If you live in Rooty Hill and you've seen “no win, no fee” in a lawyer's advertising, it helps to know what the phrase generally means before you rely on it. In most cases it refers to an arrangement where you pay the lawyer's professional fees only if the claim succeeds. The details differ between lawyers, and some costs may still be payable either way. This page explains what to ask, and our claim check is free.
Blacktown & Mount Druitt · No win, no fee explained
No win, no fee lawyers explained for Rooty Hill
The written terms matter more than the slogan. Here's what to look for, and what CTP costs rules already limit.
Postcode: 2766
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The phrase, explained plainly
People often hear “no win, no fee” before they've decided whether they need a lawyer at all. It's worth separating the two questions. First, does your claim need legal help? Many CTP claims don't. Second, if it does, what are this lawyer's actual costs terms? The phrase answers neither question on its own, though the written terms answer the second.
How CTP costs rules fit in
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.
If your questions are about statutory benefits and your accident was on or after 1 December 2017, the free CTP Legal Advisory Service may answer them without any costs arrangement. You can ask CTP Assist (1300 656 919) to put you through to it. Its limits matter: no damages claims, no older-scheme claims, and nothing that's already in internal review or before the Commission. Beyond those limits, the costs questions on this page come into play.
Read next:What does a CTP lawyer cost?
Rooty Hill: comparing costs terms from home
If Blacktown Hospital or Mount Druitt Hospital treated you, a claim may need your records and reports. Ask a lawyer whether those costs are yours to pay if the claim doesn't succeed. Being in the Blacktown 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 Rooty Hill, the Sydney CBD is roughly 35 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
- Blacktown & Mount Druitt
- Postcode
- 2766
- Local government area
- Blacktown City Council
- Distance to Blacktown
- ~7 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.
Questions to ask before you sign a costs agreement
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 counts as the claim succeeding under this agreement?
- What happens to costs if I end the agreement before the claim finishes?
- If the claim doesn't succeed, what would I have to pay, if anything?
- How do the CTP costs rules in the Regulation limit what you can charge?
- Will you tell me in writing if that estimate changes?
- 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.
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
- 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
- Your injuries are serious and the claim may run for years
- Fault is contested, and it decides whether damages are possible
You may not need one
- Your question is general, and CTP Assist can answer it for free
- You're happy with how the insurer has handled things so far
- Your statutory benefits claim is accepted and payments are arriving
Sometimes the real gap is medical, not legal. If your Certificate of Fitness or treatment records are thin, we can point you to doctors and allied health experienced with CTP claims, with no costs agreement involved.
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 Rooty 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 Rooty Hill
Comparing costs terms
Comparing costs terms isn't about finding the cheapest lawyer at any price. It's about knowing what you're agreeing to. Check how each arrangement treats disbursements, how each defines success, and whether each gives you an estimate in writing. The costs terms are one part of the decision, not all of it, but they're the part you can check on paper.
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
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 medical 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
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.
Disbursements and other costs to ask about
Even under a no win, no fee arrangement, some costs may still be payable. The most common are disbursements: out-of-pocket expenses such as medical reports, records and filing fees that a lawyer pays on your behalf. Some agreements ask you to cover these whatever the outcome; others don't. The only way to know is to ask, and to see the answer written into the agreement.
- Fees for medical reports
- Filing or application fees, where they apply
- Courier, copying and similar office costs
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 a doctor, CTP Assist or simply a clear next step, and no costs agreement is needed.
Read next:How our claim check works
Frequently asked questions
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.
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 medical 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.
You may, depending on the agreement. Some arrangements ask you to cover disbursements, such as medical 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.
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 win no fee lawyer: suburbs near Rooty 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.