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 Meadowbank, 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.
Lower North Shore & Ryde · No win, no fee explained
How a no win, no fee lawyer charges: a Meadowbank guide
Explained, not promised: what the phrase generally means, what may still be payable and what to get in writing.
Postcode: 2114
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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.
Disbursements and other costs to ask about
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 medical 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.
- Fees for medical reports
- The cost of any expert opinion the lawyer arranges
- Courier, copying and similar office costs
Costs questions for people in Meadowbank
Royal North Shore Hospital and Ryde Hospital records may be requested during a claim. Ask any lawyer whether the cost of records and medical reports comes out of the claim, is billed to you, or both. Being in the City of Ryde 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. There's no need to travel to Macquarie Park to compare costs arrangements. From Meadowbank, you can request written terms by email, talk them through by phone, and use our free claim check online or by phone.
- Region
- Lower North Shore & Ryde
- Postcode
- 2114
- Local government area
- City of Ryde
- Distance to Macquarie Park
- ~6 km
Free claim check
Find out if you need a lawyer first
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
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.
- What happens to costs if I end the agreement before the claim finishes?
- Is there a cooling-off period after I sign?
- Can I take the agreement away and read it before signing?
- What counts as the claim succeeding under this agreement?
- How do the CTP costs rules in the Regulation limit what you can charge?
- How are your professional fees worked out if the claim succeeds?
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?
Before comparing costs terms, check whether you need a lawyer in the first place. These lists cover common situations. Our free claim check can give you an answer for your own facts.
Often worth talking to a lawyer
- A settlement offer is waiting for your reply
- Fault is contested, and it decides whether damages are possible
- Someone died in the crash and the family is considering a claim
- The insurer has refused your whole claim
You may not need one
- SIRA's free CTP Legal Advisory Service covers your statutory benefits question
- Your question is general, and CTP Assist can answer it for free
- You're recovering and expect to be back to normal within months
If the gap is treatment rather than legal help, we can put you in touch with doctors and allied health who work with CTP claims. They can also help keep your Certificate of Fitness accurate and current.
Not quite your situation?
- Hurt at work, or in a crash while you were working? That is usually a workers compensation claim first, which is a different scheme from CTP. Tell us what happened and we can point you to the right help. Free claim check
- If you've decided to engage a solicitor and want to know about the first meeting and the costs documents, the compensation solicitor page covers them. Compensation solicitor in Meadowbank
- 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 Meadowbank
Put the arrangement on paper
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.
How CTP costs rules fit in
The CTP scheme caps legal costs by regulation, for statutory benefits work and for damages claims alike. That changes the no win, no fee conversation. Instead of asking only what you'd pay if you lose, ask how the lawyer's fees relate to the regulated maximums, and whether any part of the costs would come out of your compensation. The caps are indexed, so no fixed figure is quoted here.
Some help is free to use. SIRA funds a CTP Legal Advisory Service for statutory benefits questions on accidents from 1 December 2017, reached through CTP Assist on 1300 656 919. It doesn't cover damages claims, older-scheme claims or matters already at internal review or the Personal Injury Commission. Workers compensation is a separate scheme again: in a workers compensation dispute, legal costs may be funded through the Independent Review Office's ILARS program if a grant is approved, and that program doesn't cover CTP claims.
Read next:What does a CTP lawyer cost?
How to compare costs arrangements fairly
If you're speaking with more than one lawyer, compare their terms on the same points: what's payable if the claim doesn't succeed, how disbursements are treated, how fees on success are worked out, and what the estimate of total costs is. A headline label tells you little. Two arrangements both called no win, no fee can leave you in quite different positions.
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.
Our claim check is free
We don't set any lawyer's fees, and we can't tell you what a lawyer's terms would be. What we can do is check your claim for free, with no obligation, and tell you whether a lawyer is likely to help. If we connect you with one, you decide whether to go ahead after reading their costs terms. We'll also tell you if a provider we refer you to is connected with us.
Read next:How our claim check works
Frequently asked questions
That depends on the costs terms, so ask for a written explanation before you sign. Generally, the lawyer's professional fees and any disbursements are paid, and some or all of that may come out of the compensation. In a CTP claim, maximum legal costs are capped by regulation, and in statutory benefits matters the insurer pays the costs the rules allow. Ask for a written breakdown at the end, too.
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.
At least three things: what you'd pay if the claim fails, how disbursements such as medical 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.
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.
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.
No win no fee lawyer: suburbs near Meadowbank
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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.