If another driver has crashed in to the back of you, you pretty much have a guaranteed claim for personal injury compensation if you are injured as a result. So really it’s all about you making sure that you pick the best lawyer to deal with the claim for you.
Most lawyers will probably offer to represent you on a no win, no fee basis as there is very little risk in funding a claim for a rear end shunt. So you need to find out who will give you the best deal.
What should I look for?
What you should look out for are things such as:
- What percentage the firm will deduct following the legal fee reforms from April 2013
- Whether there are any upfront fees to pay for
- Whether you are talking to a real law firm or a claims management company or other middleman agency
- What kind of quality service the solicitor can offer you
- Whether you will get access to private medical care
So will different lawyers charge different things?
Yes – all lawyers can now take up to a maximum of 25% from your payout to cover their Success Fee that can no longer be recovered from the other side. This is thanks to government legal fee reforms from April 2013 which totally changed the way in which justice for accident victims is sought.
We think it’s wrong that the government are now making the victims pay – especially because the insurance industry is so vastly wealthy and profitable!
The facts are these:
- Most lawyers will take the full 25%
- Most lawyers will ask for additional upfront payments for insurance
- If you go through a claims management company or other middleman companies, they will likely have additional charges as well
So, you could end up with a lawyer taking 25% of your compensation, and a claims management company taking 10%, and an upfront fee of £200 for insurance.
That’s 35% of your claim gone, and a huge upfront fee to pay for – it’s already stressful enough being in an accident without that sort of thing to add to it!
What kind of service should I expect?
It all does depend on the law firm you instruct, but what I personally call a good service is this:
- Access to private medical care when applicable
- An all-in-one package for hire and repair assistance if needed
- No lengthy forms to fill in or paperwork to sift through – in one single call we can get the claim submitted right away. Job done!
- Regular updates and extended opening hours like ours to 10pm on most weeknights and 9am – 5pm on weekends
I am of course referencing our own enviable levels of service above here, and we’re aware that most other firms don’t offer anywhere near the sort of service levels we do!
So who’s the best?
Don’t accept anything less than a maximum deduction of 25% – and even then, we can normally beat that. Stick with law firms directly, and find out about the service levels on offer.
Get a feel for the people you speak to and get the best deal that you can!
