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17 June 2020 / Dominic Regan
Issue: 7891 / Categories: Opinion , Personal injury
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PI reforms: on the road to nowhere (Pt 3)

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The plans for reform to injury litigation are a disaster in the making & will only make matters worse, says Dominic Regan

Given the gestation period for road traffic reform soft tissue claims one would think that the finished product coming in April 2021 would be perfect. Think again. It is a shambles and is going to do real damage.

The increase in the small claims limit from £1,000 to £5,000 was supposedly to see off a claims culture, something which Lord Dyson said did not exist. Damages for soft tissue injury (not just whiplash) are to be devalued. We still await a tariff despite primary legislation having been enacted on 20 December 2018. The obvious impact of reform is that claimants will be on their own, without the benefit of legal advice and representation. A virgin claimant will have to present their claim to the rather experienced defendant insurer on a new portal.

Original plan

The original plan of the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) was

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