Legal Aid – for brain injuries at birth As top-rated specialists in cerebral palsy and other serious neurological disability claims, we have access to Legal Aid funding for eligible clients. Where the child’s case is funded by Legal Aid, the family can be sure that on the successful conclusion of the claim, their child will receive their full compensation without any deduction for legal costs. Where Legal Aid is available for a child with serious brain injury, we believe that it is in the child’s best interests for their claim to be covered by Legal Aid. This form of funding is only available to those who have suffered a brain injury, such as cerebral palsy, at birth or within the first few weeks of life. The child must have suffered their brain injury in England or Wales, and they must not have substantial funds of their own. The parents’ finances are ignored for the child’s application. Legal Aid funding will only be given to a child where their claim is handled by a solicitor who has been approved as a specialist in cerebral palsy and child brain injury claims by the Legal Aid Agency. No win no fee – conditional fee agreement (CFA) Where Legal Aid is not available, we act for clinical negligence clients on a conditional fee agreement (CFA or ‘no win no fee’) basis. Just as the name says, no win no fee means that unless our client wins their case there are no legal fees for them to pay. If the case fails, we do not get paid for the time we have spent working on their case. Our client’s liability for disbursements (such as expert and court fees) and any entitlement the defendant might have to legal costs is paid by an after-the-event insurance policy. CFAs make it easier for people to afford a legal claim because they do not have to pay any upfront charges. There are no legal bills along the way. They pay nothing if they lose their claim. If they win, nothing is payable until the end of the case. Legal Expense Insurance If an injured person has legal expense insurance which was in place at the time that they were injured by medical negligence, their legal expense insurance policy might help with funding their claim. If you have legal expense insurance, you should let us know as soon as you are considering making a claim. Why choose Boyes Turner for your medical negligence claim? Our nationally acclaimed medical negligence lawyers are recognised by Chambers Directory and Legal 500 as leading experts in clinical negligence. Our clients receive the highest standards of advice and representation and are always treated with compassion, outstanding care and understanding of the physical, emotional, psychological and financial impact that life-changing injury can have upon their lives. We are known for obtaining the highest compensation awards and our track record of successful settlements speaks for itself. In the last 12 months we have recovered over £100 million in compensation for our clients. Our highly experienced medical negligence lawyers have the proven skills to succeed in high value, complex claims involving catastrophic injury and severe disability. Interim payments to aid recovery We work hard to secure early admissions of liability. This enables us to obtain substantial interim payments to begin easing the financial hardship which often follows a devastating injury. We use interim payments to make a real difference to the injured person and their family by getting care, rehabilitation and therapies underway as soon as possible. Depending on the client’s injury, we can help meet their needs for: personal care and assistance; physiotherapy; occupational therapy; speech and language therapy; psychological counselling; adapted accommodation; wheelchairs; transport; prostheses; assistive technology and other specialist equipment. By understanding and targeting provision for our clients’ individual needs early in the claims process, we help restore our clients’ mobility, independence and ability to participate fully in family and social life, long before the claim has concluded. Educational and workplace support Depending on the type of injury, we can also facilitate our clients’ access to educational and vocational (workplace) support. We work closely with our special educational needs (SEN) specialists to achieve the right school placements for our disabled child clients.
