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 \u201cwhiplash reforms\u201d and \u201cPI reforms\u201d being muttered with bated breath. Our Personal Injury team have paid particular attention to the proposed changes announced by the Government in 2017.<\/p>\n
The origin of the proposed changes can be found in George Osborne\u2019s autumn spending review in 2015 when stated his intention to raise the small claims limit for personal injury claims from \u00a31000 to \u00a32000 in work related and public liability accidents, and up to \u00a35000 in Road Traffic Accident claims, and to introduce a new tariff-based system for damages in soft tissue injury or \u201cWhiplash\u201d claims arising from road accidents.<\/p>\n
At the present time, the level of damages awarded to a Claimant following a Road Traffic Accident is usually negotiated between the Claimant\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
The proposed new tariff system will introduce \u201cfixed damages,\u201d meaning that the level of damages awarded to a client will be at a fixed rate dependent on how long this prognosis period is.<\/p>\n
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 \u201cspecial damages\u201d 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.<\/p>\n
Injury Duration<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n| 2015 average payment for PSLA – uplifted to take account of JCG uplift (industry data)<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n | Judicial College Guideline (JCG) amounts (13th edition) Published September 2015<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n | New tariff amounts<\/strong><\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | 0-3 months<\/span><\/td>\n | \u00a31,750<\/span><\/td>\n | A few hundred to \u00a32,050<\/span><\/td>\n | \u00a3225<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | 4-6 months<\/span><\/td>\n | \u00a32,150<\/span><\/td>\n | \u00a32,050 to \u00a33,630<\/span><\/td>\n | \u00a3450<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | 7-9 months<\/span><\/td>\n | \u00a32,600<\/span><\/td>\n | \u00a32,050 to \u00a33,630<\/span><\/td>\n | \u00a3765<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | 10-12 months<\/span><\/td>\n | \u00a33,100<\/span><\/td>\n | \u00a32,050 to \u00a33,630<\/span><\/td>\n | \u00a31,190<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | 13-15 months<\/span><\/td>\n | \u00a33,500<\/span><\/td>\n | \u00a33,630 to \u00a36,600<\/span><\/td>\n | \u00a31,820<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | 16-18 months<\/span><\/td>\n | \u00a33,950<\/span><\/td>\n | \u00a33,630 to \u00a36,600<\/span><\/td>\n | \u00a32,660<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n | 19-24 months<\/span><\/td>\n | \u00a34,000<\/span><\/td>\n | \u00a33,630 to \u00a36,600<\/span><\/td>\n | \u00a33,725<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n | Is this fair you may ask? Will the reforms deter individuals from making a claim?<\/span><\/h3>\n |