Legal Watch What’s on the horizon January 2015
The discount rate No news from the Lord Chancellor’s panel of experts on
In This Issue:
to go away anyway? With the election due, the subject is
• The discount rate
which time interest rates are expected to begin to rise.
• Coventry v Lawrence
what to do about the discount rate but will the problem start unlikely to trouble any government until late in the year, by
Coventry v Lawrence A seven-judge panel has been set up in the Supreme Court
for the Coventry v Lawrence costs hearing due to start on 9 February 2015. The issue to be considered is whether the
pre-Jackson conditional fee regime breached the European
• Insurance Bill • The Criminal Justice and Courts Bill • The Social Action, Responsibility, and
Heroism Act 2015
Convention on Human Rights 1950.
• ‘Whiplash’ – soft tissue injury claims
Insurance Bill
• Hourly rates
The bill is steadily progressing through parliament and
• Developments in Scotland
will introduce into non-consumer insurance contracts
provisions similar to those in the Consumer Insurance
(Disclosure and Representations) Act 2012. Part 4 of the bill provides insurers with statutory remedies against first party fraudulent claims. Part 6 will implement the long awaited
Third Parties (Rights Against Insurers) Act 2010 in a heavily amended form.
The Criminal Justice and Courts Bill Third party fraud is addressed in this bill which, if
implemented, will allow a court to dismiss in its entirety any claim for personal injury where ‘the court is satisfied
on the balance of probabilities that the claimant has been fundamentally dishonest in relation to the primary claim or a related claim’.
The Social Action, Responsibility, and Heroism Act 2015 The bill has completed its passage through parliament and
Publications
seemingly adding nothing to the existing law but merely
email indicating which you would like to receive.
now awaits royal assent. It has been heavily criticised for
reemphasises that in considering a claim in negligence, the court must take account of the context in which the alleged negligence occurred.
‘Whiplash’ – soft tissue injury claims As the result of amendments to the Civil Procedure Rules taking effect on 6 April 2015, medico-legal experts and
medical reporting organisations (MRO) will need to be
If you would like to receive any of the below, please Weekly: • Legal Watch: Personal Injury Monthly: • Legal Watch: Property Risks & Coverage Quarterly: • Legal Watch: Counter Fraud
registered with MedCo in order to provide medico-legal
• Legal Watch: Health & Safety
will also be a new accreditation requirement for medico-
• Legal Watch: Disease
reports for RTA soft tissue injury claims. In addition, there legal experts and MRO. Solicitors will be required to
• Legal Watch: Professional Indemnity
undertake ‘previous claims’ checks on potential claimants and to confirm to the defendant that this has been done.
Hourly rates Well over a year after the close of the government survey into guideline hourly rates, the subject has disappeared
from the radar. The concern for defendants is that when new figures are published they are likely to be considerably
higher than those that have been in place since 2010, even if they fall short of claimants’ expectations.
Contact Us
For more information please contact: Geoff Owen, Learning & Development Consultant T: 01908 298216 E: gro@greenwoods-solicitors.com
Developments in Scotland Two MSPs have opened consultations in Scotland. One
seeks to mirror the move in Wales to recover medical costs
paid out by NHS Wales for the treatment of asbestos related diseases; the other looks at using the EU Framework
To unsubscribe from this newsletter please email: crm@greenwoods-solicitors.com
Directive on health and safety to reintroduce strict liability for a breach of regulation in workplace accidents.
www.greenwoods-solicitors.co.uk
www.plexuslaw.co.uk
The information and opinions contained in this document are not intended to be a comprehensive study, nor to provide legal advice, and should not be relied on or treated as a substitute for specific advice concerning individual situations. This document speaks as of its date and does not reflect any changes in law or practice after that date. Plexus Law and Greenwoods Solicitors are trading names of Parabis Law LLP, a Limited Liability Partnership incorporated in England & Wales. Reg No: OC315763. Registered office: Renaissance, 12 Dingwall Road, Croydon, CR0 2NA. Parabis Law LLP is authorised and regulated by the SRA.