Funding Your Holiday Claim

All law firms want your business and will make promises that they hope will make them sound more attractive to you than the next firm.

To help guide you through the maze here are some questions you must ensure you ask your solicitor and ensure you receive a clear and transparent answer that the solicitor is prepared to put in writing.

If your solicitor is unwilling to provide a clear and transparent written reply or avoids answering the questions clearly then this should start alarm bells ringing.

The Solicitor’s Success Fee

A success fee is the fee solicitors charge for being successful and winning your compensation claim.

If a firm offers to accept your claim without charging a success fee you must question their motive and whether this is in your best interests. Are they simply desperate for work?

If a firm does not charge a success fee then it is difficult to see what incentive they would have to maximize your compensation. You must be very careful that the firm will not just try to settle your claim as quickly as possible and for an amount that undervalues your claim because they have accepted your claim on terms that mean they don’t benefit from securing the best possible outcome.

Questions you should ask and demand a transparent answer in writing:

• What is your success fee?
• When do I pay your success fee?
• Do I pay anything my claim fails?

Costs Insurance Protection

Insurance is absolutely vital if you have no other means of funding your claim.

Be firmly on your guard if a firm says:

• you don’t need insurance, or
• that they will arrange this at a later date, or
• try to avoid discussing insurance with you.

If you do not have insurance, then you may, in certain circumstances, become responsible for some or all the legal costs and disbursements involved in your case.

If insurance is not in place and the other side makes a settlement offer, the law firm representing you can fall under immense pressure to tell you to accept the offer – even though it may grossly undervalue your claim. With a strong insurance policy in place.  Having good insurance in place allows you the freedom to reject an offer that is unreasonable and to proceed safely in the knowledge that you are protected.

Further, we have seen in recent years how unstable the travel industry can be with large airlines and major tour operators going out of business.  With the right insurance in place, you will be protected against the risk of bringing a claim against company that goes out of business.

Be careful to ensure that if you are offered insurance that you are fully informed of the cost of the insurance up to and including a trial as many law firms will avoid this important issue because the costs of some policies can increase as the claim progresses.

Questions you should ask and demand a transparent answer in writing:

• How much is your costs’ insurance policy?
• How much is your costs’ insurance policy if my case concludes at a trial?
• Who will pay for my medical report, court fees, counsel’s fees and the other side’s costs if my claim is unsuccessful?
• What happens if the Defendant goes out of business?

Again, it would be wise to ask for an illustration.  For example, ask the Solicitor to tell you what amount you would pay for the insurance if you won £3,000 compensation at a trial?

The Shortfall

Be careful of the small print in the firm’s terms of business. Many firms will charge a shortfall at the end of your case if they do not recover all of their incurred costs from the other side. You could find that you are stung by an additional bill at the end of your case which you were not expecting.  Always ask:

• Will there be a charge if there is a shortfall at the end of the case between costs recovered from the Defendant and the costs incurred with running the case?

How long will my case take?

Be wary of any firm who tells you they will settle your claim in less than 12 months or makes any kind of guarantee in respect of when your claim will settle.

It is not possible to predict with accuracy when a claim will settle.  Whilst our experience may allow us to give you a rough idea as to what to expect, the evidence and issues that arise in each case is different and each Defendant will deal with matters differently, as will their insurers or their  different legal representatives.

Any firm who claims they can answer this question must have a crystal ball!

In all cases where an accident or illness occurs abroad the tour operator has 42 days to acknowledge a claim and then 6 months to investigate it.

Make an informed choice

You will see from the site that we answer all of the above the questions open and honesty in our funding pages.

Unfortunately, not all firms are so open.

We want anyone bringing a holiday illness or a holiday accident claim to make a fully informed decision when instructing a lawyer or seeking legal advice.

We have put together a handy Q&A sheet for you containing questions that you may want to ask your solicitor to answer before providing any instructions.

Simpson Millar LLP Solicitors are leading Travel and Holiday Law specialists and offer free advice to anyone who has suffered from illness or injury whilst abroad.