The Ministry of Justice has ruled out a host of suggestions from claimant lawyers on how to improve the whiplash portal for low-level personal injury claims.

Minutes from the Official Injury Claim (OIC) advisory group meeting last month show that government officials gave a blanket ‘no’ to a range of proposals from claimant representatives.

Claimants had wanted changes on time limits, defendant conduct and alternative dispute mechanisms, but the MoJ said none was necessary at this time.

In total, the MoJ had sought views on four policy areas and received responses from eight organisations.

Claimant representatives asked for a time limit for insurers wanting to challenge a liability decision. The MoJ found no compelling evidence that compensators were not responding in a timely manner, but agreed to continue monitoring the data.

Justice officials also ruled out a request from claimant lawyers to be able to submit medical evidence even when insurers have denied liability. It was argued this would hasten settlement by avoiding a lengthy liability dispute by persuading insurers in some cases to change their original decision.

The MoJ said this proposal would ‘run directly counter to the reform objectives to reduce the disproportionate number and cost of whiplash claims’. It added: ‘Compensators should not be encouraged to pay out on claims where they deny liability, even if the amount of compensation is relatively minor… Claimants can already use any medical evidence they might have as part of a liability dispute, but it is not appropriate to use it to force a settlement where one may not be appropriate.’

On the introduction of dispute resolution mechanisms as an alternative to going to court – intended at the start of the whiplash reform package to be part of the portal – the MoJ said this is still not warranted given how the service was working. ‘We do not believe the case has been made to justify the development of an additional dispute resolution scheme for OIC claims,’ said the MoJ.

The government further ruled out introducing punitive costs through the portal for unreasonable conduct, as put forward by claimant representatives. Officials said this was already open to courts and that such a change would ‘fundamentally change’ small claims track principles.

The MoJ acceded to insurer requests to enhance the transfer process for moving claims between different compensators.

Responding to the publication of the minutes, Matthew Maxwell Scott, executive director of the Association of Consumer Support Organisations, said: 'Those of us who believe the bumpy implementation of the OIC would have gone more smoothly if more stakeholders had been involved in its design might now wonder if our faith in collaboration is misplaced, as long as "computer says no" is the default response.

'Nonetheless, it is essential we continue to interact and hope that in future the views of industry practitioners will not just be sought but acted upon.'

 

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