Claims without medical evidence to be banned.
The Ministry of Justice (MoJ), has unveiled the Prisons and Courts Bill stating it would pave the way for the biggest overhaul of prisons in a generation and the delivery of a world-class court system.
In among the details from the department led by Justice Secretary Elizabeth Truss was an update on whiplash compensation reform.
The MOJ confirmed that there would be new fixed tariffs capping whiplash compensation pay-outs.
It also said there would be a ban on claims without medical evidence.
Gravy train
According to the MOJ this would help crack down on the compensation culture epidemic and cut car insurance premiums by around £40 a year.
James Dalton, director of general insurance policy at the Association of British Insurers, said that the reforms to whiplash claims set out in the Bill cannot come soon enough.
“For far too long claimant lawyers have been defending a system riddled with exaggerated and fraudulent claims because they have been profiting handsomely from it,” he stated.
“The gravy train must stop.”
Dalton asked why with the UK’s roads getting ever safer why have whiplash style claims been rising?
He concluded: “People want an insurance claims system that provides compensation and support to those who genuinely need it.
“What they don’t want is to be plagued by spam calls and texts from ambulance chasers, whilst personal injury lawyers continue to profit from a broken system in urgent need of reform.”
Hell bent
The government closed its consultation on reform proposals on 6 January.
And today’s news was not welcomed by all.
According to Access to Justice (A2J), which is lobbying against the government’s reforms, the changes will include a £5,000 whiplash small claims limit, £2,000 for all other personal injury claims and fixed general damages for whiplash claims.
Andrew Twambley, spokesperson for A2J, said: “We are extremely disappointed that the government seems hell bent on removing the rights of ordinary people to gain redress for injuries that weren’t their fault.
“Increasing the small claims limit to £5,000 discriminates against ordinary people suffering whiplash injuries and will open the doors for claims management companies and cold callers to wreak further havoc on the market.”
He added: “The government has not even waited to issue a response to the consultation exercise, confirming that it is uninterested in due process and deaf to the serious concerns raised by legal firms, the judiciary and consumer groups.”
Article is care of insurance age and can be found here.
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