How Much Does it Cost to Sue my Engineer?
Introduction
How expensive it is to be involved in litigation in the UK can vary greatly depending on the nature of the dispute, the attitude of the parties involved, and the steps taken to resolve the dispute. For example:
who is being sued? Will they fight back tooth and nail, or will they admit some or all of the claim?
how good is your claim? Is it a slam dunk which will not require much explanation, or is it more finely balanced? Will you have to go into the nuance and intricate detail in order to explain it to the court?
what type of claim do you have? Is it legally straightforward (such as a breach of an express contract term)? Or is it something that will need lots of expert and fact witness evidence to establish?
Costs as a Proportion of Claim Values
Research carried out by Lord Justice Jackson showed that costs awarded by the courts at the conclusion of civil litigation, even at the County Court level (which ordinarily deals with more straightforward disputes), often outstripped the sums that had been contested:
data from District Judges in 699 County Court cases showed that, on average, claimants’ costs (where awarded) equated to between 51% and 158% of the damages recovered. In close to half of those cases, the average was as high as 180% of the damages recovered; and
data from Circuit Judges and Recorders in 128 County Court cases showed that, on average, claimants’ costs (where awarded) equated to between 55% and 203% of the damages recovered.
Below are the categories of cost which are normally incurred by people involved in construction litigation. These can be considered cumulatively to provide an indication of the magnitude of costs associated with suing someone in the UK. An accurate assessment is only possible (if at all) in consultation with an expert Hamshaw lawyer who is familiar with your case.
Solicitors’ Fees
Solicitors’ fees vary by location, seniority, and specialism. HM Courts Service published guideline hourly rates in 2026 which provided that City of London solicitors might reasonably be expected to charge £579 per hour. Hamshaw’s hourly rates are likely to be considerably less than this.
These rates are published to assist the courts during costs assessment on a summary basis, but the courts recognise that “An hourly rate in excess of the guideline figures may be appropriate for Grade A fee earners in substantial and complex litigation where other factors, including the value of the litigation, the level of complexity, the urgency or importance of the matter as well as any international element would justify a significantly higher rate to reflect higher average costs”.
Barristers’ Fees
There are no published survey of hourly rates for Barristers practising in the Technology and Construction Court. However, Hamshaw’s experience is that, when working on an hourly rate, a reputable senior construction barrister (not a KC) is likely to charge in the region of £400 per hour. An experienced construction KC might charge in the region of £700 per hour.
Expert Witnesses’ Fees
Then there are expert witness fees, which are often incurred in construction disputes from an early stage. Once again, fees vary considerably, and there are no guidelines published by the courts as to what might be considered reasonable for the purposes of summary assessment.
A 2015 survey of UK expert witnesses conducted by Bond Solon suggested that experts involved in construction might be expected to charge (on average) between £125 and £200 per hour. A 2025 report by the same company showed that average rates had increased to £253 - up by 25% over 10 years.
Hamshaw’s experience is that good quality expert witnesses, with genuine construction, engineering, and property-related expertise and a good amount of experience of testifying in court, will regularly charge £350+ per hour (ex VAT).
Court Fees
In addition to the costs of those who participate, court fees are payable. These are fixed sums paid to the court, intended to contribute towards the court’s costs such as paying the judges and staff, and providing the court rooms.
Court fees vary, depending on the nature of the matter for which the fee is charged. Simply issuing a claim – the very first step in the litigation process – can cost as much as £10,000.
In addition, a hearing fee – payable before the court will allow the parties to appear in court – is likely to be as much as £1,334on top of the issue fee for a construction case heard in the High Court.
Other Legal Costs
Then, of course, there are inevitably administrative costs associated with telephone calls, photocopying, traveling to meetings and the like, not to mention the opportunity costs. These are impossible to quantify, even indicatively, but they should certainly not be dismissed as trivial.
In Multiplex v Cleveland Bridge [2008] EWHC 2220 – a well-known case concerning the construction of the new Wembley stadium – the parties were noted to have spent more than £1,000,000 on photocopying alone. The value of the claim was ‘only’ £22,000,000, meaning that the photocopying bill was a large proportion of what was to be gained for the litigation.
Can I Get my Costs Back if I Win?
This question is addressed here.
Summary
In short, predicting how much it will cost to sue someone is very hard for any particular case, and it is impossible to give figures that apply to all cases.
However, whilst it can be very expensive to sue someone, there are things which can be done to help keep costs under control including fixed fees.
Whatever the costs are in the end, a successful party is unlikely to recover those costs in full from the losing party. In the County Court (where claims are generally lower value) research suggests that a party is likely to need to find almost as much money to fund the litigation as is in dispute.
If you would like to gain a better understanding of the likely costs of your claim, click here to contact Hamshaw. We may be able to offer fixed fees for specific stages of work. We will always be upfront and transparent about our fees, and we will do all that we can to recover as much of your costs as possible from the person you are suing.