You won’t pay anything for your legal fees if you’ve received legal aid to help fund a claim for compensation and your case is unsuccessful.
We’re one of only a few law firms who currently offer legal aid funding for medical negligence compensation claims.
Legal aid is funding for legal claims, which is provided by the government through the Legal Aid Agency. This is the best option for clients that are eligible and though it can take some time to secure funding, usually the financial benefit of Legal Aid outweighs the downside of any delay.
Which Medical Negligence Cases Is Legal Aid Available For?
Legal aid for medical negligence claims is only available for:
- Claims where a child has suffered a severe brain injury during pregnancy/childbirth or shortly afterwards
- Cases deemed to be "exceptional" by the Director of Legal Aid Casework
What Is The Process For Claiming Legal Aid?
If your potential claim falls into one of the above categories, then the application process is as follows:
- We will work with you to complete the application forms provided by the Legal Aid Agency.
- These application forms will then be sent out for you to look over and sign.
- The completed forms will then be sent to the Legal Aid Agency who will then decide whether you’re entitled to legal aid funding.
- The Legal Aid Agency aim to respond to applications within 20 days of receiving them.
- Once we receive confirmation from the Legal Aid Agency regarding the outcome of the application, we’ll tell you of their decision and the next steps that will be taken.
What Other Funding Options Are Available?
If you are unsuccessful in securing legal aid funding, you may be able to fund your case with a No Win No Fee agreement or Legal Expenses Insurance.
No Win No Fee
In some cases, we can accept medical negligence cases on a “No Win, No Fee” basis, meaning if your claim is unsuccessful for whatever reason, then you won’t have to pay anything. We will discuss this option with you in an initial free consultation regarding your claim. Find out more about claiming using a No Win No Fee agreement
Legal Expenses Insurance (LEI)
You may consider claiming for compensation using LEI (or “legal expenses insurance”).
You won’t have to pay any legal fees or expenses as part of your claim for compensation if you claim using LEI.
This may already come with your car or home insurance, so it’s worth checking to see if you’re covered as a policyholder.
Medical Negligence Legal Aid – Free Initial Advice
We strongly advise that you speak to a solicitor as soon as possible if you’re thinking of claiming for compensation.
We’ll be happy to discuss legal aid funding with you in more detail in a free initial consultation. Call today for free on 0800 121 6567 or contact us online and we’ll get back to you.
The above information relates to the law in England and Wales.
All Scottish cases will be handled by the Scottish law firm with which we are associated, Irwin Mitchell Scotland LLP. The law relating to funding is different in Scotland and you will receive separate advice about what that means as well as a separate funding agreement.
