How the Compensation Act of 2006 affected no win, no fee compensation claims
It's unfortunate that no win, no fee compensation claims have had such a bad press. This legal structure was set up purely as a way to ensure all UK citizens have access to civil compensatory processes, regardless of financial circumstances.
This negative publicity can be attributed, in no small part, to the practices of a minority of "claims providers" who engaged in aggressive advertising and the ignominious practice of "farming" for personal injury claims in hospital waiting rooms.
Perhaps popular culture's most iconic embodiment of these unscrupulous providers is a character played by Peter Serafinowicz in his BBC comedy sketch show. His greedy and incompetent solicitor works alone from a home office, encouraging all manner of fraudulent and trivial claims.
Yet, in a way, this satire marks the end of an era, since with the introduction of the Compensation Act 2006, all claims providers must now be officially regulated, clearly putting an end to perceptions of a buccaneer and unregulated atmosphere.
Under the terms of the new act (which came into force in April 2007) companies who continue to operate without the appropriate regulation could face as many as two years in prison.
The Compensation Act also sought to resolve some of the other negative issues attached to the no win, no fee compensation claim process. While much has been written about "compensation vultures" benefiting from the paranoia of health and safety culture, this is something any investigation of the relevant statistics reveals to be largely untrue. Until the introduction of the act, little had been done to ensure that beneficial leisure activities were protected from the prospect of excessive litigation.
The act effected this change by seeking to protect "desirable activities" such as school excursions and community sporting events from litigation by recognising their necessity to a healthy society.
Other significant aspects of the act are its provisions relating to apologies and offers of redress. By making it clear that apologies and offers of redress should not be confused with admissions of liability, the act helps clear the way for a more amicable process of civil dispute resolution.
YouClaim's no win, no fee solicitors
YouClaim are proud to be regulated by the Claims Management Regulation Monitoring and Compliance Unit as set up by the Compensation Act 2006.
Furthermore, all personal injury solicitors on our panel firms are governed by the Solicitors Regulation Authority, ensuring you the very best in industry standards.
If you have suffered injury in an accident that was attributable to another person's negligence, claiming compensation is your right; this is exactly why the no win, no fee claim process was created in the first place. It is all about your right to secure civil redress.
We pride ourselves on being able to provide a completely cost free service. Win or lose we guarantee you will never have to pay a single penny in legal costs or fees. And our no-cuts-commitment means that every one of our winning clients receives 100% compensation.
If you would like to find out more about making a no win, no fee compensation claim with us, simply call 0800 10 757 95.
Or if you would first like to contact us online, fill out a claim form or use our e-chat service.
