Frequently Asked Questions
I have been injured - do I have a claim for compensation?
If you have been injured in an accident in the past three years* and you do not think that the accident was your fault you may have a claim for compensation. You can complete our online claim form with details of your injury and we will contact you in the next 24 hours to discuss your case and advise you on your prospects of success.
*in the case of a child, you have three years from their 18th birthday to make a claim
Complete our online claim form
How can I fund my Personal Injury claim?
There are two main ways of funding your personal injury claim.
Conditional Fee Agreements ("No Win No Fee")
A conditional fee agreement is an agreement between us and our client where we represent the client on a No Win No Fee basis. For taking this risk on behalf of a client, we are paid a success fee by the insurer of the defendant if the case is successful.
All claims have to be insured because, in the unlikely event that your claim is not successful, you will be responsible for your opponent's legal costs. In such circumstances, the Insurance Policy would cover that so that you are not out of pocket. Garden House Solicitors will organise the Insurance for you if you do not already have legal expense insurance cover.
Legal Expense Insurance
It may be that you have Legal Expense Insurance cover attached to your motor insurance or your Home Contents insurance or even your credit cards. If you do, we can contact your Legal Expense Insurer and ask them to appoint this firm to act on your behalf under the terms of that insurance. If you are not sure whether you have Legal Expense Insurance please provide us with your documents and we will check them for you.
Some legal expense insurers will only appoint solicitors that are on their own panel to act for you. Often the panel solicitors are based a considerable distance away from where you live. The benefit of having a local solicitor is that you will meet the person acting for you and you will be treated as an individual. If your legal expense insurance will only appoint its own panel solicitors, Garden House Solicitors can act for you under a Conditional Fee Agreement and can arrange for your claim to be insured.
Other ways of funding a personal injury claim include:
Legal Aid
Legal Aid is no longer available for injury claims arising out of negligence and is now only available for complex claims, actions against the police and injuries arising out of housing disrepair.
Trade Union
If you are a member of a trade union, your union may be prepared to fund your case through us or a solicitor with whom they have an arrangement.
Paying Privately
You pay our costs and expenses as the claim progresses. This can be expensive. The costs can be claimed from the Defendant on the successful conclusion of your claim.
How do I know if I have Legal Expense Insurance?
It will usually state on your certificate of insurance whether or not you have legal expense insurance.
If you are unsure whether or not you have Legal Expense Insurance we will investigate this for you if you provide us with your insurance documentation.
Will I receive all of my compensation?
No matter what funding arrangement is in place, you will receive 100% of your compensation.
Who pays my Solicitor's legal costs?
Technically the claimant is liable for his/her own legal costs but in practice legal fees and expenses are claimed from the insurance company of the party responsible for the accident (known as the Defendant).
If we act for you under the terms of a No Win No Fee agreement you will have to take out insurance to cover the defendant's costs to protect you in the unlikely event that you lose the case. Garden House Solicitors is a member of the Accident Line scheme. It is the only Personal Injury referral scheme endorsed by the Law Society. We can arrange insurance for you if you do not have insurance in place to cover your claim.
Who pays the expenses of running my claim?
Medical expenses, court fees, etc are known as disbursements. You can either pay these yourself as the case progresses or Garden House Solicitors will pay them for you for a small facilitiation fee which will only become payable when you win your claim. On the conclusion of your claim the disbursements will be claimed from the defendant and these will be in addition to our costs and your compensation. The facilitation fee will depend on the type of claim and we can advise you of this during your initial consultation.
