ARC Costs recently assisted in a high value case for birthing negligence whereby the Claimant suffered a number of issues, requiring them to have care for the rest of their life. ARC Costs regularly provide costs assistance on all types of high value cases, including personal injury claims and medical negligence cases.

What is a High Value Case?

A “high value case” typically refers to a legal case that involves a large financial sum or significant assets. High value cases often involve complex legal issues or significant points of law. In personal injury law, a high value case is likely to involve involve significant compensation claims for serious or life-changing injuries, often requiring substantial future care costs or compensation for loss of earnings and future loss of earnings.  Such cases are usually worth atleast £100,000, meaning that they will be allocated to the Multi Track when it comes to considering the issue of allocation, but significant cases involving life long issues can often go above and beyond £1 million.

Case Study: Facts of the Case

The case was a high value birthing claim which settled for £6.5 million following reductions on liability.

The Claimant was born via emergency caesarean section; but developed neurological abnormalities and suffered seizure within the first 12 hours of life. They are now left with permanent lifelong difficulties as a result of birthing negligence. The Claimant, as a result, has right-sided cerebral palsy, autism, suffers from partial seizures in the form of occipital epilepsy, and is visually impaired.

It was accepted by the Defendant that failure to monitor the Claimant’s mother on multiple occasions, resulted in a breach of duty of care.

At a Joint Settlement Meeting, the parties reached an agreement in relation to breach and causation. It was agreed that the Defendant would pay damages representing 42.5% of the full value of the claim, reflecting the Claimant’s injuries and his presentation to date and in the future. 

The claim ultimately settled at £6.5 million.

Case Study: High Value Case Costs

As this was a high value claim, legal costs were also substantial. As the Claimant was the successful party to the case, they were entitled to recover their legal costs from the Defendant using the process of Detailed Assessment.

The Claimant Solicitors instructed ARC Costs at the outset of the claim to assist with the budgeting of legal costs. We therefore budgeted the case and liaised with the Solicitor on multiple occasions, helping them to stay within the budget limit.

The Importance of Getting Your Costs Budget Right

In England and Wales, the Courts require parties to provide a legal costs budget in litigation that have been allocated to the Multi Track. These budgets help parties to manage the costs of the case and ensure they remain proportionate to the value of the dispute.

It is important to get your costs budget right in the first instance, and to stay within your costs budget throughout the course of litigation. Staying within the budget helps avoid unexpected legal expenses.

If a party wins their case, the amount they can recover from the losing party is determined by the costs budget. Exceeding the budget without Court approval may result in parties not being able to recover the excess costs.

Furthermore, the court can impose sanctions upon parties who fail to adhere to the costs budget. This could include limiting the recoverable costs to court fees only, regardless of whether you win the case. This can be extremely detrimental for those involved in a high value case with substantial legal costs.

If you need to amend your costs budget throughout the course of litigation, this can be done via the Court. In order to amend a costs budget after it has been filed, the party must show that a significant development has taken place to necessitate the amendment of the budget.

How can ARC Costs Assist with your High Value Cases?

The Costs Draftsmen and Costs Lawyers at ARC Costs are highly experienced in the recovery of legal costs. We regularly assist in all types of high value case costs, from drafting costs budgets and bills of costs, to negotiating costs and representing clients at Detailed Assessment Hearings.

Our team can assist whether you are the paying party or the receiving party to any type of legal case.

if you require any free initial advice, or our assistance with regards to any aspect of costs, please email us at info@arccosts.co.uk, or contact us via the Contact Us page and one of the team will get in touch on the same working day. Our team can also be called on 01204 397302.