Funding Your Medical Negligence Claim
Many people who come to us are worried about the cost of making a medical negligence claim. But don’t let financial concerns stop you from seeking legal advice. There are several options available for funding a medical negligence claim, and we can help you choose the best one for your circumstances.
Funding your medical negligence claim
Broadly speaking, there are five funding options available to you:
- Conditional fee agreements (CFAs)
- Legal expenses insurance
- Trade union funding
- Legal aid
- Private funding
Conditional fee agreements (CFAs)
Widely known as ‘no win, no fee’, conditional fee agreements offer a risk-free way of funding your medical negligence claim.
If you win your case, your opponent will be liable for the bulk of your fees. However, you’ll need to use your damages to pay any costs that aren’t recoverable from your opponent, such as our success fee and part of an ‘after the event’ insurance premium.
If you lose your negligence claim and we’ve taken out insurance for you, you won’t have to pay our costs or the costs of your opponent.
Legal expenses insurance
Legal expenses insurance is often taken out as an add-on to an insurance policy, such as home or vehicle insurance.
It typically covers a range of legal matters, including medical malpractice claims. It may cover some or all of the legal costs of the claim, regardless of whether you win or lose your case.
We’re happy to review your policy documentation to check whether legal expenses cover is in place.
Trade union funding
If you’re a member of a trade union or you’re entitled to their benefits, it’s possible that the union will cover some or all of your legal costs. We can make these arrangements for you.
Legal aid
In recent years, the scope of legal aid has reduced considerably. It is now only available in cases that meet very strict criteria.
You may be eligible for legal aid if the case involves a child who has suffered a serious brain injury during pregnancy, childbirth or during the first eight weeks. If this injury has resulted in the child suffering a severe disability, public funding may be available to investigate a medical negligence claim.
If your claim looks as though it might qualify in principle for legal aid, we’ll let you know. We can also help you make a legal aid claim for your child.
Private funding
If your case doesn’t initially appear strong enough for a no win, no fee agreement, we may be able to undertake a preliminary investigation for you on a fixed-fee basis.
If the results of this are positive, we may be able to take on your case on a conditional fee arrangement basis.
Further information
Contact our specialist medical negligence solicitors on 0117 325 2929 or complete our online enquiry form to discuss your claim in detail.