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?
Before the year 2000, legal aid was available for personal injury claims. 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. Another way of accessing justice has had to be found by personal injury solicitors as a result of this, otherwise some people would never be able to afford to try and make a claim.
As unfortunate as it sounds and despite the fact that most people who are connected to the British legal systems would attempt to protest otherwise, the best levels of justice are only ever available for the super rich! Deep down, we already know that this is absolutely true. Legal aid would never have been stopped for personal injury cases in the frist place if the Government were ever trying to argue against this fact.
But, they have stopped it. So, when an accident was not your fault, where does this actually leave you? Having your case taken on by a personal injury solicitor may be difficult if you do not have the necessary funds to pay them for their service?
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. This liability would usually arise through their own negligence or through a breach of their duty of care towards you.
In some way a loss has to have been suffered on your part. You are entitled to be compensated through pain and suffering or some financial loss.
Your case is far more likely to be secured by a personal injury solicitor if the above criteria can be identified successfully. Progressing with your claim means you have to be able to satisfy the criteria, if you can’t do this, then you do not have much chance. Unless you are willing to instruct and pay them yourself accordingly. Your chances of success of winning the case, even then,needs to be made clear right from the start.
Filling the void in the legal system had to be done when legal aid was stopped and personal injury solicitors have done this. Perhaps there are some firms where it is true to say, they are making profit out of other people’s misfortunes; I know there is a lot of people who think this out there. However, when people have been injured and have experienced financial loss as a result, surely they have every right to try and get back some of that money, especially when it was not their fault? Mean spirited are those people who attempt to argue otherwise.e. our lovely Government)!