No Win, No Fee Personal Injury Claims
Last reviewed: July 2026 · EA Personal Injury Solicitors
No win, no fee (a Conditional Fee Agreement) means you pay your solicitor nothing if the claim fails, provided you keep to the agreement's terms. If you win, a success fee, capped by law at 25% of certain parts of your compensation, is deducted. We explain every cost in writing before you commit.
TL;DR — Quick Summary
Key Points
- Pay nothing to your solicitor if the claim is unsuccessful (subject to the agreement terms)
- Success fee capped by law at 25% of general damages and past losses
- No upfront costs — your initial enquiry is free
- QOCS protection means you generally do not pay the defendant's costs if you lose
- All costs explained in writing before you sign anything
How No Win, No Fee Works
A no win, no fee agreement — formally a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA) — is the way most personal injury claims in England and Wales are funded. It removes the biggest barrier to making a claim: the fear of legal bills.
It works in three stages:
- Before you commit: we assess your claim for free and, if we believe it has reasonable prospects, offer you a CFA. The agreement sets out the success fee percentage and all other terms in writing.
- If you win: the defendant (usually an insurer) pays your compensation and most of your legal costs. A success fee is deducted from your compensation — capped by law at 25% of your general damages and past financial losses. Compensation for future losses is protected and cannot be touched.
- If you lose: you do not pay our fees, provided you have kept to the terms of the agreement — for example by giving honest instructions and cooperating with the claim.
What You Pay If You Win
The success fee exists because your solicitor takes the financial risk of the claim. It is a percentage of your compensation, and in personal injury claims it is capped by the Conditional Fee Agreements Order 2013 at 25% of general damages and past pecuniary losses. It can never be taken from money awarded for your future care, treatment or loss of earnings.
We confirm the exact percentage before you sign, and we will never ask you to commit to an agreement you have not had time to read and question.
What Happens If You Lose
Two protections work together:
- The CFA itself means you do not pay our fees for an unsuccessful claim.
- Qualified one-way costs shifting (QOCS) applies to most personal injury claims and means you generally cannot be ordered to pay the defendant's legal costs if you lose, except in limited circumstances such as fundamental dishonesty or a struck-out claim.
Where appropriate, we also advise on After the Event (ATE) insurance, which can cover expenses such as medical report fees if the claim does not succeed.
Which Claims Can Be Funded This Way?
We handle the following on a no win, no fee basis, subject to individual assessment:
- Personal injury claims — including accidents at work, road traffic accidents and slips, trips and falls
- Industrial disease claims — hearing loss, asbestos disease, HAVS and other occupational conditions
- Medical negligence claims — NHS and private care
- Serious and high-value injury claims
Why Funding Transparency Matters
Some claims businesses advertise “100% compensation” or bury their fee structure in small print. As SRA-regulated solicitors we are required — and choose — to be clear: if your claim succeeds, a success fee may be deducted from your compensation, and you will know the percentage before you start. If anyone offers you a personal injury service without explaining their fees in writing, treat that as a warning sign.