A raft of new changes will soon revolutionize the way personal injury claims are handled in Great Britain. The idea behind the changes is to attempt to streamline and quicken the claims process for low- to medium-value personal injury claims.
A raft of new changes is due to be brought into effect next year that will revolutionize the way personal injury claims are handled. In April of 2007, the DCA published a consultation paper entitled 'Case Track Limits and the Claims Process for Personal Injury Claims'. Consultation on the paper ended in July, and the DCA is collating the results.
The idea behind the changes is to try to streamline and quicken the claims process for low - medium value personal injury claims. With rising costs and an increased number of claims, costs are beginning to exceed damages in many cases.
The proposed changes have met with mixed enthusiasm, and have been accused of pandering to the influence of insurance companies and lobby groups, who complain of an increased compensation culture and disproportionate costs.
One area which has courted controversy is the new settlement packs which will introduce a 'beat your own offer scenario'. In their response to the consultation paper, Thompsons Solicitors referred to this situation as 'completely unacceptable' and reckoned such a situation would place solicitors into conflict with their 'professional duty to do the best for their clients.'
The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) has stated that, 'Much of the consultation paper can be seen as doing nothing to improve the current system for accident victims but instead is dedicated to trying to cut costs.' APIL went further, stating that, 'The drive [to cut costs] comes from those having to pay the costs: usually defendants' liability insurers whose primary duty is to their shareholders.'
However, the proposed changes have been welcomed by the Association of British Insurers. In a statement it said, 'It is important that these reforms are now delivered as quickly as possible to ensure a rapid decrease in the current level of recoverable costs that are completely disproportionate, support excessive referral fees and are an unnecessary drain on all motorists, businesses and local authorities.'
One other area of concern has been that cases should not initially be assigned a track based purely on their monetary value, but that complexity should be the paramount consideration.
In its response to the proposals, The Citizens Advice Bureau said that 'while a claim may fall within the financial limits of the fast track, complexity has always been a reason for removing claims from that track. This provision should remain.'
Although judges have discretion in this area, APIL has stated, 'Our members have told us that some judges seem reluctant to use the discretion that the Civil Procedure Rules allow them in transferring cases to a track other than the one into which they would normally fall by virtue of their value' and that 'the problem of allocating cases to a track on the basis of value alone ... will be exacerbated if the fast track limit is increased.'
The proposals outlined in the Consultation Paper involve an increase in the track allocation limit for fast track cases from £15,000 to £25,000. The limit on the small claims track of £1,000 will remain the same. In addition to this, fixed costs are to be adopted throughout the entire fast track.
In relation to the notification of the claim to the defendant/insurer, claimants will now have to send notification within five days of seeking legal advice. There will also be tighter time limits regarding decisions over liability. Defendants and their lawyers will have just 15 days to respond on liability in road traffic accidents or 30 days in all other cases.
Given the breadth and detail of the consultation paper, it is likely that all the proposals will not be implemented in one go, but phased in beginning early 2008.
However, because the responses to the consultation paper have yet to be taken into account, there is no doubt that there will be further discussions and changes before a final blueprint for implementation is published. The Ministry of Justice is expected to announce a Claims Process Reform Bill in the near future.
About the Author:
Adam Singleton is an online, freelance journalist and keen gardener. He lives in Scotland with his two dogs. Article Source: 1st Rate Articles - http://1stRateArticles.com
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