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‘No win, no fee’ is offered by the majority of personal injury law firms to allow access to justice without the need for big upfront costs or risks. Under a ‘no win, no fee’ arrangement, the firm's legal fees are only payable if the case is successful.
Taking on big and well-resourced insurance companies who are seeking to minimise what they pay out would be a David Vs. Goliath type undertaking on your own.
Even with an expert lawyer, compensation cases are complex and require a lot of work to secure a good outcome. As a result, if you paid the legal expenses and other costs such as expert medical costs upfront then you would need to have tens of thousands of dollars available to cover these costs with no assurance that the investment would pay off.
There are a number of key benefits to no win, no fee arrangements for personal injury claims such as car accidents, work injuries and medical negligence.
That can be a perception, however, the reality is much more complex. At the time of starting a case, only a certain amount of information is known. As the case progresses, there are a number of factors that could change the likelihood of success such as:
No win, no fee arrangements mean the law firm takes on this risk and protects you from it.
If you lose a no win, no fee legal compensation case then you will not be liable for any of the legal fees for the firm running your case.
The majority of compensation law firms including Murphy’s Law will also absorb associated costs known as ‘outlays’ if you don’t win. These may be fees such as court filing fees, postage as well as specialist medical appointments and reports. When choosing a no win, no fee lawyer, it’s best to check if any fees would be payable if you lose.
Murphy’s Law will not charge you anything unless your claim is successful.
Over 99% of cases are settled out of court so in this case, the other side has no power to pass on any of their own costs. If a matter goes to court then there are occasions when the other side may seek to recover their costs if the court case is unsuccessful. We explain all of this and would provide options in the unlikely event the matter reaches court.
The short answer is no as you will be charged for the work, but only if your case is successful.
No win no fee compensation should not be confused with pro bono legal cases. ‘Pro bono’ which means ‘for the public good’ are cases when the lawyer charges no fee or a very reduced fee as an act of goodwill, often to help those who can’t access justice in other ways.
Pro-bono is rare for compensation law as the no win, no fee arrangement offers access to justice without needing the resources upfront.
So, while ‘no win, no fee’ offerings are technically free if you lose, the desired outcome of course for all involved is to win and in this case, legal fees will apply.
We only charge if successful for the actual work done rather than as a fixed percentage. However, by law in Queensland there is a 50/50 rule for no win, no fee lawyers. This means no win, no fee lawyers can never charge more than 50% of the settlement amount in legal fees.
Our fees tend to work out to be much less than that, 20-40% of the settlement amount is typical.
The exact fees will vary accord to many factors such as:
