Operation gone wrong.

[ilovebees]

Hello, I am hoping that I am posting in the correct area, apologies if not.

I had an operation which did not go to well, the end result has left me with constant pain, and added problems.

My doctor actually advised me to seek advice of a solicitor, after further investigations and confirmation that things had gone wrong with this operation.

The solicitors i have spoken with, want to take the medical negligence claim straight away, and they feel, I have a good case. I was sent around 12 pages of information explaining the fees, it was all very daunting reading it, and this is what they call a no win, no fee case. However reading through the paperwork I noticed that they will take a 25% charge out of any potential settlement to me, as well as billing the opposite side for their fees too, should they win.
As I have never been involved in a medical negligence court case before, could I ask for some advice please, and that is; would 25% be the normal rate to take from the a settlement, as it seems rather a large amount.
many thanks

[MIKE770]

Clinical negligence in the NHS - taking legal action - Citizens ...

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk › health › complaining-about-the-nhs



This advice applies to England ... If you start a claim for clinical negligence, this shouldn't normally prevent or delay ... For more information, go to www.gov.uk.

[des8]

A 25% success fee is not unusual.
have you Legal Expenses Insurance, perhaps include in home insurance?

[ilovebees]

A 25% success fee is not unusual.
have you Legal Expenses Insurance, perhaps include in home insurance?

Thank you, no I dont, unfortunately. I just wondered if this was normal, as it seemed quite a large amount to me, and the fact they are also paid from the other side, seems they get more than the person injured.

[ilovebees]

Clinical negligence in the NHS - taking legal action - Citizens ...

https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk › health › complaining-about-the-nhs



This advice applies to England ... If you start a claim for clinical negligence, this shouldn't normally prevent or delay ... For more information, go to www.gov.uk.

Thank you for your link, I shall read that later.

[MIKE770]

Thank you, no I dont, unfortunately. I just wondered if this was normal, as it seemed quite a large amount to me, and the fact they are also paid from the other side, seems they get more than the person injured.

Paid from the other side??

[des8]

If you are successful your legal costs are paid by the other side (hopefully!)
If you are unsuccessful your legal costs are paid by the CFA insurers.
A success fee of 25% is recoverable from your award by your legal term.

The rules governing this are laid down in the Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013 and are not being dreamt up by your solicitors.
A 12 page document just illustrates how complicated the rules are!

[ilovebees]

With regards to the legal fees being paid by the other side, which you kindky replied to in your post,was this,Â* I questioned with the solicitors. They have told me that they only recover 70 per cent of their legal fees, and that I have to pay the rest on a win, Plus all of the other percentages. This is why I posted thinking about how much this will all add up too. Firstly 25 per centÂ* for pain suffering components, plus another one at 25 per cent, then insurance premium 3/4 payable and legal fees of 30 per cent all from the compensation. Hence my comment wonder what will actually be left for me. Is 30 per cent normality to pay if I win ? Thanks again

[des8]

shop around,

The Law Society have produced a template CFA agreement, which you might like to compare with that supplied by your current solicitors
https://www.lawsociety.org.uk/suppor...fee-agreement/

[2222]

With regards to the legal fees being paid by the other side, which you kindky replied to in your post,was this,Â* I questioned with the solicitors. They have told me that they only recover 70 per cent of their legal fees, and that I have to pay the rest on a win, Plus all of the other percentages. This is why I posted thinking about how much this will all add up too. Firstly 25 per centÂ* for pain suffering components, plus another one at 25 per cent, then insurance premium 3/4 payable and legal fees of 30 per cent all from the compensation. Hence my comment wonder what will actually be left for me. Is 30 per cent normality to pay if I win ? Thanks again

Hi Beelover

The insurance policy covers the other side's costs, which you would otherwise have to pay if you lose. The losers pay costs on a basis that is decided by the court and does not cover all the costs. Consequently, if you win, the other side won’t pay all your own solicitor's fees.

If the solicitor only wins say two out of three cases, then somehow they have to get all their fees, plus the premiums for the insurance and expert witness fees plus court fees, Â*for all three cases out of the two that they win. Hence, they are asking for part of your award if successful. The principle is reasonable, but the devil is in the details.

Really, all that you can do is shop around to see what other firms quote.That ought to depend on your chances of winning, but in practice that depends heavily on the expert witness testimony, which the solicitor Â*won’t commission until you hire them. For example, the experts may say that there’s simply a chance of these operations going wrong, no matter how carefully they are carried out, and there’s been no negligence. Hence, the solicitors are quoting blind at the moment.

Obviously, you don’t necessarily choose the cheapest.