Image: Steve Punter, FlickR
Last year, Senior judges called for a clamp down on legal firms that specialise in personal injury claims and the so- called ‘claims management companies’ that tout for clients by advertising on television and offering to represent them on a no win, no fee basis. While that would have the effect of driving many “cowboys” out of the market, newspaper owners would also benefit from curbs to the costs of fighting libel cases brought by lawyers working for celebrity clients on a no win, no fee basis. That would also mean a reduction in income for those same lawyers, so some cynicism may emerge as to whether this proposal will see the light of day!
Those views were based on a review of civil litigation costs produced by appeal judge Lord Justice Jackson that urged Parliament to pass a series of laws to restrict the way lawyers and claims firms make money out of compensation cases. It suggested that those who sue for compensation should have to pay their lawyers out of the damages they win, however it did also suggest a 10% increase in damages to help fund the change. Uppermost in their lordship’s minds therefore may not have been the validity of the compensation claims themselves, but a desire to reduce the costs of civil court actions. Lord Justice Jackson said the current ‘no-win, no-fee agreements’ are not beneficial to the public, which is easy enough to say if you can afford to take on a large corporation that may have been negligent. That’s probably not the harsh reality experienced by thousands of ordinary men and women who are excluded from justice because they can’t afford to pay the up front price.
The biggest winner if these reforms did indeed go through would be the National Health Service, which paid out £140 million in legal costs last year. NHS trusts frequently have to pay four times the cost of a court case when they lose a claim. Claims against medical professionals for injuries arising from alleged clinical or medical negligence are already complicated and expensive procedures. However, the impact of medical accidents can be more long reaching and considerably more distressing than almost any other, especially if the victim is a child. It can be difficult to show that chain of events exists as any medical treatment can carry a risk. Any change to the no win no fee approach is likely to dissuade many people who may nave a legitimate claim for compensation from pursing it at all. We’ll keep you posted on progress…
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At last! Someone who understands! Thanks for psiotng!