In years past, before no win no fee claims became available, those who had legitimate reason to pursue legal action often couldn't because they couldn't afford to do so. That meant that those who harmed others could simply get away with doing so, because the injured parties couldn't afford to take action against them.
That difficulty was addressed with the advent of no win no fee claims. They can be very positive for people who need to file these types of claims, because with them, the injured party can file the claim at no risk or upfront cost to him or herself. That is, the solicitor does not need to be paid for his or her services on behalf of the injured party unless the case is won.
However, these types of accident compensation claims are not without their problems. For one, it has caused so-called & frivolous claims to be filed by people who really have no business doing so. Because there is at least a perceived notion that one can win significant monies when simply filing one of these claims, people who have not experienced significant trauma are still filing these claims, simply because they can. Because there's no risk to the person filing the claim, no win no fee claims can be very attractive to unscrupulous people who simply want money, but have no just cause for filing accident compensation claims.
A second reason no win no fee claims are problematic is that they also put a burden on the person who is the subject of a false accident compensation claim. For example, someone who simply has a slip or trip without injury may feign injury nonetheless, and file a claim in hope of getting some easy money. Unfortunately, the person who is the subject of this type of claim must then defend him or herself against the unscrupulous so-called victim. This compensation culture causes significant hardship for many people, especially those targeted by this type of scam and the legal system itself.
A third reason no win no fee claims can be problematic is that as they are currently managed, no-win no fee claims advertising is put forth by claims management companies, who then are paid to pass them on to solicitors. This has proved very profitable both for the solicitors and for the claims management companies. Therefore, because this is an industry that's worth nearly £400 million, the so-called compensation culture has become very lucrative indeed, unfortunately, for the wrong reasons, and for the wrong people.
To avoid contributing to the no win no fee claims trap yourself, make sure you think carefully before you decide to pursue legal action. Unless you have a legitimate reason to pursue action, don't. In other words, don't simply do it as a means to try to make some quick and easy money.
That said, if you do have a legitimate reason to pursue accident compensation claims, by all means do so. You are absolutely entitled to do so, and should see to it that you receive just compensation. Pursuing legitimate no win no fee claims, while dispensing with those that are frivolous, is exactly the way things should work.
