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Getting free help and advice about compensation

You can't get legal aid (public funding) to help you pay for most personal injury cases.

It’s worth getting initial advice before you go to a solicitor or a claims management company to start a claim. This will help you to find out what’s involved in taking legal action and how much it will cost you.

Local advice centres, law centres and Citizens Advice Bureaux will be able to give you free advice.

• Find your local Citizens Advice Bureau

• Find your local law centre Opens new window

Hiring a solicitor

Taking legal action against someone can be very expensive. The law is complex, so you may need help from a solicitor.

The solicitor should advise you on costs before you agree to hire them. They shouldn’t charge you for your first meeting to discuss the matter.

You should ask them questions such as:

• What are your chances of winning?
• What are the risks?
• What are the costs?
• How long will the case take?

You will then be in a better position to work out if it’s worth taking legal action.

You can find a solicitor or advice agency using the link below.

• Find a legal adviser

Hiring a claims management company

Businesses known as claims management companies can help you to find a solicitor and to settle a compensation claim out of court.

Most claims handlers aren’t solicitors, and so won’t be able to represent you in court.

In general, claims management companies are not allowed to:

• contact you through cold calling (unwanted phone calls)
• put any pressure on you to use their services

If you sign a contract with them, they have to give you the chance to change your mind within 14 days of signing.

Claims management companies are regulated by the government, so you should check the company is authorised, using the tool at the link below, before using them.

(If a company is authorised - allowed to carry out its business - this does not mean that the government recommends or endorses the business.)

You can also check by contacting the Claims Management Regulation Unit:

Email:

info@claimsregulation.gov.uk

Telephone: 0845 450 6858

• Check compensation claims business is authorised Opens new window

Using ‘no win, no fee’ deals

You’ll normally have to hire a solicitor using a ‘no win, no fee’ agreement. This means you will only be liable to pay the solicitor’s fee if you win the case.

You may still have to pay for some other costs, such as:

• fees to pay for experts
• court fees
• travelling expenses

If you win, you’ll have to pay your solicitor’s fees and other costs, but you should be able to get most, if not all, of these costs paid by the other side. The solicitor may also charge a fee for winning the case.

If you lose, you will have to pay for:

• the other side’s legal costs
• other expenses and charges, such as fees for witnesses

You may wish to take out insurance against paying extra legal costs. A solicitor will advise you about this.

Checking if your insurance policies pay for legal costs

You should think about taking out insurance to protect you against a large legal bill. The bill may be particularly large if you lose the case and have to pay the other side’s costs.

You may already have insurance to pay for legal costs. Check your existing insurance policies to see if they include ‘legal expenses insurance’. You may have policies such as:

• motor insurance
• home contents insurance
• holiday insurance

You may also be covered for legal costs if you are a member of a trade union or a membership organisation such as the RAC or the AA.

Insurance policies normally only cover you for some types of legal problem and have other terms and conditions.

Getting insurance after you’ve had the accident or injury

If your existing policies don’t provide legal expenses insurance, you may wish to take out an ‘after-the-event’ insurance policy.

Your solicitor or claims management company can help you choose the right policy and will sometimes take it out on your behalf.

Some insurance companies will not insure you if they think the case is unlikely to succeed, and some after-the-event insurance policies are very expensive. If you win the case, you may be able to get some of the cost of the policy back from the losing side. You won’t get the cost back if you lose.