insurance charge with personal injury claim?

[time2burn]

Hi
My wife recently fell over head first in a pot hole
she had some basic injuries and ruined her good shoes.[nothing broken though]
When contacting a well known personal injury solicitor firm they stated she would have to pay a £200+ insurance regardless if win or lose to cover them just in case she lost.
They said this is new legislation

Anyone know if this is true? Are all firms charging this?
or they trying a fast 1?
This is not a no win no fee if you paying £200+

Thanks for your help as always

SM

[des8]

Re: insurance charge with personal injury claim?

It sounds as if she has been offered "after the event "(ATE) insurance which is often inaccurately described as "no win no pay"

After the Event Insurance policies normally cover the legal costs which a Claimant must pay to a defendant when a claim is unsuccessful – when the claim is either lost at trial, or abandoned/settled after the defendant has incurred costs which the claimant is liable to pay.

[time2burn]

Re: insurance charge with personal injury claim?

yes that may be it
can't see point in making claim if you may have to pay over £200 even if you lose
Thanks des8

[Peridot]

Re: insurance charge with personal injury claim?

In the past ATE was available for claims and it is strongly recommended that you take it out. Previously many had deferred payments to the end of the claim, which if successful was paid by the defendant's insurers and if you lost was written off. This is no longer the case.
The claims are still no win no fee as far as lawyers fees are concerned but the ATE premium is classed as a disbursement. Disbursements have always been payable by the Claimant (although the Defendant would refund these if the claim was successful. If the claim was/is unsuccessful then the claimant is still liable for any disbursements although the solicitors fees would be waived. The ATE premium covers those disbursements such as expert reports and court fees that you would be liable for in the event your claim was unsuccessful and of course the other sides costs and disbursements if the matter went to Court and the claim failed. This could be well into the thousands of pounds. As with any insurance policy often they are a necessary evil, like travel insurance hopefully you never need it but if something does go wrong you're grateful for it in the end.
When the rules changed it also became possible for claimant lawyers to take a percentage of the damages in a successful claim, partly to cover their own fees which they are no longer able to claim since the fixed fee portal process came into force (although many firms refuse to take any of the claimant's damages still out of principle).
The ATE and expert reports etc are disbursements which in any other claim would be payable by the Claimant, however other than the ATE premium claimants do not fund their own reports (unless they insist on a second report for example).
Slip and trip claims can be very tricky and you would have to show that the 'defect' was sufficiently serious and that the Local Authority knew or ought to have known about it's existence and had done nothing about it. It would also be unusual for a law firm to take on any claim where the injuries were valued at less than £1000 as this will prevent them being paid for the work altogether.
I hope that your wife has recovered fully, but if not it may be worth considering pursuing the claim still but shop around, look for local lawyers who specialise in personal injury claims rather than the large centres maybe? You will still get stung for the ATE in all likelihood wherever you go. Thank the insurers who pushed for the fixed fee portal but then also pushed for the ATE premiums not to be refundable as part of the claim any longer!
If you do decide to look into pursuing the claim further I would recommend taking photos of the defect, but would say if it is less than 2" deep it is unlikely you would succeed in the claim. I would however report the defect to the local Highways Authority so they are then aware of it. It may not assist in any claim your wife may have but could help someone else if another fall happens.