On August 11, the Local Government Association (LGA) in England issued a warning that the claims for trivial incidents may end up having negative consequences on highway repairs and education budgets. Many of the “no win, no fee” claims come about from lawyers approaching potential clients with the promise of no-cost services in exchange for filing a claim in which the attorney will represent them.
In 2013, the cost of claims generated by the poor condition of roads and highways came to over GBP 30 million — enough money to cover the cost of repairing over 600,000 potholes. The 30 million hit on compensation claims happened just when councils were making budget cuts and still trying to repair a GBP12 billion pileup in finishing street improvements. Road repairs in England and Wales fell behind because of decades of insufficient funding by mismanaged governments.
Change
In 1978, the government started working with more than one no win no fee claim expert and the rules were subsequently changed and extended to include civil court cases. Now, many people wonder what changes the “conditional fee” arrangement has generated.
Anyone with a television has seen the commercials. People tumbling off ladders, getting whiplash in car wrecks, falling on wet floors and other mishaps which happen regularly.
The message in the commercials is always on task. Take legal action NOW to get compensated for your accident and do it without incurring any costs. Just dial an 800 number and you'll be on your way to wealth and get retribution on a careless employer or even the government.
No win, no fee, or conditional fee arrangements (CFAs) were introduced in England and Wales in 1995. In 1998, legislators moved to make CFAs available in each civil case. The only exception allowed was in family court.
Legislators promised that no win, no fee agreements would level the playing field when it came to accessing justice. People who lived somewhere between the uber-wealthy and the uber-poor now had access to justice as well. The rich could afford private attorneys and the poor qualified for legal aid; the middle-class often went without representation.
Access to Justice
In 1999, the Access to Justice Act increased the desirability of no win, no fee deals. Judges could make the losing side cover the extra costs normally connected to CFAs such as the so-called “uplift” fees charged by attorneys. An uplift fee is an increase on normal fees to hedge against the possibility of losing the case and therefore getting no fee.
Trip and Slip Makes the Headlines
The changes in the law have generated numerous articles about lawyers and the legal industry. Especially hit is the personal injury sector.
Headlines claiming “legal vultures” make 2 million each week take their toll and have an effect on the public’s imagination. The implication is that desperate attorneys inflate fees for no win, no fee cases.
For their part, attorneys blame the negative perception on claim management firms. Not staffed by lawyers, claim management firms act as as matchmakers, sending clients to attorneys.
Statistics
The statistics of personal injury claims don’t back up the idea of a culture of compensation. The figures have been stable with 735,931 cases in 2001 and 732,749 in 2007.
Lawyers also disagree with the notion that no win, no fee leads to increased number of spurious claims. They say the attorney acts as a filter since the lawyer knows that every case won’t make it to court.
Most personal injury attorneys will take a case if the prospects of success are at least 60 percent.
Most lawyers do a tremendous job. However, there is a small minority of exploitative lawyers scrounging away money which would be much better spent improving the schools and fixing the streets. Some of the claims being made and fees being charged stretch credibility.
Peter Fleming, Chairman of the LGA Improvement Board said, “It is correct to make compensation available to genuine claims. Councils have feared that some lawyers are tying up the system with frivolous claims.”
“The majority of attorneys do a commendable job. There is still a small minority of opportunistic lawyers who suck money out of the system which would be better spent at fixing the roads.”
Source
No Win No Fee Claim Expert
Jerry Nelson is an freelance photojournalist and documentary photographer. Busy on assignment now in South America, Jerry is always interested in discussing future work opportunities. Contact him today.
