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 Oakville, 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.
Hawkesbury · No win, no fee explained
Oakville: questions to ask a no win, no fee lawyer
Explained, not promised: what the phrase generally means, what may still be payable and what to get in writing.
Postcode: 2765
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The phrase, explained plainly
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.
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?
Reading costs terms from Oakville, by phone and online
From Windsor to Wisemans Ferry, if you're offered a costs agreement to sign on the spot, it's fine to take it home first. A few days to read it is a reasonable request. Being in the Hawkesbury 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 Oakville, the Sydney CBD is roughly 42 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
- Hawkesbury
- Postcode
- 2765
- Local government area
- Hawkesbury City Council
- Distance to Windsor
- ~5 km
Free claim check
Check your claim before you sign anything
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.
Questions to ask before you sign a costs agreement
A no win, no fee arrangement is only as clear as its written terms. These questions help you find out what you'd pay in each outcome. Ask them of any lawyer, and get the answers in writing.
- Which disbursements, such as expert reports, could I be asked to cover, and when?
- Is there a cooling-off period after I sign?
- If the claim doesn't succeed, what would I have to pay, if anything?
- Will you tell me in writing if that estimate changes?
- Can I take the agreement away and read it before signing?
- Can I have an estimate of total legal costs, in writing?
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.
Lawyer or not? Settle that first
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
- Your injuries are serious and the claim may run for years
- You're outside a time limit and need a quick legal view
- The insurer has refused your whole claim
- A settlement offer is waiting for your reply
You may not need one
- Your statutory benefits claim is accepted and payments are arriving
- 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
For statutory benefits questions, SIRA's free CTP Legal Advisory Service may help before any costs agreement is needed. CTP Assist on 1300 656 919 can put you in touch. Do I need a lawyer?
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
- 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 Oakville
- 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 Oakville
How to compare costs arrangements fairly
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.
The costs terms worth having in writing
Whatever a lawyer tells you about no win, no fee, the written terms are what count. Look for a clear statement of what happens to costs in each outcome, how success is defined, and whether disbursements are paid as you go, at the end, or only if the claim succeeds. Keep a copy, and note the date you received it.
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.
What you might still pay
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.
- Fees for expert reports
- The cost of any expert opinion the lawyer arranges
- Interpreter or translation costs, if any
The one promise we make about cost
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 Oakville
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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.