Choosing the right solicitor

Movie_Nut89

Hi, I hurt my back in work at the start of summer. I went to my doctor and I have a suspected herniated disc on my right side. I have been to physiotherapy sessions and back to the doctor and now have to go for a MRI because I am not getting better even with physio. I have been out of work for nearly 4 months now and work are not paying me. I have asked will they be refunding me for my medical expense's but they have yet to get back to me on it. I am thinking of making a claim against my employer but I have never made a claim before or ever had to deal with a solicitor and want to know does anyone have any advice with dealing with them and also what to look out for.

If anyone has any advice I would really appreciate it

Pat Mustard

Get family and friends to recommend a solicitor with relevant experience in Personal Injury litigation. Most general solicitors' practices would handle that type of work so it shouldn't be hard to get a recommendation. Simple as that, really.

You can ask for a price on the Injuries Board aspect of the work but I wouldn't hire somebody based on price.

Movie_Nut89

Pat Mustard wrote: »

Get family and friends to recommend a solicitor with relevant experience in Personal Injury litigation. Most general solicitors' practices would handle that type of work so it shouldn't be hard to get a recommendation. Simple as that, really.

You can ask for a price on the Injuries Board aspect of the work but I wouldn't hire somebody based on price.

Thank you for the reply, I do not know about the Injuries Board I will go check it out I've heard some stories about solicitors ripping people off and just worried about it. I'm going through enough psychically and financially without been ripped off in the mean time.

Pat Mustard

Just for clarity, what I meant was that you can ask the solicitor for a price in relation to the work to be carried out in relation to the application to the Injuries Board.

I understand your concern in relation to dealing with a solicitor for the first time. That's why I suggested that you should get a recommendation from your friends or family, rather than dealing with a complete stranger.

4ensic15

Get a recommendation. Find someone who has dealt with that solicitor for a personal injury case before. find out if they charge solicitor and own client, are they on the ball with paperwork, do they expect any money for themselves or the barrister up front, and is personal injury a reasonably substantial part of their practice.

gordongekko

Is the barrister not more important?

4ensic15

gordongekko wrote: »

Is the barrister not more important?

The solicitor is the most important figure in personal injury litigation. If the solicitor is incompetent or disorganised or values himself a bit too highly the case will fall apart. Procedure is more important than advocacy in personal injury cases.

Pat Mustard

gordongekko wrote: »

Is the barrister not more important?

First, barristers rarely become involved at the first stage of most personal injury matters, which is the Injuries Board stage.

Secondly, most people are not familiar enough with barristers in order to select one who would be appropriate for their personal injury action. The solicitor usually advises on this.

Thirdly, if the solicitor is incompetent and makes a balls of the job, the best barrister in the world won't be able to fix the problems that can arise. So no, the barrister is not more important than the solicitor in a personal injury case. They carry out different functions.

hullaballoo

Movie_Nut89 wrote: »

Thank you for the reply, I do not know about the Injuries Board I will go check it out I've heard some stories about solicitors ripping people off and just worried about it. I'm going through enough psychically and financially without been ripped off in the mean time.

It's like anything, you'll only hear the nightmare stories. The vast majority of solicitors are not out to rip people off and will take a genuine case seriously and get it done for you. As Mustard says, ask around friends and family who may have had personal injuries claims and who were satisfied with their solicitors.

Bear in mind as well that generally speaking, solicitors don't charge anything until the claim is finalised. As a result, their fees can look out of proportion because it would be a big number to anyone but the reality is that you're looking at a fee for many many labour ours, often over time - depending on the case, months or even years.

If you think of it in terms of how much money the €2,000 fee works out at over the course of, say, 18 months (€25.64 a week), it often doesn't appear all that expensive.

Movie_Nut89

hullaballoo wrote: »

It's like anything, you'll only hear the nightmare stories. The vast majority of solicitors are not out to rip people off and will take a genuine case seriously and get it done for you. As Mustard says, ask around friends and family who may have had personal injuries claims and who were satisfied with their solicitors.

Bear in mind as well that generally speaking, solicitors don't charge anything until the claim is finalised. As a result, their fees can look out of proportion because it would be a big number to anyone but the reality is that you're looking at a fee for many many labour ours, often over time - depending on the case, months or even years.

If you think of it in terms of how much money the €2,000 fee works out at over the course of, say, 18 months (€25.64 a week), it often doesn't appear all that expensive.

That is very true. It seems like a lot of money but when you put it like that it doesn't. And I know that a lot have a no win no fee but they are not allowed advertise it.

4ensic15

Movie_Nut89 wrote: »

That is very true. It seems like a lot of money but when you put it like that it doesn't. And I know that a lot have a no win no fee but they are not allowed advertise it.

With personal injury it should be no win no fee. I personally wouldn't deal with a solicitor who would want to be paid after losing a personal injury case.

hullaballoo

Movie_Nut89 wrote: »

That is very true. It seems like a lot of money but when you put it like that it doesn't. And I know that a lot have a no win no fee but they are not allowed advertise it.

4ensic15 wrote: »

With personal injury it should be no win no fee. I personally wouldn't deal with a solicitor who would want to be paid after losing a personal injury case.

No foal, no fee as it is called on this side of the Atlantic, is of dubious legality because of a doctrine known as champerty and (or) maintenance. It depends on how the litigation is managed in reality, but it is as I have said, of dubious legality.

However, it is important to note that of the costs that arise from bringing personal injuries proceedings, very often there are costs over and above those payable by the defendant on foot of a successful claim and that are instead payable by the plaintiff. They are called solicitor and client costs and mostly relate to admin expenses that are legitimately incurred by the solicitor you instruct. Usually, these are relatively very small.

It also occurs to me that where cases are settled by PIAB, a rare event, solicitors will take a proportion of the award to cover their fees because PIAB cannot allow for legal fees. This should be explained to you by any solicitor you retain in advance of engaging in the PIAB process.

4ensic15

hullaballoo wrote: »

No foal, no fee as it is called on this side of the Atlantic, is of dubious legality because of a doctrine known as champerty and (or) maintenance. It depends on how the litigation is managed in reality, but it is as I have said, of dubious legality.

However, it is important to note that of the costs that arise from bringing personal injuries proceedings, very often there are costs over and above those payable by the defendant on foot of a successful claim and that are instead payable by the plaintiff. They are called solicitor and client costs and mostly relate to admin expenses that are legitimately incurred by the solicitor you instruct. Usually, these are relatively very small.

It also occurs to me that where cases are settled by PIAB, a rare event, solicitors will take a proportion of the award to cover their fees because PIAB cannot allow for legal fees. This should be explained to you by any solicitor you retain in advance of engaging in the PIAB process.

No foal, no fee is not regarded as champerty or maintenance. There are issues if a third party funds the litigation which could involve maintenance and a solicitor accepting money from such a source could be in trouble.
percentage fees are only allowed in debt cases.

hullaballoo

4ensic15 wrote: »

No foal, no fee is not regarded as champerty or maintenance. There are issues if a third party funds the litigation which could involve maintenance and a solicitor accepting money from such a source could be in trouble.
percentage fees are only allowed in debt cases.

I don't want to have to bring moderator actions into this discussion but you are crossing a line between observations on the state of the law into providing incorrect advice on it. No foal, no fee has been the subject of recent case law and it is clearly something that can end up impinging on the law against champerty. I will ask you now that when you are asserting that your statements are correct as a matter of law that they are in fact correct.

There was previously discussion of champerty and its application to NFNF cases here: http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056216037.