Martin Partington: Spotlight on the Justice System

Keeping the English Legal System under review

Posts Tagged ‘accidents’

Civil Liability Act 2018

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The Civil Liability Act 2018 makes significant changes to the personal injury compensation system. In outline, it has three principal objectives.

First, it changes the rules relating to claims for injury for whiplash (which arise when someone drives into the back of your car).  Measures in the Act will:

  • provide for a tariff of compensation for pain, suffering and loss of amenity for whiplash claims. The final tariff will be set in supporting regulations via the affirmative procedure following Royal Assent.
  • enable the court, subject to regulations, to increase the compensation awarded under the tariff
  • introduce a ban on seeking or offering to settle, whiplash claims without appropriate medical evidence

The purpose of these changes is to try to reduce the cost of motor insurance for motorists in general by reducing the numbers and amounts of such claims.

Second, it makes changes to the way in which what is called the Personal Injury Discount Rate is set. The new rules will

  • retain the 100% compensation principle which has long been a central part of the law, but modernise the calculation of the discount rate so that it reflects the reality of how claimants actually invest money. This provides a fairer and better way to set the rate for both parties
  • put the process of setting the rate on a statutory footing, with expert independent advice and a requirement for the Lord Chancellor to set it at least every 5 years, giving clarity and assurance to claimants and to those underwriting costs. The regular setting of the rate will ensure vulnerable people suffering life-changing accidents have their compensation adjusted by an up to date rate
  • create an independent expert panel, which the Lord Chancellor will be required, from the second review under the new legislation, to consult in relation to the factors he or she may consider in setting the rate. This will bring a wider range of expertise into the process

Thirdly. the Act  requires insurers to provide information to the Financial Conduct Authority so that the government can assess whether they have passed on savings as a result of the Act to their customers.

 

The whiplash changes were in particular strongly resisted by personal injury lawyers. Whether the rules achieve their objectives will have to await their implementation.
The whiplash changes are due to come into force in April 2020.
 
For further information on the legislation see https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/civil-liability-bill
 
 

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Written by lwtmp

March 9, 2019 at 11:01 am

Posted in Chapter 8

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Compensation culture: cutting down ‘whiplash’ claims

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Those who argue that a compensation culture has developed in our society – with too many people willing to seek compensation for things that have happened to them – often point to the numbers of claims made for soft tissue injuries occurring in road traffic accidents (RTAs), commonly referred to as ‘whiplash claims’

In 2015, the Government announced that it wanted to reduce the incentives on people bringing whiplash claims. It has now published a consultation paper setting out its ideas in more detail.

The package includes measures to tackle the high numbers of minor RTA related soft tissue injury claims by either:

 (a) i.removing compensation for pain, suffering and loss of amenity (PSLA) following an accident or
ii. reducing compensation for PSLA by setting a fixed amount payable (£400 or
£425 if there is a psychological element) for these types of claim.
(b) reducing compensation for PSLA for other RTA related soft tissue injury claims
where recovery takes longer than for those covered by measure (a) above through
the introduction of a set tariff of compensation;
(c) raise the small claims limit for all personal injury claims to £5,000 (by reference to
the value of the PSLA element of the claim). This would have the effect that the
legal costs of such claims would no longer be recoverable from defendants in the
majority of soft tissue injury claims, although certain costs arising from litigation
(for example the costs of issuing the claim) and a number of disbursements (for
example the cost of the medical report) could still be claimed by a successful
claimant; and
(d) ban pre-medical offers to settle RTA related soft tissue injury claims, so in future
claims could not be settled without medical evidence provided by MedCo accredited practitioners.

 

Measures (a), (b) and (d) will require primary legislation and the government intends to legislate as soon as parliamentary time allows.Measure (c) requires changes to the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR). There will also need to be amendments to relevant Pre-Action Protocols including the Pre-Action Protocol for Low Value Personal Injury Claims in Road Traffic Accidents.

It is argued that these changes could reduce the cost of insurance claims by around £1bn annually.

The Consultation will provoke strong views, and are likely to be fiercely resisted, particularly by those who represent claimants. If implemented, the reforms could also have significant impact on Claims Management Companies.

The outcome of the consultation is not yet clear, nor, importantly is it clear when time for the required legislation could be found. But it is an issue that is unlikely to go away, even if implementation is still some time off.

The Consultation can be found at https://consult.justice.gov.uk/digital-communications/reforming-soft-tissue-injury-claims/

 

Written by lwtmp

November 23, 2016 at 11:02 am

Posted in Chapter 8

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