Do I need a solicitor to make a care home fee claim?
The process of recovering care home costs can be very complex and it is often advisable to use the servives of a qualified lawyer.
The only down-side to using a specialist solicitor is that legal fees will inevitably be incurred, but we would hope the outcome will justify the expense incurred. It’s worth remembering that not only can we recover care home costs already paid, but additional savings can also be achieved on future care costs.
No Win – No Fee funding
We offer two funding options.
- Clients have the choice of paying privately on the conventional hourly rate basis; or
- Alternatively you can opt for No Win – No Fee funding, where we take a percentage of the care costs recovered.
The benefit of the No Win – No Fee option is that you only pay if the claim succeeds. The drawback is that those legal fees could be higher than the fees that would arise on an hourly rate basis. Some people prefer to pay on the hourly basis and bear the risk of losing, but most opt for No Win – No Fee as a safer bet.
Where we are retained on a No Win – No Fee basis we do not require payment of our fees upfront. You are only liable for any expenses that might be incurred as the claim progresses, such as the charges made by health providers for medical records or any travelling expenses. Our fees for the work we undertake only become chargeable if the claim succeeds and are deducted from the care costs we recover.
Specialist Solicitor -v- unqulified claim handler
If you do decide to retain someone to act for you then you need to consder what type of professional do you use.
The choice is broadly between a qualified solicitor and what is known as a claim handler. As solicitors we are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA). This means you can contact the SRA if you feel the matter has not been handled appropriately or in the highly unlikely event you do not receive the money you are due. It also means that the firm will have full professional indemnity insurance and you will also be covered by the solicitors compensation fund.
Care costs claims handlers by contrast are not regulated – though some other types of claims handlers are. If you are not happy with the service the claims firm provides your only recourse would be to complain to Trading Standards. Moreover there is no guarantee they will be adequately insured or that compensation will be available if the case ends badly for you.
Free Legal Assessment
If you are contemplating a care home fee claim then we would recommend that you contact us for further details. You can send us an email with an outline of your case or alternatively you can speak on the phone by calling 0333 888 0404. We will be happy to answer your questions and talk things through with you on a free of charge, no obligation basis.
