META: Despite the fact legal aid is no longer available in such cases, a personal injury solicitor may still be able to assist you on a ‘no win, no fee’ basis. Make every effort to secure representation in this way, if you feel you have a strong case?
Legal aid befor the year 2000, was available for personal injury claims. However, as with many areas of law, especially such things as head injury compensation etc, personal injury claims were becoming more and more costly to the UK tax payer and as a consequence, the Government felt obliged to cut off such access to people. The result of this is that personal injury solicitors have had to find another way of ensuring that people who are unable to afford such a claim, can still have an access to justice.
As unfortunate as it sounds and despite the fact that most people who are connected to the British legal systems would attempt to protest otherwise, the best levels of justice are only ever available for the super rich! We already know that deep down this is absolutely true. Legal aid would never have been stopped for personal injury cases in the frist place if the Government were ever trying to argue against this fact.
But, stop it they have. So, when an accident was not your fault, where does this actually leave you? Having your case taken on by a personal injury solicitor may be difficult if you do not have the necessary funds to pay them for their service?
This is where a personal injury solicitor would have boxed very clever and devised a way around the Government’s cruel lack of compassion in this regard. If you want your case taken on, on a 'no win no fee' agreement then you do have to have met and satisfied a certain criteria.
The relevant criteria that will be assessed in this regard are as follows:
The accident must not have been your fault.
Legal entity or another person (e.g. a company) must have been responsible for your accident. A breach of their duty or care to you would normally come about from their own negligence and this is where liability comes in.
In some way a loss has to have been suffered on your part. This could be through pain and suffering or some direct financial loss that you are entitled to be compensated for.
If the above criteria can be identified successfully, you would be far more likely of securing personal injury solicitors that will take your case on. You will not be able to progress with your claim if you are unable to satisfy any of the criteria. Unless you are willing to instruct and pay them yourself accordingly. Even then, you need to know from the start what your chances are of winning the case.
Filling the void in the legal system had to be done when legal aid was stopped and personal injury solicitors have done this. Other people's misfortune can be other people's gain, and it is true to say, that there are some companies out there who are simply trying to make profit out of this. However, when people have been injured and have experienced financial loss as a result, surely they have every right to try and get back some of that money, especially when it was not their fault? Mean spirited are those people who attempt to argue otherwise.e. our lovely Government)!
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