How does No Win No Fee work in a UK clinical negligence claim?
Short answer
A No Win No Fee arrangement — properly known as a Conditional Fee Agreement — means you will not generally owe your solicitor anything for their time if your clinical negligence claim is unsuccessful. If the claim succeeds, the defendant pays most of the legal costs and a success fee, capped by statute at 25% of your past losses and general damages combined, is taken from your compensation. Future losses remain protected.
The mechanics of a Conditional Fee Agreement
A CFA is a written contract between you and your firm. It records that the firm will not be paid for its time if the case fails, and that if the case succeeds it will recover its base costs from the losing defendant plus a success fee taken from your damages. Every CFA must be signed before substantive work begins and must comply with the Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013.
How the success fee is calculated — and capped
The success fee compensates the firm for the financial risk of running cases that may not succeed. In clinical negligence, the success fee that may be deducted from your damages is capped by law at 25% of your general damages and past financial losses. Just as importantly, damages awarded for future losses — future care, future loss of earnings, future treatment — are not available for deduction at all.
What about the defendant's legal costs if I lose?
Most clinical negligence claimants are protected by Qualified One-way Costs Shifting (QOCS). In broad terms, even if your claim fails you will not normally be ordered to pay the defendant's legal costs — provided your conduct of the case has been honest and proportionate. QOCS is one of the most important practical safeguards for personal-injury and clinical-negligence claimants.
The role of After the Event (ATE) insurance
ATE is taken out after the negligent event has occurred. It covers disbursements you would otherwise have to fund yourself if the claim fails — most importantly the cost of independent medical expert reports, which can run to several thousand pounds. The premium is normally self-insured: you only pay it in the event of success, and it can be recovered from the damages you receive.
What you'll actually pay in different outcomes
- If your claim succeeds: the defendant pays the bulk of your solicitor's costs; a capped success fee (no more than 25% of past losses and general damages) and any ATE premium are deducted from your compensation; the remainder is paid to you.
- If your claim fails: under a properly drafted CFA, you owe your firm nothing for their time; ATE insurance absorbs most or all disbursements; QOCS prevents an adverse costs order from the defendant in the great majority of cases.
Are there alternatives to a CFA?
Yes. Some claims are funded through Legal Expenses Insurance — often included as an add-on to a home or motor policy — or through trade-union legal services. A small number proceed on a private hourly-rate basis. Legal Aid is no longer generally available for clinical negligence, but it does remain available in limited circumstances — most notably for severe neurological injury to a baby sustained during pregnancy, birth, or the first eight weeks of life.
How to choose a solicitor
Look for a firm regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) with fee earners accredited by the Law Society's Clinical Negligence Panel or by Action against Medical Accidents (AvMA). Ask, specifically: how many cases of your type they have run, who will personally handle your file day to day, how often you should expect to be updated, and what the worst-case financial position looks like in writing.
Frequently asked questions
What does 'No Win No Fee' actually cover?
It is the everyday name for a Conditional Fee Agreement, or CFA. The agreement says that if your claim does not succeed, you will not normally pay your solicitor for the time they have spent on it. If your claim does succeed, the defendant pays the bulk of those costs and a capped success fee is taken from your damages.
Is the success fee really limited by law?
Yes. In personal injury and clinical negligence, statute caps the success fee that may be deducted from your damages at 25% of past financial losses and general damages combined. Damages awarded for future losses — such as ongoing care needs and future loss of earnings — are explicitly ring-fenced from that deduction.
What is After the Event (ATE) insurance and do I need it?
ATE is a policy taken out after the negligent event has occurred. It typically covers disbursements such as expert medical reports — which can run into thousands of pounds — and certain costs you might otherwise be ordered to pay if your claim fails. The premium is normally only payable on a successful outcome and is recoverable from your damages.
If my claim fails under a CFA, what am I left paying?
Under a properly drafted CFA, you would not normally pay your solicitor for their professional time. ATE insurance generally absorbs the cost of expert reports and other disbursements, and the Qualified One-way Costs Shifting (QOCS) regime usually means you cannot be ordered to pay the defendant's costs. Your CFA paperwork will spell out the few situations in which any liability could arise.
For the wider context, revisit our walkthrough of the UK clinical negligence claim process or the page on what UK patients are entitled to. It can also help to recognise which category of clinical negligence your situation falls into.
Sources & further reading
Primary statute, case law and regulator guidance referenced in this article.
- Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013 (SI 2013/689) — legislation.gov.uk
- Courts and Legal Services Act 1990, s.58 (as amended) — legislation.gov.uk
- Civil Procedure Rules — Part 44 (QOCS, rr.44.13–44.17) — Justice.gov.uk
- Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) — legislation.gov.uk
- Find a Solicitor — Clinical Negligence Panel — The Law Society
- Action against Medical Accidents (AvMA) — AvMA