01/12/2015

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Quarterly Update Winter 2015

Deborah Evans & Jonathan Wheeler

2nd December 2015

Winter update - line up

• What’s on our agenda

• Meetings

• Campaigns

• Jurisdictions update

• In the media

• Training & internal issues

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Autumn Spending Review:

Osborne’s unpleasant surprises…

• Legislative changes will be made to abolish general damages for all low value soft tissue road traffic personal injury claims.

• The right to compensation for financial loss suffered and the cost of any medical treatment required will be maintained. ...

• There will be a consultation but the review confirms it will take effect: April 2017

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• The government intends to “remove legal costs by transferring personal injury claims of up to £5,000 to the small claims court.”

• No time scale for the SCL change – expected to form part of the ‘whiplash’ consultation.

Government ‘expects’ the insurance industry to pass an average saving of £40 to £50 per motor insurance policy on to consumers.”

FIXING COSTS IN MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE

CLAIMS

APIL’S STRATEGY FOR INFLUENCE

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Timeline

• Press activity in June with regards to the intention to fix costs in clinical negligence claims up to £100,000

• Pre-consultation in August with regards to the intention to fix costs in clinical negligence claims up to £250,000

• Consultation expected January 2016

Pre consultation

Managing behaviour Size of the fixed cost regime

Capping expert fees?

Trigger points and transitional

arrangements

Sliding scale of costs pre and post

issue

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Our strategy for influence

• Saying no doesn’t work

• Better to shape the solution

• Work with others to build something practical that can work for injured people and the firms that represent them

Our approach

• Contain the reforms to claims <£25,000

• Use data and FOI to show reforms are not needed >£25,000

• Make sensible proposals for fixed costs <£25,000

• Cost the likely savings

• Agree practical solutions for implementation

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What we think

• Any fixed cost scheme should be limited to claims up to £25,000

• Where you fix the cost, you fix the process• Fix costs for liability admitted claims only• Expert fees, if capped, should be capped for both

claimant and defendant• Costs should be fixed carefully, based on

evidence• Certain cases must attract extra funds, or be

exempt

What we think?

• Claims over £25,000 are not disproportionate

• Liability disputed claims do not suit a scheme as the defendant can drive up costs

• Multi track claims do not sit comfortably in a fixed cost scheme

• Capping of expert fees is fraught with danger – best limited to cases under £25,000 with a single expert

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What we now know

Flow charts

We have created flow-charts to show exactly what work is required as a minimum in medical negligence claims of £25,000 or less and for higher value claims.

• Used to inform our responses to the consultation

• and to inform our meetings with officials prior to publication of the consultation.

Freedom of Information requests

• APIL

• PIBA

• AvMA

• Law Society

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Flawed data: ‘Defendant costs’

NHSLA says claimant costs are six times higher than defendants’

All pre-LASPO claims costs, <£250,000 and excludes in-house legal costs

FOI: additional defendant costs?

Data collection: effects of LASPO

APIL members’ data:

Clear that on average, legal costs and expenses paid by the NHSLA will reduce by 28 per cent as a direct result of the effects of LASPO.

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Costs budgets

• 25 defendant/claimant budgets sent in by members;

• Expert spend ranges from £6,000 to £123,000;

• Two budgets showed up to 11 quantum experts instructed;

• If claims go anywhere near trial, spend on experts increases by 60-70 per cent.

CRU data – lifecycle of claims

• 2/3 medical negligence claims submitted are successful.

• While the NHSLA claims that on averageit resolves claims in 1.31 years, nearly a quarter take between two and two and a half years to conclude;

• Claim failures: 12% to 16% of claims fail at the six months to one year stage.

• For every year a claim isn’t dealt with the costs increase by 10 per cent

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Meeting with interested parties

• Members meetings

• Meetings with AvMA, Law Society and SCIL

• Meeting with the NHSLA

• Meeting with the Department of Health

• Meeting with MPs

• Clinical negligence conference

Update from Claims Portal

Big issues:

• Roll out of Release 5 next year

• Calculation of fair figure for user pays

• Strategy day

Behaviour:

• Insurers letters to clients

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Medco

Consultation

Expert Peer Review Group

Accreditation

JUDICIAL REVIEW

MoJ’s review of CMC’s

• APIL’s position

• Regulator got more teeth!

• PI and PPI

• Due early 2016

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Insurance Fraud Taskforce

• PI sub-group – Pre-med offers & third party capture

– Accreditation of experts

– End to cold calling

– Better regulation

Insurance Fraud Taskforce

• Stakeholder event– Reducing limitation

period for whiplash

– Cutting out compo for “de minimis” cases

– Increasing small claims court limit

• Parliament = “fraud epidemic”

• Final report this month

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CJC’s review - deafness

• Cenric and Bridget

• Accreditation of

audiometrists

• Early disclosure of audiology

• Info insurers need in letters of claim

• Work histories

Meetings with insurers

• Zurich’s John Latter

• APIL accreditation

• Compulsory PL insurance

• Road safety

• Aviva on Friday

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Briggs’ review of civil justice

• People’s court

• Technology

• Designated Judicial Officers

• Unification of HC & CC

• Reform of Court of Appeal

• Interim report due by end of the year

Fundamental dishonesty

• S 57 Criminal Justice & Courts Act– 13th April 2015

– Where liability is not in dispute

– C found to be entitled to damages

– C = no damages at all!

