Coroners' Courts Reform

Finally, the government is to reform the coroners' courts process. See http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5068496.stm. At present the proposals will include an appeals process to the chief coroner, the ability of relatives to refer a death to the coroner and 65 full-time coroner posts.

Claims Management Regulation

I notice that the Department for Constitutional Affairs are advertising for an organisation to run the regulation of claims management companies. See http://www.dca.gov.uk/procurement/claims.htm. It will be interesting to see how this develops and whether case law comes after the Compensation Bill comes into effect as to the definition of regulated claims management services etc.

Compensation Culture

People are always knocking the so-called ´compensation culture´ and it´s time we heard views from people inside the industry. This is particularly so as the Compensation Bill is currently going through Parliament. In particular the spirit of the judgment in Tomlinson v Congleton Borough Council is now being enacted into law by allowing courts to be able to consider the wider social value of the activity in the context of which the injury or damage occurred. Whatever one’s views as to the rights or wrongs of such a move, it highlights the role of personal injury law in influencing how society approaches health and safety and in particular how it deals with risk. This is a debate which should move away from using cliches such as ‘compensation culture’ and instead address the issue head on.

Nobody likes it when someone is injured as a result of a risk which has been taken. However, the social consequences of promoting a culture of risk aversion can also prove unpopular. As Tacitus wrote “The desire for safety stands against every great and noble enterprise”. Where the balance is to be struck between the two extremes should be seen less in merely legalistic terms but also in the wider social context. Whether you are acting for Claimants or Defendants, it is to be hoped that the Compensation Bill will stimulate further debate on this topic.

We would welcome people´s views on this issue.

Low impact type cases

It has been clear for a long time now that a growing area of practice for many people on both sides of the personal injury industry is that of low impact cases. There have been two cases in the last 18 months which have gone as far as the Court of Appeal: Armstrong v First York and Kearsley v Klarfield. However, most cases end at first instance and therefore very little is actually published on the topic. It would be interesting to hear what people´s views are on this topic.

Welcome

Welcome to the new blog for the free email newsletter Personal Injury Brief Update (www.pibriefupdate.com). We hope that this will help to stimulate debate in the field of personal injury and we welcome contributions both from England and Wales and further afield. If you have any questions about the blog generally, please contact us.