Financing a Cauda Equina claim is No Win, No Fee
We have dealt with many CES claims over the last thirty years and most Cauda Equina Syndrome cases we have taken on that have been funded by a conditional fee agreement (No Win, No Fee) have been successful.
However, as we will explain below, there is no need to worry about having to pay solicitors’ bills if your CES claim fails.
Risk Assessment
Firstly, we conduct a detailed risk assessment before we take on your case.
As part of this we will carefully listen to your account and read any records or other documents you have free of charge.
If, after our risk assessment, we consider that there are good prospects of winning your case, we will enter into a conditional fee agreement (CFA) with you to litigate your Cauda Equina Syndrome claim.
Court Proceedings
If court proceedings are eventually commenced, we will instruct a barrister experienced in CES claims, who is also prepared to work on a No Win, No Fee basis.
Unfortunately, Cauda Equina Syndrome court cases can go on for many years due to their complexity, but we will support and guide you all the way through this process.
What costs do I pay if I win a Cauda Equina Syndrome claim?
If you win, you pay our charges including our basic costs and disbursements, but normally, we recover most of these from your opponent on top of your damages.
Our basic costs are based on our solicitors’ hourly charging rates multiplied by the amount of time we actually spend on your case.
Disbursements include fees for medical record collation ,medical experts’ fees for reporting on both breach of duty and causation, and court fees.
Cauda Equina Syndrome claims involve many experts who charge hefty fees for each report and court fees can be extremely expensive.
We will fund your disbursements until your case is concluded.
Disbursements also include any “after the event” ( ATE) insurance premium taken out at the beginning of your claim.
We take out ATE insurance on your behalf at the outset of your case to cover your opponent’s costs and your own disbursements which you are liable for even though we initially fund them, just in case you lose your case.
If you win, part of the ATE insurance premium is paid by you rather than your opponent.
The success fee is not recoverable from your opponent and is therefore payable in full by you.
How much of a success fee do I pay if I win a Cauda Equina Syndrone claim?
If you win you pay us a success fee for the risk we take in working on your case and financing it , potentially for many years, but getting paid absolutely nothing if your case fails.
It is based on a percentage of our basic costs up to 100%.
We assess the percentage that applies to each case we take on.
The riskier the case the higher the percentage of the success fee.
How much is the Cap on the amount of the Success Fee?
There is a maximum limit on the amount of the success fee which we can recover from you.
That maximum limit is 25% of the total amount of any:
(i) general damages for pain suffering and loss of amenity; and
(ii) damages for pecuniary loss, other than future pecuniary loss;
which are awarded to you in the proceedings covered by the CFA. The maximum limit is applicable to these damages net of any sums recoverable by the Compensation Recovery Unit of the Department of Work and Pensions. The maximum limit is inclusive of any VAT which is chargeable.
The maximum limit includes any success fee payable to a barrister who has a CFA with us.
How much compensation do I keep if I win my Cauda Equina Syndrome claim?
In addition to the success fee, we will charge you any costs we have incurred which we cannot recover from your opponent.
It is intended, however, that the success fee arrangement will allow you to retain at least 75% of any compensation awarded to you.
With a high value cauda equina syndrome claim the percentage you keep is likely to be much higher.
What costs do I pay if I lose a Cauda Equina Syndrome claim?
Under the CFA we will usually not charge you at all for our work if you lose your CES claim.
The ATE insurance usually covers the costs of the disbursements and your opponent’s costs for which you are liable.
The insurance premium itself is self-insured, so you do not have to pay it if you lose.
How can the Cauda Equina Syndrome claim team at Timms help?
To discuss a potential claim for CES, please contact a member of our team on freephone 0800 011 6666 or via email at legal@timms-law.com.
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