The government has published provisional statistics on injuries on public roads in Great Britain...
In April 2013 the government is proposing to bring in changes to the way in which claims for injury compensation are made. Amongst a number of different measures, it is intended that ‘referral fees’ are outlawed.
Adverts by claims companies are always on television giving the public the impression that there is an advantage to bringing a claim through them which is not available if the injured person simply goes straight to a solicitor. What in fact happens is that the claims company sells each case on to a solicitor on their panel, often hundreds of miles from the client, for several hundred pounds and that solicitor then deals with the claim in exactly the same way as if the injured person had walked through the door of a local solicitor’s firm. For over a decade, insurance companies have been selling cases to their panel solicitors in exactly the same way, which for minor injuries, specifically whiplash, has undoubtedly increased the number of claims made. As the solicitors are paying thousands of pounds up front to buy in these claims, they are then under pressure to settle the claims quickly regardless of whether their client might be entitled to a better deal.
The insurance industry have blamed an increase in premiums on a compensation culture, when in fact it is highly likely that without the advent of referral fees there would be far fewer individuals pursuing compensation claims for very minor transitory aches and pains following rear end shunts.
We will have to wait and see whether a ban on referral fees will bring an end to claims companies or whether they will try and find a way around the legislation but hopefully insurers, at least, will end the practice of selling claims to solicitors. The injured party will discover that there are no legal bills to pay by going direct to a local personal injury solicitor and if they go to a lawyer with the relevant expertise they will get an altogether better service and outcome and they will have nothing to pay for the experience.
For further information or advice relating to this or other personal injury/clinical negligence matters, contact David Greenhalgh on 01689 887806 or email him at david.greenhalgh@cwj.co.uk