Concerns about impact on disabled claimants have forced a last-ditch change to the government’s civil litigation reforms.
An equality impact assessment of the Jackson proposals revealed fears that claimants could be prevented from bringing a serious injury claim because of the cost of expert reports. Part two of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act (LASPO) abolishes the right to recover the costs from the defendant through after-the-event insurance.
The Ministry of Justice has now added to LASPO the power to allow recoverability of ATE premiums to cover the cost of expert medical reports only in clinical negligence cases. This was not recommended in Lord Justice Jackson (pictured) original report, on which the government based most of the legislation.
In its impact assessment posted today, the MoJ says it will look to claimant and defendant lawyers and liability insurers to ensure joint reports can be commissioned where possible so that ATE insurance is not necessary. On the impact of the rest of the changes, due to come into force next April, the government is satisfied they are a ‘proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim in the reform of civil litigation funding’.
It adds that the possible effect of a referral fee ban, also coming into force in April, is ‘justified as a proportionate means of reducing unnecessary litigation’. The impact assessment report says it may be more difficult for disabled people who are potential claimants to access legal services, but this need should be filled by lawyers and charities.
It adds that lawyers may benefit from not paying up to £800 per referral and will gain more control of screening and vetting potential clients. A catch-up impact assessment of the referral fee ban and the other Jackson reforms will be made three to five years after they are implemented.
As well as ATE, the reforms abolish recoverability of conditional fees from the losing side.
A regime of qualified one-way costs-shifting will come into force for all individuals in personal injury cases, as well as reforms of Part 36 of the Civil Procedure Rules, to encourage claimants and defendants to make and accept reasonable offers.
There will be a 25% cap on the amount of damages which may be taken as a success fee in personal injury cases and a 10% increase in non-pecuniary general damages such as pain, suffering loss of amenity, to apply to all tort cases.
The government said it received more than 800 responses to its consultation on the Jackson proposals, predicting both adverse and positive impacts.
No comments yet