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Fundamental dishonesty

• Bad behaviour on both sides– Pollock v Cahill

• How being interpreted?

• Eg’s of D’s dishonesty

• Dossier to CJC

• Support for test cases

Discount rate

• Actuaries report – Spring 2015?

• Freedom of

Information Act

request

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External meetings/ events

• Legal Future conference, Manchester

• Post Magazine “claims club” event

• FOIL roundtable

• Ethical marketing

• PIBA annual dinner

Consumer panel

Accreditation and quality

marks

What price a life?

Injury Prevention Day

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PEOPIL conference

Expert Witness Institute Conference

British Orthopaedic Conference

Our Parliamentary event

• 3rd November 2015

• Andy McDonald MP

• APIL’s agenda for change

• Animation

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Our campaigns

• Damages & Negligence Bill

• Bereavement damages

• Damages for secondary victims

Our campaigns

• Vulnerable witnesses– CPRC

• Compulsory PL insurance– Briefing

– Insurers

– All Party Parliamentary Group, 15th December

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Rehabilitation code• Officially came into play December 1st

• Copies of the Rehabilitation Code and case manager guide are on the APIL website

Serious Injury GuideASB Aspire LLP Francis Lacy-Scott

Ashton KCJ Solicitors Richard Foyster

Atherton Godfrey John McQuater

Barlow Robbins LLP Helen Goatley

Barratt Goff and Tomlinson David Tomlinson

Blakeley Solicitors Simon Blakeley

Beardsells Howard Mansell

Beecham Peacock Kirsten Scott

Bolt Burdon Kemp Marilene Antoni

Boyes Turner Susan BrownBoys and Maughan Andrew Baker

Brethertons Jon Rees

Carpenters Ann Allister

CFG Law Philip Coulthurst

Clarke Willmott LLP Martin Pettingell

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Serious Injury GuideColes Miller Solicitors Adrian Cormack Field Fisher Jill GreenfieldFletchers Adrian Denson Ford Simey LLP Julian NichollsFreeth Cartwright Jane GouldingGeorge Ide Solicitors Claire WatsonHealys Paul KeownHiggs and Sons Solicitors Mark ParsonsIrwin Mitchell Colin Ettinger (London, Southampton,

Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge and International)

Jonathan Betts (Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, Newcastle, Middlesborough and Scotland/Glasgow)

JNP Legal Rebecca ReesLiddys Kevin Liddy Mason Baggott and Garson Tim PhippsMorrish Solicitors Martin BareNovum Law Daniel Green

Serious Injury GuideOsbornes Ben Posford

Pattinson & Brewer Marcus Weatherby

Patrick Blackmore Patrick Blackmore

Peace Legal Jas Singh

Pierre Thomas and Partners Isabel Bathurst

Potter Rees Dolan Hugh Potter

Pudsey Legal Paul Kaye

Serious Law Ben Priestley

Shoosmiths (Access Legal) Rose Donoghue

Simpkins and Co Solicitors Steven Simpkins

Slater & Gordon Richard Crabtree

Smith Jones Solicitors Brett Dixon

Stewarts Paul Paxton

Stones Solicitors James Browne

Thomas Dunton Vernon Hadida

Thompsons Samantha Hemsley

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Jurisdictions update

• APIL’s cross-jurisdictions committee

• APIL Scotland– Sheriff’s court jurisdiction

– Specialist PI judges

– Expenses & Funding of Litigation Bill

– Apologies Bill

– Removing limitation for child abuse claims

Jurisdictions update

• Northern Ireland– Statutory bereavement damages

– Access to justice review

• Wales– Justice Stakeholder Committee

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APIL in the media

APIL in the media

• Chancellor’s Autumn statement

• Negligence & Damages Bill

• Time bar in child abuse cases

• Court closures in Wales

• Bereavement damages in N Ireland

• Clinical negligence fixed fees

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Social media

Social media

Blogs

• Human cost of negligence (Alison Eddy, July)

• Need for prevention (Deborah Evans, August)

• Our arguments (Deborah Evans, September)

• A cautionary tale from Wales (Jane Rogers, September)

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APIL review of governance

SLICK, MODERN ORGANISATION

Diversity of EC

members? What working parties do we

need?

Skills of EC members?

Succession planning?

How big should the EC

be?

What sub-committees do we need?

Maximum terms?

What APIL looks like today

c4000 members

1000 + accredited members

c700 experts

25 staff

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Annual conferenceBirmingham Hilton Metropole

4 – 5 May 2016

Annual Conference

Lord Faulks QC

Keynote Speaker

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Also coming soon