Often the primary concern when contacting a solicitor relates to the costs involved. With solicitors charging many hundreds of pounds for each hour that t, there is an understandable fear that even a short telephone call could cost a small fortune. So let us start with the key question:
How Much Will It Cost To See A Medical Negligence Solicitor Cost?
In this day and age, and with accessibility to solicitors increased with the use of the internet, the simple answer is that you should be able to find a Clinical Negligence Solicitor that will offer you a free initial telephone conversation and an initial opinion.
Once they have discussed your potential claim with you, they should also be able to advise you of the various methods of funding a claim for medical negligence. This can and should include the following options:
Legal Aid
No Win No Fee under a Conditional Fee Agreement
paying by instalments
Legal Aid
Legal Aid is automatically available for medical negligence claims for children under 18 and in some other circumstances. However, the process of applying for Legal Aid can delay matters and in some cases it might be easier to pursue a claim under a Conditional Fee Agreement.
Conditional Fee Agreements
A Conditional Fee Agreement, or No Win No Fee agreement means that you can pursue your medical negligence claim without paying your legal costs as you go ahead with the claim. Your solicitor agrees to wait for the costs until the end of the claim, and then for working for no payment for as long as the claim takes he or she is entitled to an additional sum, called the success fee. The benefit for you is that you do not have to fund the solicitors costs as the case proceeds, and these can run into tens of thousands of pounds in some cases.
Paying By Installments
If you do not qualify for either of the above methods, you might be entitled to agree a fixed fee with the solicitor, or that you pay for their costs in instalments. This will depend upon the solicitor's own terms and flexibility as well as the strength of your potential claim.
The Next Step
Once you have provided the details of your claim your Medical Negligence Solicitor will need more information to properly assess the merits of your claim. You might arrange a meeting with the solicitor, or quite frequently these days you will agree to send any documents and details to the solicitor by post. Whichever method you use, your solicitor is likely to need the following information (so it is worth preparing it for him or her in advance):
- the date of the treatment and when you realised something had gone wrong
- the details of any complaint made to the NHS or the Doctor or Dentist
- details of the injuries or pain and suffering
- details of your losses and expenses
- full details of your finances so that all funding options can be considered
Documents For Your Medical Negligence Solicitor
You solicitor will want to see the following:
- copies of your medical records or dental records
- a list of all of the appointments that you attended
- the names of the doctors or dentists who provided your treatment
Assessing Your Claim
Once your Medical Negligence Solicitor has all of this information he or she can give you a further assessment of your claim. At this stage this will usually only be a preliminary assessment still as it is not until medical evidence is obtained that they can form a final view on your claim. However, the solicitor should provide you with:
- an estimate on the prospects of success of your claim (if possible)
- an estimate of the amount of compensation if your claim is successful
- an estimate of the legal costs involved in making a medical negligence claim
- the estimated length of time that your claim will take
