Worried a lawyer will cost more than your claim is worth? That's a fair question, and it's worth asking before you commit. For people in Currans Hill, the first step is working out whether a lawyer would help your claim at all. If it does, many lawyers who handle motor accident claims offer costs terms they call no win, no fee, and the written terms tell you what those words really mean.
Macarthur & Wollondilly · No win, no fee explained
No win, no fee lawyer: what it means in Currans Hill
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What “no win, no fee” generally means
The idea is simple: if the claim doesn't succeed, the lawyer's own fees generally aren't charged. In practice, arrangements differ. Some treat disbursements, such as expert reports, one way and some another. Some define success narrowly and others broadly. The phrase is shorthand for an arrangement, and only the written costs terms tell you what that particular arrangement is.
Comparing costs terms
Line the written terms up side by side. Where one lawyer's terms are specific and another's are vague, ask the second to be specific too. If an answer changes between a phone call and the written terms, go by what's written and ask why. It's reasonable to take a few days to compare before you commit.
Same label, different terms
A label is not a comparison. Put the written terms from each lawyer side by side and check each against the same questions before you decide.
Currans Hill: comparing costs terms from home
Around Campbelltown and Camden, ask whether fees are worked out by the hour, by stage or another way. The basis should be explained in the costs disclosure in terms you understand. Legal costs in NSW CTP claims are regulated the same way across the state, whether you're under Camden Council or anywhere else. What differs between lawyers is how their own costs terms are written, so compare those. From Currans Hill, the Sydney CBD is roughly 45 km away. That doesn't limit whose costs terms you can compare. Written terms can be emailed, lawyers can explain them by phone or video, and our claim check is by phone and online.
- Region
- Macarthur & Wollondilly
- Postcode
- 2567
- Local government area
- Camden Council
- Distance to Campbelltown
- ~5 km
Free claim check
Free, no obligation: start here
Call (02) 7238 7379 or start online. It's free, with no obligation, so you can settle the lawyer question before any talk of costs.
Before you sign: the costs questions that matter
Costs terms vary between lawyers, so the same label can mean different things. Put these questions to any lawyer before you sign, and compare the answers side by side if you're speaking with more than one.
- How are your professional fees worked out if the claim succeeds?
- Can I have an estimate of total legal costs, in writing?
- Which disbursements, such as expert reports, could I be asked to cover, and when?
- What comes out of my compensation at the end, and in what order?
- What counts as the claim succeeding under this agreement?
- Will you tell me in writing if that estimate changes?
General information, not legal advice. Costs terms differ between lawyers, and legal costs in CTP claims are regulated. Rely on the written terms you're given.
Before costs: do you need legal help?
Plenty of CTP claims run from start to finish without a lawyer, which makes no win, no fee beside the point. Others clearly need legal help. These lists give a rough guide to each.
Often worth talking to a lawyer
- You've been offered costs terms and can't tell what you'd owe if the claim failed
- Your injuries are serious and the claim may run for years
- A damages claim looks possible, so legal costs are likely to be part of the picture
- A settlement offer is waiting for your reply
You may not need one
- One declined request can be sorted out by sending a document you already have
- Your statutory benefits claim is accepted and payments are arriving
- SIRA's free CTP Legal Advisory Service covers your statutory benefits question
If a decision has just gone against you, don't let a costs question hold you up. An internal review is generally due within 28 days of receiving the decision, whatever you decide about a lawyer. CTP claim denied
Not quite your situation?
- If the injury happened at work, including on the road for work, workers compensation is usually the scheme that applies first, not CTP. After a crash, a CTP damages claim may still be possible. We can point you to the right help. Free claim check
- For what happens when you first meet a solicitor, including the costs disclosure and agreement you receive, see the compensation solicitor page for Currans Hill. Compensation solicitor in Currans Hill
- If the bigger question is whether a CTP lawyer is worth it for your claim at all, the CTP lawyer page answers that first. CTP lawyer in Currans Hill
What you might still pay
The lawyer's professional fees are one thing. Disbursements are another. These are costs paid to others as the claim goes on, such as fees for expert reports or for obtaining records, and they can add up in a claim that needs expert evidence. Ask whether you may be asked to pay them if the claim doesn't succeed, and whether you'd pay as you go or at the end.
