Injury claim..Solicitor fees?

gibbo120985

I had an injury at my previous employer to cut the long story short basically i am a qualified crane driver and the company allowed a non qualified licensed driver to operate the crane which resulted in my hand being trapped...Anyway i was laid off with other people a few months later so i pursued a claim against the works... Its a firm called tlw solicitors based in Newcastle, i went for medical and was told my travel costs would be reinstated with my claim, The solicitor put an offer in of £3200, when i told my solicitor i thought it was worth more as the works broke health and safety but they said no stick with the £3200, including special damages,the works refused special damages claim so was therefore worth £3121.62, anyway my point is i have to pay them 25%??? of my claim? which i dont think they deserve as they have never once contacted me regarding any updates on my claim i was always phoning and chasing them.. and now im left with about £2347.51 and they are taking 25% off my travel expenses aswell? Is there anything i can do regarding these charges? as like i say i dont think they should get 25% also the solicitor acting on my behalf was only part time and now i have 3 different people on my case who done absolutley nothing to keep me informed,i have never seen one letter from previous employer to the solicitor?

browneyedbazzi

What did the contract you signed with this firm say regarding fees and expenses? Have you raised concerns with the firm about how they are handling your case to give them a chance to fix things?

If you don't feel they have acted properly then your option is to complain to the firm or the solicitors regulation authority. If they have done what they were contracted to do and your contract sets out the fees then you will probably be stuck with that. If they haven't fulfilled the contract or have acted improperly in some way then you may get some of the fees back.

InsideInsurance

gibbo120985 wrote: »

i thought it was worth more as the works broke health and safety but they said no stick with the £3200, including special damages,the works refused special damages claim so was therefore worth £3121.62, anyway my point is i have to pay them 25%??? of my claim?

You are talking about punative damages which dont exist in the UK. You get the same value for the injury from the other party irrespective of if it was a minor slip up they made or a major issue.

If it is a major breach of HS regulations then they can be fined by the HSE but that money doesnt go to you.

Who did you think paid your solicitors? Presumably this was a no win no fee arrangement? As it says, no win, no fee, its not simply no fee and you did win so there is a fee.

When did you instruct them? In April last year the law changed so that rather than getting a success fee from the defendant they instead are entitled to keep up to a maximum of 25% of your claim excluding future damages (eg if you needed nursing care for life). To partially offset this awards have been increase by 10% and inevitably you can negotiate a lower percentage than 25% before instructing them.

You need to read the paperwork that you initially received from them that will have outlined their charges