How To Keep More Of Your Medical Negligence Compensation

No Win No Fee Medical Negligence Compensation Claims

Not all clinical negligence solicitors are the same. Coles Miller’s expert lawyers always do their utmost to ensure you get to keep more of your compensation from a successful claim.

It won’t cost you anything if you lose because we handle all claims on a No Win No Fee basis – so there is no financial risk to you. And that reassurance is just the start of how we can help you to get the most from your claim.

There are various ways in which we can minimise the deductions involved in pursuing a successful claim. We’ll explore those benefits in more detail later on in this blog post. But first let’s examine the costs involved…

Cost Of No Win No Fee Medical Negligence Claims

It will cost you nothing in advance to bring a Coles Miller No Win No Fee medical negligence claim. And there are no costs in the unlikely event of your claim not succeeding. (Find out more here about the process.)

But with virtually all No Win No Fee claims, there are costs deducted from the compensation obtained at the end of a successful case:

• Insurance premium – typically around £1,200, though it varies based on the size of the claim. This insurance covers the cost of disbursements (such as fees for the court and medical experts) in the event that a claim does not succeed. A premium of £1,120 covers claims up to £10,000, whereas a claim for £500,000+ damages would require a premium of £13,440.
• Success fee – up to 25% of the compensation for injuries and past loss. This is the payment to the solicitor for all the legal work they have carried out on your behalf. Remember, your lawyers will not have received a penny in advance for all their months and years of work. They must bear all the upfront costs themselves. They take the risk of having to pay all the costs if a claim does not succeed.

Some law firms will charge upfront fees to help cover the cost of experts’ reports. Coles Miller does not make any advance charge: there are no upfront costs in a Coles Miller No Win No Fee claim.

Now, let’s look at the ways in which Coles Miller works to minimise these costs for you so you get to keep more of your injury compensation payout...

Cutting Our Solicitors’ 25% Success Fee

We never forget that the client who brought the claim will have suffered painful and often life-changing injuries due to medical negligence.

Nor do we forget that they will need help and support after winning their claim. Some need round-the-clock care for the rest of their lives. Our personal injury solicitors (who look after clients hurt in accidents) help clients for years after their successful claims – decades in some cases.

We want you to be happy with your claim and with the compensation you have been awarded. For that reason, we will sometimes reduce the 25% success fee allowed under No Win No Fee litigation rules.

If it costs us only £10,000 in legal work to win your £2 million claim then we’re not going to charge you a £500,000 success fee: we will charge you the £10,000 that it cost to bring your claim.

And once again, we can use our legal experience to accurately estimate the chances of you winning your case. So we can charge a lower success fee for claims expected to proceed quickly to a successful compensation settlement.

For the record, virtually all successful claims involve a settlement. Very seldom do we ever need to go to court. So it is very unlikely that you would ever have to give evidence in court.

Reducing The Cost Of Obtaining Expert Medical Evidence

You will need detailed clinical evidence to prove your claim. So we contact medical experts and instruct them to investigate and report on the cause, severity and consequences of your injuries. If appropriate, we will also instruct a barrister, who – like us – will also work on your case on a No Win No Fee basis.

Our decades of experience mean we have access to a wide range of highly specialised medical experts. Some are willing to provide initial advice for free or at a reduced rate.

When Should I Claim For Medical Negligence?

There is a three-year time limit on medical negligence claims so you should always claim as quickly as possible.

In some circumstances, we can also take on claims mistakenly rejected by other law firms if we find that – on closer analysis – the claim is still ‘in time’. We may also take on certain claims close to expiry of the limitation period. (Our specialised experience enables us to better understand the application and handling of the statute.)

However, it is best not to delay. Please contact us as soon as possible to ensure that you do not lose your opportunity to claim for your injuries.

Get Expert Legal Advice On Medical Negligence Compensation Claims

Claiming compensation for clinical negligence by the NHS and other healthcare providers has become more complex in recent years due to changes in the law and the claims process.

Many small law firms (and even some large ones) now no longer take on injury claims. Instead, they refer them to specialist medical negligence and personal injury solicitors such as Coles Miller.

Our expert team of medical negligence solicitors is led by Coles Miller Partner David Simpson, whose specialisms include Cauda Equina, mismanaged labour (injuries to babies and mothers), ectopic pregnancies, appendicitis, surgical errors and vascular complications. He is based at our Poole office.