Legal Costs In Asbestos Claims

Anyone considering bringing a compensation claim for an asbestos related disease may be worried about taking the first step in contacting a solicitor, thinking that either they will have to pay their solicitor’s costs up front, or at the end of a successful claim, with a large deduction being made for legal costs from any compensation recovered.

However, within asbestos related claims dealt with by Hodge Jones & Allen, we never ask you to pay for our costs up front and we do not make deductions for legal costs or expenses from your compensation.

How does the funding work?

Our asbestos claims are funded by a Conditional Fee Agreement, backed by an insurance policy.

What is a Conditional Fee Agreement?

A Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) is often referred to as a “no win, no fee” agreement.

A claim brought under a CFA means that if you lose your case, you pay nothing to your solicitor for legal costs. The cost of the work carried out is written off by the solicitor, provided you have complied with your obligations under the CFA.

If you win, this usually means you are entitled to claim for payment of your solicitor’s legal costs from the opponent who paid your compensation.

Therefore, bringing your case under a CFA means you can make a claim without having to worry about being able to afford up front legal fees.

Why do I need an insurance policy?

If you don’t already have legal expenses cover for pursuing an asbestos claim under any existing insurance policies that you hold, then we help you get a bespoke policy to enable you to pursue this type of claim. These policies are often referred to by the names of “After the Event insurance” or “ATE”. The policy runs in conjunction with the CFA and is needed for two reasons:

• The first reason is that throughout your claim we will usually need to pay fees to medical experts and other professionals, to provide evidence to prove your claim. If your claim is issued at court, court fees must be paid. We pay those expenses for you as your case goes along, so you are never asked to fund any expenses up front.

If you win your claim, we usually recover these expenses from your opponent.

If you lose your claim, or the expenses cannot be recovered from your opponent, we can claim them back under the ATE insurance policy.

• The second reason is if your claim is issued at court, but you lose all or part of your claim, you may be ordered to pay your opponent’s legal costs. Having an ATE insurance policy in place means that, provided you have complied with the terms of the policy, any opponent’s costs you are ordered to pay will be met by the ATE policy provider.

Is there a cost for taking out the ATE insurance policy?

Yes, there is an insurance premium to be paid for an ATE policy, but who pays it depends on the type of asbestos claim being pursued:

• If you win a mesothelioma claim, the insurance premium cost is recovered from your opponent.

• If you win a claim for asbestos related lung cancer, asbestosis or pleural thickening, the insurance premium cost cannot be recovered from your opponent. Many law firms therefore deduct the cost of the insurance premium from your compensation, but at Hodge Jones & Allen we never deduct the cost from your compensation and we pay it on your behalf.

• If your asbestos disease case is lost, you do not need to pay the insurance premium cost.

What are success fees?

A success fee is a percentage of your compensation paid to a solicitor if they win your case. In most cases, success fees are legally capped at 25% of the compensation awarded for general damages and past financial losses.

Unlike some other firms who deduct their success fee from their client’s compensation when an asbestos claim is successful, we don’t make that deduction.

We firmly believe that victims of asbestos disease should keep 100% of the compensation they receive, and so, here at Hodge Jones & Allen, we guarantee we will not deduct any success fee, insurance premium or other legal costs or expenses from the compensation you are awarded in a successful asbestos related claim.

What does all this mean for you?

This means that as long as you comply with the terms of the CFA and ATE policy, you can be confident in bringing an asbestos related claim with Hodge Jones & Allen at no financial risk to you.

If your case is unsuccessful, you do not pay any legal costs or expenses.

If your case is successful, we do not make any deductions from your compensation for a success fee or other legal costs or expenses.

If you wish to discuss your case with our Asbestos & Workplace Illness team and protect your right to full compensation, please contact us on 0330 822 3451 or request a callback.