Fixed Success Fees for 'No Win No Fee' Road Accident Claims

Amendments to the Civil Procedure Rules 2003 came into effect on 1 June 2004 which fix the level of the success fees payable, in road accident cases, by a defendant’s insurer to a successful solicitor or barrister acting on a ‘no win, no fee’ basis.

The new scheme has been introduced in an attempt to bring a degree of stability and certainty to the personal injury claims market and to make the system more efficient and economical. There has been a series of court battles which delayed a large number of cases because insurance companies challenged the level of the success fees claimed.

Under the new rules, insurers will pay a fixed 12.5 per cent success fee on top of costs, provided the claim is settled out of court. This will apply to the majority of cases as 80 to 90 per cent of claims are settled in this way. If a case does go to trial, solicitors or barristers can claim a 100 per cent success fee. Exceptional cases will be assessed on an individual basis.

The Department for Constitutional Affairs has announced that a similar scheme, fixing success fees for claims involving accidents at work, is due to be implemented shortly.