Proposals to slash legal costs in personal injury claims welcomed

The long-awaited outcome of Lord Justice Jackson's review of civil litigation costs has been broadly welcomed by the British Safety Council (BSC).
The BSC suggests a number of the review's recommendations, if implemented could have an impact on the costs of litigation incurred by employers in defending personal injury claims and help reduce the cost of employer liability insurance.

Other proposals, for example the banning of the payment of referral fees to claims farmers, could have an important part to play in providing assurance that our society has not gone compensation crazy.

Implementation of the Jackson review recommendations will mean that the majority of personal injury claims arising from work-related accidents or illhealth will be subject to fixed costs.

While welcoming Lord Justice Jackson's review, Neal Stone, head of policy & public affairs at the BSC, made it clear that there was still a long way to go before employers and injured workers felt the benefit of a reduction in legal costs: “It is a cardinal principle of our legal system that workers injured or made ill by their work are properly compensated for the damages they have suffered,” he said. “There is something seriously wrong with our legal system where the costs of bringing and defending a personal injury claim far outweigh the compensation for the damage that the injury or ill-health causes.”