Tag Archives: APIL

Whiplash and discount rate reforms – Minister summarises proposals at APIL conference

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The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers’ (APIL) annual conference ends today, 18 April 2018, with what looks to be a timely “Law Reform and litigation update” session covering the discount rate, clinical negligence, small claims, court reforms and gastric illness. The keynote address yesterday was delivered by MoJ Minister Lord Keen, who touched on most of these topics in his speech. It is understood he did not take questions after the speech and left very promptly.

The MoJ has just released Lord Keen’s speech on civil justice reform and while it is worth reading, it really does not say anything new about the Government’s reform agenda and its preferred timetable for change.

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Whiplash reforms – Commons Bill Committee hears from ABI, APIL & Aviva

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On 28 March the Public Bills Committee heard evidence from Brett Dixon, of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers, Rob Townend of Aviva and James Dalton of the Association of British Insurers. The context was legislative scrutiny of the whiplash measures to be found at part 5 of the Prison and Courts Bill currently proceeding in the Commons. Opening the evidence session, Sir Oliver Heald MP, Minister of State at the Ministry of Justice, asked this question: “In recent years, since 2005, we have seen a fall in the number of road accidents, we have seen safer vehicles and we have seen a more than 50% increase in whiplash-related claims. Can you put this in perspective and tell us what you think the problem is and whether you think our tariff system is going any way to solving it?”

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Commons Justice Select Committee – oral evidence session on whiplash reforms

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On 7 February, the Justice Select Committee heard evidence from the Association of British Insurers represented by James Dalton, Director of General Insurance Policy, and the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers represented by its President, Neil Sugarman into the proposed whiplash reforms set out in the Ministry of Justice’s consultation issued in November 2016.

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