How to fund a claim

There are various ways to fund a claim for clinical negligence which you may be eligible for.

If you are on a low income and do not have a lot of savings or capital then you may be able to apply for Legal Aid. We will check whether you qualify financially and will fill in the forms to apply for Legal Aid if appropriate. Normally you have to have made a complaint about your treatment first. Some people have to make a capital and / or monthly contribution towards their Legal Aid. If you do have other ways of funding your case the Legal Services Commission will expect you to use them. For example, some people have Legal Expenses Insurance.

 

It is helpful if you provide us with documents that confirm your income and expenditure as well as any savings.

 

Some insurance policies particularly household building and contents policies include cover for legal expenses to investigate a clinical negligence claim. You need to check any policies that you have to see if you might be covered. Many policies contain time limits to report a possible claim. It is important to check your insurance policies as soon as possible after you have had problems with treatment. If you do not do this, you may find that the insurer will not pay for a claim to be investigated because you are too late in reporting the possible claim to the insurance company.

 

Unless your case is very clear cut it is often not possible to enter into a No Win No Fee Agreement at the start of the investigation. Once we can assess your case fully we will consider this type of agreement in cases where there are no other ways of funding the claim.

 

The No Win No Fee agreement covers our costs but not the costs of the other side or fees that we have to pay to other people such as the court or medical experts. We may recommend you take out insurance to protect you against the risk of having to pay the other side’s costs (again this is not covered in the no win no fee agreement). Sometimes this insurance premium can be deferred so it is not paid until the end of the case.

 

If you are a member of a Trade Union or similar organisation then check whether they can help you with legal expenses.