Can I get Legal Aid to pay for a personal injury claim?

Legal aid is a form of government funding available to people who cannot afford legal representation. Legal aid has not been available to personal injury claimants since 2000, but no win, no fee agreements remove the financial risks of making a claim.

What is legal aid?

Legal aid was introduced after the Second World War as a way of giving people on low incomes fair access to the legal system. Over the years, legal aid has offered a financial lifeline to people caught up in the criminal justice system, as well as those bringing claims in the areas of family law, housing, employment, immigration, mental health, and debt.

In England and Wales, legal aid is administered by the Legal Aid Agency, an executive agency of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ). Leag aid funding comes from the Treasury.

Is legal aid available to personal injury claimants?

No. In 2000, the government abolished the right to legal aid for personal injury law cases. The measure was deemed necessary as over 700,000 personal injury claims were being funded by legal aid every year. As such, the cost to the public purse was spiraling out of control.

Is no win, no fee the alternative to legal aid?

Before abolishing legal aid for personal injury claims, the government introduced Conditional Fee Agreements (CFAs).

Conditional Fee Agreements (more commonly known as no win, no fee), ensure that people can still make a legal compensation claim if injured in an accident that was not their fault - regardless of their income.

Under a no win, no fee agreement, your solicitor will only charge you a legal fee if your claim is successful.

Before the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) was enacted in 2013, a successful claimant's legal fees were paid by the defendant.

Since LASPO, solicitors are paid a success fee (as opposed to hourly legal fees) if they win a claim. Success fees and certain expenses are deducted from the claimant's compensation.

This success fee is usually a percentage of the total compensation award or settlement. In most cases, the success fee will be 25%, this % being the maximum allowed by the Ministry of Justice.

So I will lose 25% of my compensation if I win?

Not exactly. There will usually be a 25% success fee deduction from your compensation total. However, if you make a claim on a no win, no fee basis, your compensation total is increased by 10% to offset the impact of the success fee deduction. The 10% increase was introduced by the courts after changes to the law in 2013.

What if I lose my claim?

If your claim is unsuccessful you would be liable to pay the defendant's legal fees, costs and disbursements. You would also have to pay your own expenses, such as travel costs, medical reports, and barrister's fees

To protect you against this potential liability, your solicitor will take out an After the Event (ATE) insurance policy at the beginning of the claim process. ATE insurance is a standard part of all no win, no fee agreements.

Without ATE insurance, you would be liable to pay the defendant's legal fees, costs and disbursements, if your claim is not successful. You would also have to pay your own expenses, such as travel costs, medical reports, and barrister's fees.

You only pay for the ATE policy if your claim is successful, in which case the cost is deducted from your compensation. If you lose your claim you do not have to pay for the policy - so making a claim really can be completely no win, no fee.

Please note, under a No Win, No Fee Agreement (CFA), fees may apply if a claimant refuses to cooperate, or abandons their claim after the legal work has started, or if the claim is fraudulent.

The impact of abolishing legal aid on personal injury claimants

Before accepting your claim on a conditional fee (no win, no fee) basis, your solicitor will carry out a risk assessment. This risk assessment will seek to confirm that you have a good chance of winning before your claim is accepted. The process also reduces the number of 'spurious' claims entering the legal system, while allowing injured people on lower incomes to seek legal representation.

See also:

No Win, No Fee injury claims

Why do all injury solicitors charge the same 25% success fee?

How will a personal injury claim affect my benefits?

How much does it cost to make a personal injury claim?

Will I have to pay tax on my injury compensation?

Should I set up a personal injury trust? Pros and cons

Work accidents Road accidents Public places Medical negligence Other accidents

Author:
Helen Goddard, Legal researcher

About the author

Helen is an award-winning legal researcher and author. She is an experienced court litigation report proofreader and has written extensively on legal matters.