Funding a Medical Negligence Claim

Head Injury UK will offer you a free, no obligation one hour interview to discuss all aspects of your potential medical negligence claim. In certain circumstances our solicitor will travel to your home address to see you.

How will my claim be funded?

At the first free interview we will discuss with you how your claim can be funded. There will be a number of options to be considered:

• Legal expense insurance
  Household contents and motor vehicle insurance policies often provide legal expense insurance cover for taking action in claims for clinical negligence. This would mean that the costs of pursuing the claim would be funded by your insurance company. You should look at your insurance policy and telephone your insurance company to see if this is a possibility.
• Trade union assistance
  If you or your partner is a member a trade union, this sometimes entitles you to qualify for legal assistance for a clinical negligence claim.
• Legal Aid
  Head Injury UK are approved by the Legal Services Commission to undertake work on a legally aided basis if you meet the assessment criteria in terms of your financial position and the merits of the claim. We will discuss with you the Legal Services requirements and if you meet the criteria, will complete the appropriate forms on your behalf to make an application for legal aid. If you or your partner are in receipt of job seekers allowance, income support or pension credit, you will normally satisfy the financial requirements for legal aid. Legal aid will only be granted to someone who has less than £8,000 worth of savings and less than £100,000 worth of equity in their house. This is calculated by taking the market value of your house and deducting the amount left on your mortgage. Sometimes you may have to pay a monthly contribution to the Legal Services commission. We will discuss this with you at the meeting. If the claim is on behalf of a child they will normally receive legal aid as only the child's income and assets are taken into consideration.
• No win no fee agreement
  If none of the above funding options are appropriate to your circumstances we will discuss with you whether your claim could be pursued through a conditional fee agreement. This is an agreement where if you are successful you receive 100% of your compensation but there are no charges to you if the claim is for any reason unsuccessful. The law states that the "winner" in legal proceedings should pay the "losers" costs of bringing the claim. If we are successful in your case we will therefore recover our legal fees together with any costs such as medical report fees, from the other side. If we are unsuccessful in bringing the claim, then we will not charge you any legal fees but you still will be responsible for paying for the cost of the medical reports and any other disbursements incurred. We will give you a clear indication of what costs your case will involve before you decide whether you wish to pursue a claim.

For more information on pursuing a claim for compensation see our guide to clinical negligence claim.

Head Injury UK have specialist solicitors who will be able to advise with regards to a claim for medical negligence compensation. We will always offer a free initial consultation to discuss the claim and answer any queries you may have.