The Law Society has urged David Cameron to engage with the legal profession following his attack on the health and safety ‘monster’ and personal injury fees.

In a speech last week, the prime minister proposed capping fees for personal injury claims at £25,000 and including public and employers’ liability claims in the restrictions. In line with the 2010 Young report, he plans to extend the current portal scheme for road traffic accidents to an upper limit of £25,000.

Speaking to an audience of small businesses, Cameron described existing health and safety regulations as an ‘albatross around the neck’ of small firms and invited insurers to suggest possible reforms. He did not mention solicitors in his invitation.

Solicitors have told the Gazette they feel sidelined in the debate over civil litigation. David Bott, president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers, expressed ‘grave concerns’ that the government was pushing through far-reaching changes without proper consideration.

The Law Society has joined calls for consultation. In a letter sent this week to Downing Street, president John Wotton said it was ‘vital’ to use the legal sector’s experience. ‘It is essential that the progress over recent years in reducing injuries at work is not reversed, and that those injured as a result of another’s negligence can secure adequate compensation.’

He added: ‘I would like to meet with you on a similar basis to your planned meeting with the insurance industry next month, to discuss how this issue can most effectively be tackled.’

In his speech, Cameron declared that he is ‘waging war’ against what he called the ‘health and safety culture’, although he gave few details about how that war would be waged.

Details are expected to emerge in the government’s response to last year’s consultation on solving disputes in the county courts. It was due for publication in October, but the Ministry of Justice said this week there is still no date set for its release. John Spencer, director of PI firm Spencers Solicitors, said Cameron had ‘put the cart before the horse’ in pre-empting the consultation response.

‘Either the government knows its response and has not published it, or it has made its mind up regardless of what the report says,’ he added.

The proposed extension of the RTA Portal scheme comes as 2,000 claims are being notified through the portal to insurers every day, raising concerns about the scheme’s capacity to expand.

Tim Wallis, chairman of RTA Portal Co, said the detail of extending the upper limit had to be ‘considered carefully’, and promised to work with the MoJ to avoid any ‘significant disruptions’.