Why instruct us?

Whatever your case you have the right and freedom to instruct the solicitor of your choice. We are independent of any insurance company and always act with your best interests in mind and to ensure you get the best results. If you wish to claim following an accident we have all the right expertise. Sheldon Davidson Solicitors deal exclusively with accident claims. We will work for you on a “no win no fee” and our initial advice is always free of charge and without obligation. Contact us to see how we can help.

If you already have legal expenses insurance cover you can still instruct the solicitor of your choice. We shall contact your insurer to confirm cover and authority for us to act. Alternatively, where no pre-existing legal expenses cover is in place we can arrange “After the Event” Legal Protection Insurance so you are fully covered and protected against the legal costs of making your claim.

If you Win, your costs will be claimed from the losers insurer in addition to the compensation you are awarded.

What is a Conditional Fee Agreement?

The idea of a Conditional Fee Agreement (“CFA”) is to enable us as your lawyers to take on your case on a “No Win, No Fee” basis i.e. we will not charge you anything if you lose the case. We will do this for you if we think that we can win the case.

How does a Conditional Fee Agreement Work?

At the outset of your case, as soon as we are able to do so, we will let you know whether we feel able to undertake your claim on a CFA. We will need to consider if there are other ways in which your claim can be funded (more of that later).
If not, then we will weigh up your case and the risks attached to it and where appropriate complete the CFA documents and deal with any other relevant paperwork. This means that if your case is successful you should be awarded compensation and our bill should be paid by your opponent (or their insurer). They will also have to pay us a “success fee”. If you do not recover compensation then we will not charge you for the work that we have carried out.

The Success Fee

The success fee is a charge that we make at the end of the case. This reflects the fact that we are taking a risk in handling your case on a CFA because if we do not win we will not be paid anything. The success fee is expressed as a percentage figure and is based on a percentage of the payment we receive from your opponent or their insurer for our fees and NOT as a percentage of your compensation. The success fee is worked out at the beginning of your case and is either fixed by law or calculated by reference to how complex the case is and the chances of winning.

Who pays your costs and the Success Fee?

If your claim is successful then as well as paying you compensation and your basic legal costs and expenses your opponent or their insurer will also have to pay the success fee.

What if you lose?

You need to know that as a general principle the loser of a case will have to pay the winner’s costs and so even with a CFA you need to be insured against the risk of you losing and having to pay your opponent’s costs and your own expenses other than our fees (e.g. court fees, expert’s fees such as doctors providing medical reports about you etc). In conjunction with the CFA you will require a legal costs protection insurance policy. The reason for this is that whilst the CFA exempts you from paying costs to us you would still be responsible to pay your opponent’s costs and your own disbursements. You therefore require an insurance policy to cover this and we shall arrange this insurance on your behalf. The premium for this insurance cover will not be payable until the end of your claim and if you win the other side will usually meet the cost of the policy in addition to the other costs that they will have to pay. If you lose, the cost of the premium is usually self-insured i.e. covered and therefore you will not have to pay. We will let you know if we are unable to provide you with a policy on these terms and discuss your options with you.

What Are These Other Expenses or “Disbursements”?

As the case proceeds it will become necessary for these costs to be incurred. For example, we may be charged by your doctor or the hospital for supplying us with copies of your medical notes. If we obtain expert’s reports such as from an independent doctor about your medical condition the doctor will make a charge for this. We will also be charged by a court at various stages if we need to begin formal court proceedings and there may be other payments of this nature. These expenses or disbursements will be primarily your responsibility but we will usually arrange to pay them out on your behalf.

At Worst, What Do You Stand To Lose

The benefit of a CFA with insurance is that if you win your case you will receive compensation at no risk, whereas if you lose, apart from the time that you have wasted your claim will have cost you nothing. You do not have to have a CFA and could decide to accept personal responsibility for our costs, your own expenses and those of your opponent. However, by entering into a CFA you will be avoiding that risk. The whole point about a CFA with an insurance policy is that there is really no risk to you in pursuing your claim. The risk is ours! We will work hard to try to achieve success for you. Don’t be afraid to ask us to explain more if you need to – we will be very happy to do so.

What If I Already Have Legal Expenses Insurance?

You may already have the benefit of a legal expenses insurance or legal protection policy, under or as an addition to your motor policy. You may also be covered by legal expenses insurance under a household building or contents policy or even with a credit card. You will need to check carefully if you have such protection. If you do we can still undertake your claim for you by arrangement with your legal expense insurance company and if you give us their details we will contact them to arrange this.

If you have legal expenses insurance cover your legal expense insurer may contact you to arrange for representation, however, you are free to choose your own legal representatives and you should not feel pressured or obliged to instruct a solicitor chosen by your insurer. If you tell us who your legal expense insurer is we will contact them for you and arrange for them to cover you with us.

219 Bury New Road, Whitefield, Manchester M45 8GW
Telephone. 0161 796 5445 Facsimile. 0161 767 9770