I am promted to write this small piece about my concerns about conditional fee agreements which are otherwise known as “no win, no fee”.
The people who instruct me to act on their behalf in a personal injury claim have often suffered terrible injuries which they may have to cope with for the rest of their lives.
They might need ongoing specialist care or treatment and may no longer be able work. In the past month alone O’Brien Ronayne has secured considerable sums of compensation on behalf of clients who had been injured in accidents through no fault of their own.
We test every case.
We rigorously test every case because if it’s found to be fraudulent we also don’t get paid and rather than the “no win, no fee” arrangement encouraging people to try their luck, if we as your solicitor didn’t think there was a case to answer we wouldn’t take on the case.
The idea of “No Win, No Fee” was taken from the American legal system where if you sue someone, win or lose, you have to pay your own legal costs. In America the majority of people can’t afford to pay the fees themselves, so solicitors there take more than half of the compensation awarded instead.
In Ireland the losing party has to pay the claimant’s solicitor a “success fee”.
Road traffic accidents & Insurance companies
In the case of a road traffic accident, insurance companies nearly always work on commission, will also do their best to offer you a “recommended” solicitor to work with who you may never get to meet. It can be very difficult to assess a person’s mental state over the phone so psychological problems or even more serious problems such as brain injuries could often be missed.
Appoint your own solicitor
Many people don’t get the compensation they deserve because they don’t realise they can appoint their own solicitor.
The bad guys in all of this are the claims management companies which constantly bombard people with phone calls and texts asking them if they’ve had an accident in the last three years and then sell the information on.
In contrast, the O’Brien Ronayne Solicitors team and I, who have a combined experience of over 50 years, work hard to help you get your life back on track.
Remember choosing a reputable solicitors firm with specialist personal injury claims experience can really pay off in the long run.
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O’Brien Ronayne Solicitors are specialist Personal Injury Solicitors.
So if you think you have an Accident Injury call us now – I’m sure we can help with
- Motor Car and Road Traffic Accident Injury Claims
- Accidents in Public Places
- Accidents in the Workplace
- Injuries Caused by Defective Products and Services
- Personal Injury Claims
