History Of Personal Injury Claims

The law regarding personal injury claims changed dramatically in 1995. Before this time, if a person wanted to make a claim for compensation for an injury they would either have to obtain legal aid or pay out of their own pocket for legal services.

Legal aid was means tested, so if the claimant had too much income or too much in savings they would not qualify. This made it difficult to obtain for most people. Without legal aid the only option was to pay for a solicitor privately. Therefore they faced the prospect of being seriously out of pocket in the event that their case was not successful. Even worse, if the case was lost they would become liable for their opponent's legal fees as well as their own. This was obviously a strong disincentive for many people, who simply could not afford to take the risk.

There needed to be a change in the law. People who could not afford to mount a legal challenge in the courts were faced with having to cope with the consequences of their injuries without the financial support that they needed to cover their losses in earnings and the costs of rehabilitation, treatment and care. In August 1995 the 'no win no fee' (also called conditional fee) system was introduced. This meant that a claimant could instruct a solicitor on the basis that they would only have to pay a fee if the case was successful, and so there was no financial risk to the claimant, win or lose. The solicitor would take the risk instead.

For a period of time after 1995, solicitors were allowed to charge a success fee. This was an additional fee to take account of the fact that they were the ones taking the risk. Now, however, this must be paid by the other side. So following a successful outcome, the costs are claimed against the defendant in the case.