Specialists in complex medical negligence claims

Your main worry about pursuing a medical negligence claim may be how you will pay for it. There are various options available to fund your compensation claim, so you can be confident of receiving our advice whatever your financial situation.

1. Legal expenses insurance

You may have legal expenses insurance (LEI) as part of your household insurance without knowing it, and if so, it could help you fund your compensation claim.

2. No win, no fee or conditional fee agreements

‘No win no fee’ – also known as a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) – is where your solicitor shares the risk of your claim, meaning your legal fees will only be paid if your claim is successful. If you ‘win’, your solicitor will recover the majority of your legal fees from the Defendant but if your claim is lost, they will not be paid.

A Conditional Fee Agreement entitles your solicitor to charge you a ‘success fee’ of no more than 25% of the compensation they recover for you. This fee is a reflection of the level of risk taken by your solicitor, i.e. the likelihood of your case being unsuccessful and your solicitor not being paid at all.

3. After the event insurance

‘After the event’ insurance (ATE) is sometimes available to cover your risk of having to pay your case expenses. This can include experts’ fees, court fees and the Defendant’s costs if you don’t accept their offer of settlement or lose your case and the Court orders you to pay. ATE insurance is often used in conjunction with a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA).

There are several types of ATE insurance policy available. Some defer payment of the premium until the case concludes, where others write off the premium if your case is unsuccessful. The premium will be deducted from the compensation you receive.

4. Privately funding your compensation claim

If you wish to fund a claim privately, we can advise you on the costs involved in undertaking an initial investigation and bringing the claim, so you know how much you will have to pay.

The only type of medical negligence claim entitled to Legal Aid is injury during pregnancy, labour or the first eight weeks of life. If you have a claim of this nature and are entitled to Legal Aid, we’re one of the few firms to have a Legal Aid contract, so we can act for you. In such cases, we will advise you whether you qualify for legal aid.

If you decide to move your case to us mid-claim and already have Legal Aid, it can be transferred to us.

If you’re unhappy with your current solicitor, you’re perfectly within your rights to change solicitor. Many firms claim to have the specialism, expertise and experience necessary to handle complex claims, but in reality, they are not able to give you the service you need or deserve.

It’s not always straightforward to change solicitor part way through the process, but if your claim is complex and of potentially high value, a change may be what’s needed to achieve the best possible outcome for you.

If your claim is relatively simple or you’re claiming compensation below £25,000, changing your solicitor is likely to be more difficult and may not be worthwhile.

Yes, you have the right to change solicitors at any stage of a personal injury or medical negligence claim if you are unhappy with the service or advice you’re receiving. While many firms promote their expertise, they don’t always have the specialist knowledge or experience needed to handle complex cases effectively, which can impact the progress and outcome of your claim.

Although switching solicitors part way through a claim is not always straightforward, it can be the right decision—particularly if your case is complex or of high value. For lower-value claims (typically under £25,000), changing solicitors can be more difficult and may not always be worthwhile.

You can move your claim to Clarke Willmott. We are frequently asked to take over cases mid-process, especially where the previous solicitor lacks the specialist expertise required.

If we’re able to help, we’ll agree how your previous solicitor’s legal fees will be handled and guide you through the process. This includes asking you to sign a Form of Authority, which allows your former solicitor to release your file to us so we can continue your claim seamlessly.

Most medical negligence claims are subject to a limitation period of three years from:

• The date on which the negligent treatment, injury or death occurred
• The date of knowledge of the negligence, injury or death (if later)

Therefore, if a claim has not been settled by agreement or court proceedings have not commenced before the applicable time limit, the claim may not be allowed to proceed.

There are important exceptions to this three-year limitation period:

• If the claimant lacks mental capacity – if the claimant lost mental capacity on the date of the injury, the limitation period does not apply. However, if they lost capacity at a later date within the limitation period, the Court will take into account the duration of the disability when deciding whether or not the limitation period still applies.
• Claims involving children – the three-year limitation period starts to run once the child turns 18. Therefore, you have until age 21, subject to the passage of time issue detailed in the bullet point above, to formally initiate a claim.

You can claim compensation for the pain and suffering you have endured, as well as your financial losses resulting from your injury, illness or condition, both in the past and future:

1. General damages – non-financial losses
   Compensation for the pain, suffering and loss of lifestyle caused by your injury or illness. Awards for pain and suffering are calculated according to the Judicial College Guidelines which set out brackets of awards for different types of injury.

2. Special damages – financial losses
   Compensation for expenses and loss of earnings in the past or that you’ll incur in the future as a consequence of your injury or illness. For example, medical treatment and equipment, care, paid help (including cleaning, gardening etc), and accommodation (adaptations or new accommodation).

A number of factors will be carefully considered when deciding how much compensation you should be paid, including:

• The nature of your injury or condition
• The severity of your injury or condition
• The impact on your day-to-day life and ability to work
• The pain and suffering and emotional distress you have endured
• The cost of medical treatment, equipment, rehabilitation and ongoing care
• The earnings you have lost already and will lose out on in the future
• The costs of making adaptations to your home, or having to move to more suitable accommodation

Yes, you can get financial assistance before your claim is finalised. To ease the financial pressure and allow you to concentrate on your rehabilitation, we can request an interim payment on your behalf. We can also advise you on state benefits you may be entitled to.

We’ll arrange for an immediate needs assessment report to be prepared which will set out your treatment needs and priorities. Then, if appropriate, we’ll instruct a case manager who’ll be responsible for coordinating your treatment and care. Where possible, we will seek early funding for these needs as part of your claim.

Don’t be put off making a claim by the thought of going to Court. Most medical negligence claims are resolved without you having to go to Court, even where Court proceedings have started. The Court strongly encourages early settlement of claims and there are plenty of opportunities to negotiate settlement.

In the unlikely event that your case goes to trial, we will assist you every step of the way and ensure you have the help and support you need.

Whether you will have to meet the defendant will depend on your case. In the vast majority of claims you will only meet the Defendant if your claim goes to court. Most Defendants are insured against claims, so we only have to deal with their insurance company and their appointed lawyers.

You may have to meet the Defendant during a death by medical negligence claim where there is an inquest, or in cases where there is a Health and Safety prosecution.

If you did have to meet the defendant at an inquest, hearing or trial, don’t worry, we will prepare you for what to expect.