Legal Jargon

A sum of money awarded to a party by the Court as compensation as a result of a Court case.

A DBA is a type payment arrangement between a client and their lawyer in which the lawyer agrees to receive a proportion of the damages awarded if the case is successful rather than charging an hourly rate for their time. Under a DBA, the lawyer’s legal fees are only payable if the instruction is successful.

The party who starts a Court/Tribunal claim.

Money paid to make up for damage or loss caused by the Defendant’s actions. In a medical negligence claim, the principal purpose is to put the Claimant back into the position they would have been in if the injury or had not occurred. In Employment law, compensation is the monetary award to which an employee is entitled when successful in a claim at the Employment Tribunal.

Otherwise known as a “no win, no fee” agreement. A formal written agreement between a solicitor and client that the solicitor’s costs are not usually payable if the client does not win the case however a ‘Success Fee’ is payable. Medical negligence and personal injury claims are usually funded this way and some other civil claims can also be handled on a no win, no fee basis.

An order that makes an agreement between two parties legally binding, Consent orders can be made at court or in writing.

Similar to a case management conference (CMC) except that the parties are also required to file a cost budget that outlines the expected costs of the litigation. CCMCs are generally required on more complex or valuable cases.

The legal costs charged to you by your legal team for working on your behalf in relation to the claim, together with any expenses in relation to this (see also Disbursements).

This is an insurance policy that covers your legal expenses and losses in the event of an injury or loss. As the name suggests, this is a pre-existing insurance policy that is taken out before the loss or injury.

Medical and other professionals owe their patients a “Duty of Care”, which is a responsibility to take care of them properly and to a reasonable standard. If the care given does not live up to the required standard and the shortcomings could reasonably have been avoided by the professional concerned, then this may be classed as a Breach of Duty. This is also known as professional or clinical negligence. In civil cases, the claimant usually carries the burden of proof although this can be reserved in certain situations. It is usually for the Claimant to prove their case.