Many motor accident lawyers offer arrangements described as no win, no fee, but the terms aren't standard. Before you sign anything, ask for the costs terms in writing and read them closely. People in Winmalee can also start with our free, no-obligation claim check, which looks at whether your claim needs a lawyer in the first place. Plenty of CTP claims never do, and then the costs question doesn't arise.
Blue Mountains · No win, no fee explained
How a no win, no fee lawyer charges: a Winmalee guide
Not sure you need a lawyer at all? Our claim check is free, with no obligation, and many claims never need one.
Postcode: 2777
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Costs questions for people in Winmalee
If Blue Mountains District ANZAC Memorial Hospital or Nepean Hospital treated you, reports from your doctors may be needed. Ask how the cost of those reports is handled before you sign. Council areas such as Blue Mountains City Council play no part in what a lawyer can charge on a CTP claim. The limits are set by state regulation and apply across NSW, so compare lawyers on their written terms, not their address. From Winmalee, the Sydney CBD is roughly 59 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
- 2777
- Local government area
- Blue Mountains City Council
- Distance to Penrith
- ~11 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.
What “no win, no fee” generally means
“No win, no fee” generally describes a costs arrangement where the lawyer's professional fees are only payable if the claim succeeds. The agreement that sets this out is often called a conditional costs agreement, because payment depends on a condition: success. Beyond that basic idea, the details vary between lawyers, which is why the written terms matter more than the phrase itself.
What you might still pay
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
- Charges for obtaining hospital or treatment records
- Filing or application fees, where they apply
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.
- What comes out of my compensation at the end, and in what order?
- What happens to costs if I end the agreement before the claim finishes?
- Can I have an estimate of total legal costs, in writing?
- 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?
- Can I take the agreement away and read it before signing?
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.
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.
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
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?
Start with a free claim check
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
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
- Someone died in the crash and the family is considering a claim
- The insurer has refused your whole claim
- Your dispute is heading to the Personal Injury Commission
- A damages claim looks possible, so legal costs are likely to be part of the picture
You may not need one
- Your statutory benefits claim is accepted and payments are arriving
- One declined treatment request can be sorted out with a report from your doctor
- SIRA's free CTP Legal Advisory Service covers your statutory benefits question
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?
- 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 Winmalee. Compensation solicitor in Winmalee
- 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 Winmalee
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 medical 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.
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.
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.
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.
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 Winmalee
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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.