- Charges for obtaining records
- Filing or application fees, where they apply
- The cost of any expert opinion the lawyer arranges
Put the arrangement on paper
A spoken explanation is a start, not the arrangement. Ask for three things in writing: what you'd pay if the claim doesn't succeed, how disbursements such as expert reports are handled, and how the lawyer's fees are worked out if it does succeed. If any of those is missing or vague, ask again before you sign.
Keep a copy
Keep the signed agreement and every costs update with your claim papers. If a bill arrives later, you'll want to check it against the terms you agreed to.
No win, no fee in a CTP claim
A NSW CTP claim has its own costs rules, and they apply whatever a lawyer's arrangement is called. Maximum legal costs are set by the Motor Accident Injuries Regulation and indexed each year. In a statutory benefits claim, costs are recoverable only where the Regulation or the Personal Injury Commission allows, and for some disputes they can't be recovered at all. A no win, no fee arrangement has to fit around those rules.
Before paying for advice, check what's free. SIRA's CTP Legal Advisory Service gives free legal advice on statutory benefits for accidents from 1 December 2017, and CTP Assist on 1300 656 919 can connect you with it. It won't run a damages claim, and it doesn't take on disputes that have already reached internal review or the Commission, but for many early questions it means no costs agreement is needed at all.
Read next:What does a CTP lawyer cost?
Our claim check is free
Here's the only promise we make about cost: our claim check is free, and there's no obligation. We look at where your claim is up to and tell you what help it needs. Sometimes that's an independent lawyer, and then the costs questions on this page matter. Often it's CTP Assist or simply a clear next step, and no costs agreement is needed.
Read next:How our claim check works
Frequently asked questions
Ask both for their terms in writing, then compare them on the same points: what you'd owe if you lose, how disbursements are handled, how fees are worked out on success, how success is defined and the estimate of total costs. If one set of terms is vague on any of these, ask for more detail. Take your time; a costs agreement doesn't have to be signed at the first conversation.
It's generally the kind of agreement behind a no win, no fee arrangement: one where payment of some or all of the lawyer's fees depends on a condition, usually the claim succeeding. What counts as success, and which costs are conditional, are set out in the agreement itself. Terms vary, so read it closely, ask about anything unclear, and keep a signed copy with your claim papers.
Yes, and it's sensible to. Ask for an estimate in writing, how it was worked out and what could change it, such as the claim running longer than expected or needing more expert reports. Ask how you'll be told if the estimate changes. An estimate isn't a fixed price, but it gives you something to compare between lawyers and to check against as the claim goes on.
No. Many lawyers who handle motor accident claims offer arrangements described as no win, no fee, but not all do, and the terms of those who do are not the same. Some may charge in other ways for some kinds of work. Whatever a lawyer offers, ask for a written costs disclosure and read it before you agree. We don't set any lawyer's fees or terms.
It depends on the lawyer, so ask before the conversation starts. Some lawyers may not charge for an initial discussion about a motor accident claim, and others may; don't assume either way. Our claim check is different: it's free, with no obligation, and it can tell you whether a lawyer would add anything to your claim before you have that conversation.
At least three things: what you'd pay if the claim fails, how disbursements such as expert reports are handled, and how fees are worked out if the claim succeeds. It also helps to have an estimate of total costs, a clear definition of success, and what happens if you end the agreement early. Written answers let you compare lawyers and check any later bill against what you agreed.
No win no fee lawyer: suburbs near Currans Hill
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CTP Lawyer is not a law firm. This page is general information, not legal advice; the independent lawyer you speak with can advise on your own situation.