Professional Negligence - Can I afford to make a claim?

Professional negligence claims can be complex and therefor the legal cost of pursuing them can be high. Chattertons offer a range of funding options and all these should be considered carefully at the beginning of any case:

• Standard Hourly Rate: This is the traditional funding model where the client will pay costs on an agreed hourly rate. Estimates are given at the beginning of a matter and throughout the case but it is sometimes difficult to know exactly how much a claim will cost. Agreement can be reached to spread these costs over the life of a claim.
• Existing Legal Expenses Insurance: Clients should always check to see if they have the benefit of legal expenses insurance (often included as part of household or motor vehicle insurance). This may be used to fund a suitable case with sufficient prospects of success.
• Conditional Fees: These agreements are often referred to as “NO win No fee”. A success fee is payable in the event of a win but no fees are payable in the event of a loss. Clients should be aware that if court proceedings have been issued and the claim is lost, they could be liable to pay the winning side’s costs. As such, it is always advisable to take out insurance to cover this eventuality.
• After the event insurance: In addition to providing some cover where Conditional fee agreements are used, some insurance funders do offer other funding models which can be explored.

Funding options will very much depend on what view we take of the strength of the case and likelihood of a successful recovery of money. You may well want to ask if we will undertake an initial assessment of a case for a fixed fee, in order that you know if your claim is viable and also what options for funding will be available.

Talk to us about you claim, you perhaps cannot afford not to.

Head of Dispute Resolution at Chattertons, David Rogerson, Direct dial : 01636 675563