OT.. 'No Win - No Fee' Accident Claim

[stuartcox]

Having suffered severe injuries on my local town bus (shattered wrist, broken ribs, and a K.O) , after sharp breaking of the driver, I was advised to make a compensation claim.
Has anybody done this before, and what were your experiences?
Sorry to put this on the SOH forum, but you are the largest community of like minded people I got to know over the years...

[Mick]

Well, I haven't filed such a claim and I'm not a lawyer but I had a career in administrative law, so I know a little about how legal claims work.

This is a legal process that involves the application of statutes (written laws), case law (legal precedents established in prior, similar cases), and administrative procedures. It's complicated and full of pitfalls for the unwary. That's why there's a legal profession, so get a lawyer.

If you have a good case, and it sounds like you do, a lawyer will take the case on contingency, meaning that they take a portion of what you win as their fee. If you don't win, you owe them nothing. If you feel confident that you have an ironclad case and can't lose, you can hire a lawyer on an hourly basis, paying a rate for the time they spend on your case. If you pay that way, your fee will probably be significantly less than you'd pay on contingency if you won, but you'd have to pay regardless of the outcome.

We have so many lawyers these days, chances are that you already know one who either handles this type of case or can recommend one who does. If you don't know any lawyers, chances are that some friend or relative does. If not, you could call your local bar association to find one who does this kind of work, or just go downtown and find a law firm.

Good luck!

[SSI01]

Very sorry to hear about your misfortune.

I retired from law enforcement so have seen the legal profession from a slightly different perspective for 23 years. Maybe more to the point, I've seen government in action for 23 years.

If at all possible I suggest you check with an attorney to determine if, in this case, the bus line can even be sued for damages and care at all if it's a govt entity. They love to contest things if you don't settle for what they offer you, should they do so. Be aware this could be a long slog should you elect to go that route. You've probably got a much better chance if it is a privately-owned service.

Best of luck!:salute:

[Naismith]

Some 10 years ago, my wife collapsed at work and was rushed to hospital. Turns out she was suffering from Carbon Monoxide poisoning from a heating system that the staff had been complaining about for many weeks. She spent 2 days in hosp on full oxygen before recovering. I called her boss who immediately went into immediate Stonewall defence. We approached a no win no fee lawyer who was not interested, mainly because the company she worked for at the time were high powered fancy pants litigation lawyers and they feared they would not win. We couldn't afford real fee paying lawyers at the time, so had to swallow it and walk away. She resigned and went on to a better job anyway.
But in your case against a bus company, I would wager they will settle out of court as most large public concerns will do because it is cheaper to do this than go through long drawn out court cases. But you will need representation. Often just a lawyers letter will suffice.