Miscellaneous

Q. What is meant by 'Cost Free - Risk Free?
Q. When is litigation ('After The Event') insurance used?
Q. Will I have to go to court?
Q. Will I need to attend any meetings?
Q. If I decide to proceed what happens next?
Q. What is an expert witness?
Q. Why are there so many injury claims companies?

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Q. What is meant by 'Cost Free - Risk Free?
A This means that even if you lose your case, you pay your lawyer absolutely nothing. There are some exceptions to this in Medical Negligence cases. Please go to our Costs and Risks section for more detailed information on these and how Clear Answers will handle your claim and funding.

Q. When is litigation ('After The Event') insurance used?
A This is a type of legal-expenses insurance that can be taken out after an accident has occurred. It will cover the legal costs of settling the accident claim including going to court and the other side's legal bill if your case is lost.

After the Event policies are sold by some unscrupulous insurance claims companies at extremely inflated prices to fund the payments of sales commissions. Because of this, the premiums can be unrecoverable and you could end up paying for around £1,000 out of your own pocket.

Our lawyers only arrange this type of insurance policy on your behalf when necessary. This is to protect you from the risk of having to pay your opponent's legal costs.

Our lawyers do not artificially inflate the price of these policies, which means the cost of the insurance is reasonable and therefore fully recoverable. Further, the premium is insured, so if your case is not successful you have to pay nothing at all - not even the cost of the insurance premium.

Q. Will I have to go to court?
A This is very unlikely. No insurer wants to waste time and money in court defending a hopeless case. The facts about who was at fault in any given case are usually fairly clear and this is why more than 90% of cases are settled without ever going to court.

Q. Will I need to attend any meetings?
A If you prefer to attend a meeting, this will be arranged.  Alternatively everything can be dealt with by telephone and/or through the post so you will not have to attend any meetings. Thompsons have offices throughout the UK and can easily arrange face to face meetings if this is what you prefer.

Q. If I decide to proceed what happens next?
A Within 24 hours (48 hours at weekends) of us receiving your instructions either online or by phone, someone will contact you to discuss the matter and if necessary obtain further information. Based upon all of your details, we will arrange for the most appropriate of our specialist lawyers to assess the circumstances surrounding your accident and to handle your claim.

Please visit our section on information and advice for more details on making a personal injury compensation claim, or our gathering information and evidence section for details on what to do if you are involved in an accident.

Strict time limits apply to making a claim for any type of personal injury, so please contact an experienced solicitor as soon as you think you may have a claim for compensation.

Q. What is an expert witness?
A This is a person who is an expert in a particular field such as medicine, accountancy, employment and so on. An expert witness provides specialist advice during the preparation of your claim.

Q. Why are there so many injury claims companies?
A Legal Aid has effectively been withdrawn in England & Wales. This has left a large section of the community without a practical way to pursue accident compensation claims for personal injury. New legislation, in the form of the Access to Justice Act, has encouraged the commercialisation of this service.

Unfortunately, many claims companies have exploited vulnerable victims by using one or more of the following methods: keeping part of the compensation award, selling unnecessary litigation insurance polices (often at vastly inflated prices) and insisting that their clients take out loans.

Clear Answers, the brand, is part of Thompsons Solicitors, a firm regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and remains firmly opposed to these unethical practices.