Legal Cost Specialists

Increase in small claims limit and end to “whiplash” claims

George Osborne’s spending review has included a pledge to raise the small claims limit for personal injury claims to £5,000 and scrap general damages for ‘minor’ soft tissue injuries.

10 thoughts on “Increase in small claims limit and end to “whiplash” claims”

  1. An end to access to justice for many victims I fear.
    I suspect that this will just be the thin end of the wedge as fixed costs are no doubt bought in for claims (clin neg or otherwise) with values up to £250,000. Government Consultations seem to be a complete waste of time as the government are simply ignoring anything anyone says in those consultations in any event.
    I am just very glad that I only have a few years to go until I retire!!

  2. So the limit moves up way over inflation, fixed fees actually go down, and damages have never increased in line with inflation.

    A whiplash general damages pay out of £5000 needs about 2 years of suffering. So effectively there is no proper remedy for being in pain for 2 years.

    That is appalling.

  3. theonlywayisfixed

    Forget the committees, steering groups and all of the other time wasting candy floss, the government have clearly decided which way things are going to unfold, I remember reading posts on here a few months ago and people were too busy scheming on ways to get away with overcharging or preparing excessive budgets worthy of a Harry Potter type tribunal.

    I’m afraid that previous posters on here were spot on with their analysis that the government always planned to fix everything outside high value Multi Track, everything that has happened so far has been nothing but a distraction, the ACL has not protected us either.

    If we take stock and think about things which have occurred in last few years……. online courts, fixed fees, extension of fixed fees, online claims portal, medical expert portal, court closures, the increases in court fees to inordinate/unprecedented levels, watering down & opt outs to Human Rights legislation, Litigants in Person being treated like a joke (Coventry & Lawrence), changes in structure of Appeal Courts (and processes), removal of public funding (parents don’t even get funding to see their children anymore), Criminal costs orders against people with limited means to pay (meaning people often admit crimes to avoid paying court costs, with the CPS allowed to levy excessive charges against people knowing full well that a lesser charges are suitable), in order words people cant afford to go to Trial to clear their name, to add to civil lawyers woes, they don’t even bother to review the guideline rates since 2010. Now they say that if you touch a case worth less than £5k you don’t get paid enough for your train journey home, so you imagine a litigant in person trying to value his own case with scarring or bony injury trying to navigate through various portals oh and paying an extortionate court fee for the privileged?

    Yet the only area of government spend not to be cut is the Defense budget? Someone tell me why we are dropping several million pound warheads on other countries whilst simultaneously stripping away the few remaining rights of the people who pay for them through taxation?

  4. Anonymous and ACL Link on 27/11/15
    If there are any Solicitors/ Barristers out there amongst the serried ranks of Costs Lawyers/Draftsmen with 7 yrs PQE, then why don’t they go the whole hog and apply to become a Costs Judge as Jennifer James did recently.
    ( Simon…….? )
    Who knows, your time as a Costs Lawyer might also even count in the reckoning.

  5. “Who knows, your time as a Costs Lawyer might also even count in the reckoning”

    I don’t think they are allowed to discriminate like that…….

  6. Anonoymous 1/12/15
    But they have rights of ( costs ) audience and the same in regard to ( costs ) litigation. The relevant PQE is silent on what constitutes PQE

  7. @ BTW 02.12.15

    ah, you totally missed the humour in the previous posters comment. But you are right about silence on PQE – just shows, any fool can become a CL and believe it qualifies them to do anything

  8. Another anonymous Grade D

    @BTW 03.12.15

    Stop having a go at CL’s they are not all talentless, unless you have earned your reputation through time served you are likely to be no better than any CL, as a matter of fact who are you? in anticipation of you being a tad spineless just shhhhhhhhh

  9. @ another anonymous grade D

    perhaps you should direct your comments to the correct person, BTW did not make any comment against Cost Lawyers

    I myself have rather more experience in both costs and litigation than most “new style” Cost Lawyers, and find their preening distasteful. Your “spineless” remark rather sums up what would be expected of a Grade D keyboard warrior

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