The Ministry of Justice says that it needs to address concerns about access to justice as the changes will ‘fundamentally transform’ how low-value whiplash claims are handled.

What are the planned changes to personal injury and whiplash claims?

Changes proposed within the Civil Liability Bill are to:

• raise the small claims limit for traffic accident related personal injury claims from £1,000 to £5,000, and to £2,000 for other personal injury claims, which means that claims of less than these amounts will be transferred to the Small Claims Court and solicitor fees will not be recoverable – leaving some injured people with no legal advice or representation
• limit the right to compensation for ‘minor’ soft tissue injuries (includes whiplash) that last for less than two years and making payment on a sliding scale, starting at £225 for injuries lasting up to three months and £3,725 for injuries lasting up to two years

What would the changes mean in reality?

Here at Graysons, we believe that everyone has the right to proper redress if they have an accident or sustain injury.  The proposed changes would mean that many of the clients we are able to help now, which include pedestrians and pedal cyclists as well as motorists, would have to accept very low amounts that will not compensate them for their injuries and/or losses, or they would have to take their case to court themselves without our help.  Of course, many people will be dissuaded from doing this as they will have to navigate the very complex British court system, and find themselves in a David and Goliath situation, face dependant companies who have no issue in affording legal representation.

A recent case in which Graysons was successful in winning compensation, would have been dealt with by the new system had it been in place. Melanie Stringer assisted a bus passenger who sustained whiplash when the bus was hit by a car that pulled out of a car park.  The bus company admitted liability but said that it did not believe that our client was injured.  It offered £1,200 compensation and said that if the amount was rejected, it would claim that our client had been fundamentally dishonest.  With the assistance of counsel, the case was assessed as having good prospects of success and the client was advised to reject the offer. Medical records, CCTV footage, witness evidence and vehicle damage documentation were collected, and court proceedings were issued.  As the trial date drew closer, the bus company accepted the claim and offered £6,500, which was accepted by our client.  The client was very happy with the settlement, which she would not have been able to negotiate without our assistance.

Are the changes supported by everyone?

In debating the Civil Liability Bill recently, not all of the peers agreed with the principles within it.  Baroness Berridge, for example, has reservations about the whiplash tariff and said that it is sad that the term “compensation culture” has come to be seen only as derogatory and that it “is an important plank of any mature justice system.”

The insurance industry will be saving millions of pounds with these changes, yet it says only £35 will be passed on to each per person insured, and this figure is widely disputed.  In real terms, the insurance industry has increased premiums year on year whilst the cost of dealing with personal injury claims has fallen year on year. The cost of credit hire and damage repair is increasing but there are no provisions to do anything about this in the proposed reforms.

In a report in The Times, Brett Dixon, president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL), says that the saving will simply not be worth it to policyholders who will receive £225 if left in pain for up three months if they are injured.  He compares this to a train passenger delayed for two hours on a journey from London the Glasgow who will be given £400.  How can that be fair?

Whilst we await the results of government’s trials and a final decision on the proposed changes, we will continue to represent clients who have been injured through no fault of their own, so if you would like to discuss your accident or injury, please contact our experts now.  We will arrange a free of charge meeting in which we can discuss your case and advise on your prospects of success.  We offer a no win – no fee service on all claims and a straightforward, hassle-free claims process.  You can find out more about making a claim for personal injury on our web pages.