Anybody who has been paying attention to developments in the Personal Injury market over the last few years is likely to have heard the words “whiplash reforms” and “PI reforms” being muttered with bated breath. Our Personal Injury team have paid particular attention to the proposed changes announced by the Government in 2017.
So how will the reforms affect your right to claim, and how does this affect our ability to represent you?
The origin of the proposed changes can be found in George Osborne’s autumn spending review in 2015 when stated his intention to raise the small claims limit for personal injury claims from £1000 to £2000 in work related and public liability accidents, and up to £5000 in Road Traffic Accident claims, and to introduce a new tariff-based system for damages in soft tissue injury or “Whiplash” claims arising from road accidents.
At the present time, the level of damages awarded to a Claimant following a Road Traffic Accident is usually negotiated between the Claimant’s representative and the third party insurer. The amounts for injuries proposed by either side will be based on the Judicial College Guidelines and established case law. The Claimant normally attends a medical appointment prior to valuation, and will be given a prognosis period, or in simple terms, an estimate on how long he or she is expected to suffer symptoms for by the medical expert.
The proposed new tariff system will introduce “fixed damages,” meaning that the level of damages awarded to a client will be at a fixed rate dependent on how long this prognosis period is.
The proposed tariff is outlined below and you will see that the proposed amounts are much less than previous awards. Please bear in mind that these sums are only for the compensation for the injuries and not for the “special damages” for out-of-pocket expenses including lost earnings, damage to property, travelling costs, medical expenses, care and other losses which are claimed in addition to these sums.
| Injury Duration | 2015 average payment for PSLA – uplifted to take account of JCG uplift (industry data) | Judicial College Guideline (JCG) amounts (13th edition) Published September 2015 | New tariff amounts |
| 0-3 months | £1,750 | A few hundred to £2,050 | £225 |
| 4-6 months | £2,150 | £2,050 to £3,630 | £450 |
| 7-9 months | £2,600 | £2,050 to £3,630 | £765 |
| 10-12 months | £3,100 | £2,050 to £3,630 | £1,190 |
| 13-15 months | £3,500 | £3,630 to £6,600 | £1,820 |
| 16-18 months | £3,950 | £3,630 to £6,600 | £2,660 |
| 19-24 months | £4,000 | £3,630 to £6,600 | £3,725 |
Is this fair you may ask? Will the reforms deter individuals from making a claim?
Remember that the figures only apply when there are only soft tissue injuries, so the fixed amounts won’t apply if the injured person suffers a fracture, serious scarring or head injuries.
Given that in future, small claims cases (where the award for the injuries alone does not exceed the amount of £5000 in soft tissue RTA cases and £2000 in other claims) won’t entitle the injured person to recover their legal fees, many people will be deterred from bringing claims or will try and do so themselves.
At Taylor and Emmet, our personal injury team will always fight to obtain the highest amount of damages for our clients and compensation that will, wherever possible, return them to their pre-accident positions. Although we take on fewer Road Traffic Accident Claims than other claim types, clients can rest assured that when the reforms are implemented, we will continue to represent all victims of Road Traffic Accidents as and when the reforms are introduced and will offer a service on terms which we hope will continue to be attractive, efficient and friendly.
We will always be happy to give you advice on any type of personal injury case, please do not hesitate to contact us on 0114 218 4000 or email info@tayloremmet.co.uk.
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