If you have recently suffered a personal injury either through a car accident or work place incident you may be entitled to claim compensation and many solicitors offer to do this on a no win no fee basis giving the impression that should your claim be unsuccessful you will not incur any costs.
This is not the case however and it is very important to know what costs you may have to pay.
A no win no fee agreement between yourself and a solicitor is often available in personal injury claims or cases where you have suffered an industrial accident or been exposed to a harmful substance such as asbestos.
Many people enter into such an agreement thinking that should they lose they will not be liable for any costs as their solicitor is not charging them.
This is only a part of the truth however.
In a no win no fee agreement you will be liable for certain costs if you lose the case.
These costs can be very expensive, depending on your case, and you should talk them through with your solicitor before starting the case.
Costs you may be liable for if you lose include, medical expenses, opposing party fees, financial awards to the opposing party awarded by the court.
Obviously you need to be aware of these costs and if your solicitor does not mention them then you should be asking them about them.
You may also want to ask at the same time about the availability of insurance to protect you by paying these costs in the event you lose your case.