life expectancy and the extent of physical limitations affect the level of award.
ParalysisTetraplegia£324,600 to £403,990Upper and lower body paralysis, also known as quadriplegia.
Psychiatric Damage GenerallySevere£54,830 to £115,730The affected person has marked issues with respect to factors like their ability to cope with life, education, or work.
BackSevere (i)£91,090 to £160,980The most severe injuries involving damage to the spinal cord and nerve roots. They lead to serious consequences not normally found in back injury cases.
Amputation of ArmsLoss of Both Arms£240,790 to £300,000The injury reduces a person with full awareness to a state of considerable helplessness.
HandTotal or Effective Loss of Both Hands£140,660 to £201,490Serious injury leading to extensive damage to both hands, rendering them little more than useless.
LegAmputations (i)£240,790 to £282,010The loss of both legs. Either one is lost above the knee and one below, or both are lost above the knee.
Severe (i)£96,250 to £135,920Cases of the most serious injuries short of amputation.
KneeSevere (i)£69,730 to £96,210Serious knee injury with disruption of the joint.
FootAmputation of Both Feet£169,400 to £201,490The injury is treated like below-knee amputation of both legs because of the loss of a useful ankle joint.

Claiming For Financial Losses

This type of compensation, or head of claim, is known as ‘special damages’. It’s possible to claim for losses that you’ve already incurred and costs and expenses you may incur in the future.

Here’s a breakdown of what you can get:

  • Loss of earnings – if you had to take time off work, you can claim back any earnings or bonuses that you missed out on while you were off. If your injury is so severe that you cannot return to work, it’s possible to claim for the money you would have earned but for the injury.
  • Care costs – if because of the injury you required help from others, like a family member, friend or even paid support, it’s possible to recover these costs and claim a fee for the time given up by your loved ones in caring for you.
  • Damage to equipment – if you suffer a head injury, for example, you may have broken your glasses during the accident. It’s possible to claim for the costs of replacement property like this
  • Travel costs – if you had to take buses or taxis that otherwise would have been avoided but for the injury, you can claim back these fees.
  • Medication costs – you can also claim back the cost of any prescriptions or medication that you required in your recovery

This list isn’t exhaustive, so if you’d like to check to see if you can recover different costs in your compensation claim, please get in touch for free.

We Can Offer You Free Legal Advice

If you want to talk to us it doesn’t necessarily have to involve starting a claim with us straight away. Our team will be more than happy to discuss the details of your case with you.

If you want to talk about how your claim might be affected by time limits, how you will gather evidence for your case, whether or not the severity of your injury warrants a claim, how much compensation you might receive, whether or not you can make a claim for a type of injury not listed in this article or whether you want more details about how conditional fee agreements work our team can offer you legal advice for free, without any obligation on your part to subsequently use our services,

Why Is Our Advice Free?

Our advisors can offer free, no-obligation consultation and advice on no win no fee compensation claims. They are available 24/7 to help you out and answer any questions you need answered.

You might be wondering why we would offer such an important service for free and without being conditional on agreeing to begin a claim with us beforehand.

It’s because we are sincere in wishing to provide help to people when they need it, but also because we trust that the high quality of our advice based on our thirty years legal experience and the fact that we offer it for free will convince our service users to choose to work with our panel of solicitors.

We Offer A Free Online Chat For Compensation Claims

In the bottom right-hand corner of your screen when you are on our site you will see a chat box or tab. This is one method for you to communicate instantly and easily with our team of advisors.

Simply post a message and one of our advisors will get on the line and start chatting with you about your situation, answering any questions you might have about making a claim and discussing your situation.

It’s free, it is anonymous, it’s quick and easy and carries no obligation on your part to commit to making a claim with our panel of solicitors. If you want you can try getting started right now.

Contact Our No Win No Fee Experts Today

To contact us to ask for advice or to discuss beginning a compensation claim you call our phone line on 0800 073 8802

The team will guide you through the process of making a claim it is open 24 hours a day seven days a week, so we are always reachable.

Alternatively, if you want to schedule a call with a No Win No Fee solicitor for a certain time and date you can put your details into an enquiry form here.