The phrase sounds simple, but the arrangement behind it can vary a lot. Agreements treat disbursements such as expert reports in different ways, and success can be defined in different ways too. If you live in or near Katoomba, read any costs agreement before you sign and ask about anything unclear. Our free claim check can tell you whether you need a lawyer, and it comes with no obligation.
Blue Mountains · No win, no fee explained
Looking for a no win, no fee lawyer in Katoomba?
Many motor accident lawyers offer costs terms like this. The details differ, so compare them before you sign.
Postcode: 2780
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- By phone & online, no office to visit
- Helping people in Katoomba & Leura
A costs arrangement, not a promise
Many motor accident lawyers offer terms described as no win, no fee. It's a way of structuring fees so that more of the risk of an unsuccessful claim sits with the lawyer. It doesn't mean legal help is free, and it doesn't mean every cost disappears. Think of the phrase as the heading on a set of terms, then read the terms underneath it.
Regulated costs and what they mean for you
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?
Reading costs terms from Katoomba, by phone and online
Around Katoomba and Springwood, ask what the lawyer will do if they think the claim is no longer worth running. The costs agreement should say what happens to fees and disbursements then. Being in the Blue Mountains City Council area doesn't change the costs rules for a CTP claim. Maximum legal costs are set statewide by regulation, so a lawyer in another council area works to the same limits as one down the road. From Katoomba, the Sydney CBD is roughly 85 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
- Blue Mountains
- Postcode
- 2780
- Local government area
- Blue Mountains City Council
- From the Sydney CBD
- ~85 km
Free claim check
A free claim check before any costs talk
We don't set any lawyer's fees. We check your claim for free, with no obligation, and point you to the help it actually needs.
Six questions worth asking about costs
You don't need to be an expert to read a costs agreement well. You need the right questions. Here are the ones that tend to matter most in a motor accident claim.
- How are your professional fees worked out if the claim succeeds?
- Will you tell me in writing if that estimate changes?
- What counts as the claim succeeding under this agreement?
- What comes out of my compensation at the end, and in what order?
- Is there a cooling-off period after I sign?
- If the claim doesn't succeed, what would I have to pay, if anything?
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.
Do you need a lawyer at all?
The costs question only matters if your claim needs a lawyer, and many claims never do. Here's when legal help is often worth paying for, and when you may manage without it.
Often worth talking to a lawyer
- The insurer has refused your whole claim
- A damages claim looks possible, so legal costs are likely to be part of the picture
- Someone died in the crash and the family is considering a claim
- Fault is contested, and it decides whether damages are possible
You may not need one
- SIRA's free CTP Legal Advisory Service covers your statutory benefits question
- One declined request can be sorted out by sending a document you already have
- Your question is general, and CTP Assist can answer it for free
Before you sign any costs agreement, ask for the written costs disclosure and take it home. Check the fee basis, the disbursements and what you'd owe if the claim doesn't succeed. What does a CTP lawyer cost?
Not quite your situation?
- Injured at work rather than on the road? That is usually a workers compensation claim, which runs under different rules from CTP. The free claim check 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 Katoomba. Compensation solicitor in Katoomba
- 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 Katoomba
The costs terms worth having in writing
Ask the lawyer to confirm in writing how their fees would be calculated if the claim succeeds, and what, if anything, you'd owe if it doesn't. Ask the same about disbursements, and about costs if you end the agreement early. Written answers let you compare lawyers fairly and avoid surprises at the end of the claim.
Keep a copy
Store the written terms with the rest of your claim documents. Checking a later bill against what you signed is much easier when the agreement is to hand.
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
Two arrangements can both be called no win, no fee and still differ on disbursements, on what counts as success and on what comes out at the end. Compare the terms, not the label.
Costs that may apply either way
If a claim doesn't succeed, you may still owe something, depending on the terms. That could include disbursements already paid out, such as expert reports. The agreement should also say what happens to costs if you end it early. None of this is meant to alarm you; it's the reason to read the costs terms closely and ask questions before signing.
- Filing or application fees, where they apply
- The cost of any expert opinion the lawyer arranges
- Interpreter or translation costs, if any
Start with a free claim check
Many people search for a no win, no fee lawyer when what they really need is a clear answer about their claim. Our claim check gives you that, free and with no obligation, by phone or online. If your claim does need legal help, you'll go into any costs conversation knowing why, and knowing which questions to ask.
Read next:How our claim check works
Frequently asked questions
You may, depending on the agreement. Some arrangements ask you to cover disbursements, such as expert reports or fees for records, whatever the outcome. Others treat them differently. Ask too what you'd owe if you ended the agreement before the claim finished. Ask the lawyer to set out in writing exactly what you'd owe in an unsuccessful claim, and don't sign until the answer is clear.
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.
In some ways, yes, because CTP legal costs are regulated. The Motor Accident Injuries Regulation sets maximum costs, and those amounts are indexed every year. For statutory benefits, a lawyer's costs are paid by the insurer, and only where the Regulation or the Personal Injury Commission allows; some disputes allow none. Damages work is capped as well. Whatever arrangement a lawyer offers has to work within those limits, so ask them to explain how.
No. It generally means the lawyer's own fees aren't charged if the claim doesn't succeed. Other costs may still apply, such as disbursements for expert reports, depending on the terms. If the claim succeeds, fees are generally paid, often from the compensation. Legal costs in a CTP claim are capped by regulation as well. The only free thing we can promise is our own claim check, which comes with no obligation.
In an injury claim, it's shorthand for a costs arrangement in which the lawyer is paid professional fees only if the claim succeeds. The arrangement is often set out in what's called a conditional costs agreement. The details vary between lawyers: how success is defined, how disbursements such as expert reports are handled, and what comes out of any compensation. The written terms are what count, so ask for them and read them before you sign.
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.
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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.