“No win, no fee” describes how some lawyers charge. It isn't a rule of the NSW CTP scheme, and it doesn't mean legal help is free. For people in Woodhouselee weighing up a motor accident claim, the useful questions are what you'd owe if the claim failed, what comes out if it succeeds and whether you need a lawyer at all. Our free claim check can help with the last one.
Goulburn & Southern Tablelands · No win, no fee explained
How a no win, no fee lawyer charges: a Woodhouselee guide
Explained, not promised: what the phrase generally means, what may still be payable and what to get in writing.
Postcode: 2580
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Reading costs terms from Woodhouselee, by phone and online
If Goulburn Base Hospital treated you, or you were moved to Canberra Hospital, reports from both may be needed. Ask how the cost of each is handled in the costs agreement. Legal costs in NSW CTP claims are regulated the same way across the state, whether you're under Goulburn Mulwaree Council or anywhere else. What differs between lawyers is how their own costs terms are written, so compare those. There's no need to travel to Goulburn to compare costs arrangements. From Woodhouselee, you can request written terms by email, talk them through by phone, and use our free claim check online or by phone.
- Region
- Goulburn & Southern Tablelands
- Postcode
- 2580
- Local government area
- Goulburn Mulwaree Council
- Distance to Goulburn
- ~18 km
Free claim check
Find out if you need a lawyer first
Before comparing costs terms, find out whether you need a lawyer. Our free, no-obligation claim check works by phone and online.
What “no win, no fee” generally means
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.
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.
Six questions worth asking about costs
Costs terms vary between lawyers, so the same label can mean different things. Put these questions to any lawyer before you sign, and compare the answers side by side if you're speaking with more than one.
- 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?
- Is there a cooling-off period after I sign?
- What counts as the claim succeeding under this agreement?
- How are your professional fees worked out if the claim succeeds?
- Will you tell me in writing if that estimate changes?
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.
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.
- Charges for obtaining hospital or treatment records
- The cost of any expert opinion the lawyer arranges
- Interpreter or translation costs, if any
Comparing costs terms
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
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.
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.
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?
Our claim check is free
Many people search for a no win, no fee lawyer when what they really need is a clear answer about their claim. Our claim check gives you that, free and with no obligation, by phone or online. If your claim does need legal help, you'll go into any costs conversation knowing why, and knowing which questions to ask.
Read next:How our claim check works
Before costs: do you need legal help?
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
- Your dispute is heading to the Personal Injury Commission
- Fault is contested, and it decides whether damages are possible
- You've been offered costs terms and can't tell what you'd owe if the claim failed
You may not need one
- You only need help with the claim form or finding the right insurer
- SIRA's free CTP Legal Advisory Service covers your statutory benefits question
- 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?
- 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 Woodhouselee. Compensation solicitor in Woodhouselee
- 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 Woodhouselee
Frequently asked questions
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. 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.
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.
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.
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 win no fee lawyer: suburbs near Woodhouselee
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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.