Could I have to pay the other parties legal costs?
A conditional fee agreement usually provides that if you are unsuccessful in your claim you will not be charged legal fees by your lawyer. The agreement does not protect you from an adverse costs order. This is an order given by a court that the unsuccessful party in litigation must pay the successful party's legal costs.

Proper assessment and preparation of your claim provides the best protection against an adverse costs order.

It is for this reason that it is essential that your lawyer continually reassess your claim as it progresses to ensure that you are not unreasonably exposed to an adverse costs order. Opportunities to use alternative dispute resolution processes should be utilized wherever possible to reduce this risk. In most WorkCover cases the risk of actually having to pay an adverse costs order is reduced by a formal policy implemented by the Victorian WorkCover Authority that it will not seek to recover costs from an unsuccessful litigant other than in carefully defined circumstances. The most important of these is where a claimant is found to be fraudulent or dishonest on a major issue. A copy of this policy can be provided on request.

WORKFORCE LEGAL continually reviews client matters and uses alternative dispute resolution processes to ensure minimize any risk of an adverse costs order.