No Legal Aid, So How To Find Personal Injury Solicitors?
META: Despite the fact legal aid is no longer available in such cases, a personal injury solicitor may still be able to assist you on a ‘no win, no fee’ basis. Representation in this way, should be secured if you feel you have a strong case?
Lega aid was available for personal injury claims before the year 2000. However, as with many areas of law, especially such things as head injury compensation etc, personal injury claims were becoming more and more costly to the UK tax payer and as a consequence, the Government felt obliged to cut off such access to people. Ensuring people who are unable to afford such a claim and can still have an access to justice, as meant that another method has, had to be found.
The British legal system would attempt to protest otherwise, but it’s a well known fact unfortunately, that the best levels of justice are only really available for those people who are mega rich! Deep down, we already know that this is absolutely true. If the Government were ever trying to argue against this fact, they would never have stopped legal aid for personal injury cases in the first place.
But, they have stopped it. So, where does this leave you when you have experienced an accident that was not your fault? If you do not have the necessary funds to pay for their services then what personal injury solicitor will take on your case?
This is where a personal injury solicitor would have boxed very clever and devised a way around the Government’s cruel lack of compassion in this regard. This is because if you are able to satisfy certain criteria, you will have a strong likelihood of being able to have your case taken on through a ‘no win, no fee’ agreement.
The relevant criteria that will be assessed in this regard are as follows:
The accident must not have been your fault.
Another person or legal entity (e.g. a company) must have been responsible for your accident. A breach of their duty or care to you would normally come about from their own negligence and this is where liability comes in.
In some way a loss has to have been suffered on your part. This could be through pain and suffering or some direct financial loss that you are entitled to be compensated for.
If the above criteria can be identified successfully, you would be far more likely of securing personal injury solicitors that will take your case on. If you are unable to satisfy any of the criteria, you will not be able to progress with a claim. That is unless you are willing to instruct the personal injury solicitors yourself and pay them accordingly. Even then, you need to know from the start what your chances are of winning the case.
When legal aid was stopped personal injury solicitors had to find a way of filling this void in the legal system. A lot of people feel that such companies are trying to profit from other people’s misfortune and perhaps there are some firms where this is true. Trying to get some money back is every individuals right especailly, when they have suffered an injury whereby they have experienced financial loss. It’s even worse when the accident was not your fault? For those who attempt to argue otherwise they would have to be vary mean spirited.e. our lovely Government)!