Personal Injury/Clinical Negligence
Continued whiplash portal problems “a real cause for concern”
Operational and structural difficulties facing the Official Injury Claim portal are a “cause for real concern” and having a serious impact on access to justice, it has been claimed.
CMCs have not exploited whiplash portal, report says
Fears that unscrupulous claims management companies would take advantage of injured people bringing claims through whiplash portal have proven unfounded, a report has found.
Court of Appeal to start again in test case on deductions from PI damages
The much-anticipated hearing in Belsner was scrapped yesterday after the Court of Appeal raised the possibility that pre-action legal work was contentious business for costs purposes.
Clin neg costs reforms “could lead to exodus” of small law firms
Small law firms could end up “falling or stepping away” from the clinical negligence market if fixed recoverable costs (FRC) for cases worth less than £25,000 are set too low.
Personal injury CMC boss convicted for second time
The former boss of a personal injury claims management company previously jailed for contempt of court has now been convicted of failing to preserve company accounting records.
MoJ bids to help consumers better understand whiplash portal
The Ministry of Justice has published a simplified guide to using the Official Injury Claim portal in the wake of a low take-up by litigants in person. But there are still big obstacles.
“Injured people will suffer twice” – furious reaction to clin neg fixed costs
Those harmed by the NHS will “have to pay again by losing access to justice” as a result of government plans to introduce fixed costs, campaigners have claimed.
Government sides with defendants in clinical negligence fixed costs plan
The government has finally published its proposals for fixed costs in low-value clinical negligence cases. Going with fees proposed by defendant representatives, it expects to save £454m over 10 years.
Collapse in number of motor claims continues but clin neg cases jump
The number of motor injury claims reported to the Compensation Recovery Unit fell by nearly 20% last year, new figures have shown. However, the volume of clinical negligence claims increased.
Insurance firm develops AI app to boost clients’ reserving
A leading insurance law firm has mined its historic claims data to create an app for clients to improve estimates of how much cash to set aside at an early stage in volume personal injury claims.
MIB to probe why unrepresented claimants are shunning whiplash portal
The body that operates the Official Injury Claim portal is to investigate why unrepresented litigants are not using the service. They are bringing fewer than 10% of claims made through the service.
Leading litigation loan provider owes backer £43m, administrators reveal
Affiniti Finance – which lent money to thousands of law firm clients – went into administration late last year after a breakdown in the relationship with its ultimate backer, which is now owed £43m.
Medical negligence claims process can be “inhumane experience”
Making claims against the NHS can be “a difficult, and in some cases inhumane, experience”, with the worst cases seeing staff trying to “proactively cover up” errors and even fabricating medical records.
Pandemic turned Slater & Gordon profit into £20m loss
The pandemic hit Slater & Gordon hard, with a £12m profit turning into a £20m loss in 2020, newly published accounts have shown. Its turnover for the year fell 8.6% to £111m.
S&G refunds £4,000 deduction in latest Checkmylegalfees clash
The latest battle between Slater & Gordon and Checkmylegalfees.com has seen the law firm refund £4,000 it deducted from a client’s damages where he was signed up to a CFA 97 seconds after receiving it.
Blog
What LeO’s data tells us about client service in personal injury
With court backlogs, insurer delays and increasingly complex cases, maintaining client care in personal injury work can be difficult, but the data suggests the industry is falling short.
Your landlord clients have prepared for the wrong law
Lawyers advising major landlords and build-to-rent operators have spent the better part of a year on the Renters’ Rights Act. A good deal of that advice has been aimed at the wrong risk.
Your website is losing clients before they even pick up the phone
Your website visitor is likely already carrying stress before they arrive. If your site adds to it rather than relieves it, you have likely lost a prospective client.
Reports
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