No win no fee - Is it worth engaging at outset?

38 Posts

Hi Everyone,
I would apprecate any advice or opinions. My OH was recently injured while using public transport. No broken bones thankfully but she is on painkillers and needs a walking stick and likely will be off work for at least 6 weeks. Her job is zero contract hours but she is entitled to statutory sick pay which is only around £100 per week.
An insurance assesor for the particular company has been in touch and advised her to raise a claim through their claims process.
My thoughts are that rather than engage a "no win no fee" company at the outset that she goes through the company's claim process and only go the legal route if no offer is made or the offer made is not acceptable. At the very least I would expect her to be compensated for the earnings that she will lose over the period that she is unable to work.
Just wondering whether anyone has gone through similar and whether this is the best approach.
Any advice appreciated - Hope this is the correct forum for this type of query,
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I’d be careful about engaging a No win, no fee solicitor. There’s a thread on here at the moment about someone who’ll very likely be out of pocket even though they’ll win their case. You need to analyse your chances and any potential payout before considering this route.
To the OP - do you have legal expenses on your home insurance? If you do they most likely would provide cover for a lawyer. You many also have similar through a works union etc.
If her injury falls within the scope of the whiplash reforms then the injury itself is a fixed tariff based on the prognosis on full recovery, you can google the table, the 2nd column is if there are psychological damages too. Loss of earnings will be the difference between her average take home pay and the SSP that she received. You'd also be able to claim for the stick (if you bought it) and any OTC medicines or prescription charges if you have receipts for them (or a nominal amount if you dont).