The phrase sounds simple, but the arrangement behind it can vary a lot. Agreements treat disbursements such as medical reports in different ways, and success can be defined in different ways too. If you live in or near Wiley Park, 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.
Canterbury-Bankstown · No win, no fee explained
How a no win, no fee lawyer charges: a Wiley Park guide
Not sure you need a lawyer at all? Our claim check is free, with no obligation, and many claims never need one.
Postcode: 2195
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Costs questions for people in Wiley Park
If Bankstown-Lidcombe Hospital or Canterbury Hospital treated you, ask a lawyer how the cost of getting those records and any reports is handled, both along the way and if the claim doesn't succeed. Costs terms are hard to judge in a second language, and Arabic are first languages for many people here. Ask CTP Assist on 1300 656 919 to book an interpreter for claim questions, and have a lawyer explain terms through one. Legal costs in NSW CTP claims are regulated the same way across the state, whether you're under the City of Canterbury-Bankstown or anywhere else. What differs between lawyers is how their own costs terms are written, so compare those.
Wiley Park is about 3 km east of Bankstown, and comparing costs terms doesn't need a trip there. Written terms can be sent by email, questions answered by phone, and our claim check runs by phone and online.
- Region
- Canterbury-Bankstown
- Postcode
- 2195
- Community languages
- Arabic
- Local government area
- City of Canterbury-Bankstown
- Distance to Bankstown
- ~3 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.
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.
What you might still pay
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.
- Charges for obtaining hospital or treatment records
- The cost of any expert opinion the lawyer arranges
- Interpreter or translation costs, if any
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 comes out of my compensation at the end, and in what order?
- Can I take the agreement away and read it before signing?
- Is there a cooling-off period after I sign?
- How are your professional fees worked out if the claim succeeds?
- If the claim doesn't succeed, what would I have to pay, if anything?
- Which disbursements, such as medical reports, could I be asked to cover, and when?
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.
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?
Comparing two lawyers' terms side by side
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.
Which terms to get 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
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.
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 a doctor, CTP Assist or simply a clear next step, and no costs agreement is needed.
Read next:How our claim check works
Lawyer or not? Settle that first
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
- The insurer has refused your whole claim
- You're outside a time limit and need a quick legal view
- Fault is contested, and it decides whether damages are possible
- A settlement offer is waiting for your reply
You may not need one
- One declined treatment request can be sorted out with a report from your doctor
- Your question is general, and CTP Assist can answer it for free
- Your statutory benefits claim is accepted and payments are arriving
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?
- 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 Wiley Park. Compensation solicitor in Wiley Park
- 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 Wiley Park
Frequently asked questions
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.
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.
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.
Ask about this before you sign, because the answer depends on the agreement and the rules that apply to it. An agreement may include a cooling-off period, and a clear one should explain what happens to costs if you end the arrangement early, including any work already done. If you're unsure, take the agreement away, read it and ask questions first. Signing is easier to delay than to undo.
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.
No win no fee lawyer: suburbs near Wiley Park
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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.