Rapid change in civil litigation threatens to ‘besiege’ claimant solicitors and their clients, according to the outgoing president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL).

David Bott, speaking at the APIL president’s lunch last week, accused the government of ‘recklessness’ in pushing ahead too quickly with reforms of the system. In recent weeks, the Ministry of Justice has announced plans to extend the RTA Portal scheme to include claims valued up to £25,000, as well as to include employers and public liability in the fast-track scheme.

This is on top of measures in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders (LASPO) bill that will scrap legal aid for most civil cases and overhaul the no win, no fee system.

Bott said: ‘Too much change, too quickly, borders on recklessness, and risks tilting the playing field even further away from injured people in favour of big business and insurance companies, who quite frankly can look after themselves. I urge the government to pause for breath before considering extension of the RTA process.’

Bott said that LASPO will mean claimants lose the 100% entitlement to their compensation and he doubted that loss would be offset by the government’s suggested 10% increase in damages. Ministers have instructed judges to include the uplift in their damages awards once the bill is passed.

‘I have grave concerns as to whether the 10% increase will ever be implemented, or how it could be enforced,’ added Bott.

‘10% is not sufficiently high a figure for it to be obvious that the new settlement is indeed any different from the offers that are currently being made.’

But the outgoing president reiterated APIL was right to look for a compromise solution, dropping its opposition to recoverability of after-the-event insurance, in the face of the government’s ‘dogged determination’ to push the bill through. ‘Anything other than full compensation is not good enough, but a half-way house option may be better than the abyss which injured people currently face.’