Exit PI Service for solicitors

On the last day that firms can continue to practice under an emergency extension to their professional indemnity insurance PII, the Solicitors Regulation Authority has identified 176 firms at risk of closure as a result of failing to secure a qualifying insurance policy.

The extended indemnity period expires at midnight tonight (30 October) and firms that have been unable to obtain alternative insurance cover will then enter a period of 'cessation' where they have just five days to notify the SRA that they have ceased practising.

Any firms unable to continue to practise can access EXIT PI which has been launched for solicitors looking to exit the personal injury profession and/or administrators of firms.

EXIT PI can be accessed at www.exitpi.co.uk

EXIT PI is owned and managed by JMP Solicitors who are experienced in providing a smooth transition of service to the client in all accepted claims and have offices in Grantham, Warrington and London.

Lewisham Hospital: Appeal Court overrules Jeremy Hunt

The Court of Appeal has ruled Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt did not have power to implement cuts at Lewisham Hospital in south-east London.

During the summer, a High Court judge ruled Mr Hunt acted outside his powers when he decided the emergency and maternity units should be cut back.

The government turned to the Court of Appeal on Monday in an attempt to get the decision overruled.

Mr Hunt had previously claimed the move would improve patient care.

'Vital services'

Following the ruling, Mr Hunt said: "I completely understand why the residents of Lewisham did not want any change in their A&E services, but my job as health secretary is to protect patients across south London - and doctors said these proposals would save lives.

"We are now looking at the law to make sure that at a time of great challenge the NHS is able to change and innovate when local doctors believe it is in the interests of patients."

At the High Court in July, Mr Justice Silber said Mr Hunt's decision was unlawful as he lacked power and breached the National Health Services Act 2006.

It was said the cuts would also mean local people having "to travel a long, long way further to get access to vital services".

Under government policy Mr Hunt had appointed a trust special administrator (TSA) to the South London Healthcare Trust, which went into administration after losing more than £1m a week.

To help ease the problem, the TSA recommended cuts at the Hospital.

At the Court of Appeal on Monday Rory Phillips QC, for the Health Secretary and the TSA, argued they had not acted outside their powers.

They challenged Mr Justice Silber's findings that the TSA was not entitled to recommend the changes and that Mr Hunt was not entitled to implement them.

Referring to the 2006 Act, Mr Phillips said its "wording, statutory context and purpose" should have led Mr Justice Silber "to conclude that they were entitled so to act, consistently with Parliament's evident intention".

The challenge against the government was brought by Save Lewisham Hospital and the London Borough of Lewisham.

'Squandered' money
 
Rosa Curling, who represented the campaign group, said: "We are absolutely delighted with the Court of Appeal's decision.

"This expensive waste of time for the government should serve as a wake up call that they cannot ride roughshod over the needs of the people.

"The decision to dismiss the appeal also reaffirms the need for judicial review, a legal process by which the unlawful decisions of public bodies, including the government, can be challenged by the public."

Andy Burnham, Labour's shadow health secretary, described the decision as a "humiliation" for Mr Hunt that "raises major questions about his judgment".

He said: "Instead of graciously accepting the first court ruling, he has squandered thousands of [pounds of] taxpayers' money trying to protect his own pride and defend the indefensible.

"Today, the secretary of state must accept this decision, apologise unreservedly to the people of Lewisham and give an unequivocal commitment that their A&E will not now be downgraded."

The Department for Health is yet to comment.

Mayor of Lewisham Sir Steve Bullock said: "This is a great result. I was confident of our case but I am still very relieved.

"This is another victory for each and every individual who signed a petition, who wrote to the secretary of state and who marched through the streets of Lewisham."

The decision was made by Lord Dyson, Lord Justice Sullivan and Lord Justice Underhill.

(source: bbc.co.uk)

£1.5m compensation awarded for hospital blunder

John Halliday was a patient of Bradford Royal Infirmary and is now confined to a wheelchair due to failures of doctors within the Yorkshire hospital.

The patient was left with devastating injuries after the hospital failed to diagnose a serious infection which spread throughout his body and into his spine.

The delay in diagnosing and treating septic arthritis enabled the infection to spread.

Delays in diagnosis can be as serious as a misdiagnosis and can lead to significant medical complications.

JMP Solicitors help individuals who fall victim of medical accidents with a personal compensation service taking into account claims for pain, suffering and loss of amenity in addition to ongoing care needs and loss of earnings.

Use Skype to hire lawyers outside London

Lord Thomas, the Lord Chief Justice, has said the public should use Skype to hire lawyers outside London to avoid paying the large legal bills levied in the capital and drive down the cost of going to court.

 

He said he wanted to see a "truly national market" in which litigants used internet technology to opt for cheaper lawyers from cities such as Leeds and Manchester.

 

Lord Thomas said that would force lawyers in the capital to cut their fees and produce a "benefit for society as a whole".

 

His comments, in a speech at Gray's Inn, came as he warned that legal costs were still "far too great" despite a succession of reforms. "London has no monopoly on skill or experience," he said. "In the age of the internet, of tele-conferences, Skype and Facetime there is no reason why a litigant should not or could not properly instruct a lawyer from outside London to work for them at a cost significantly less than in London."

(source: Evening Standard)

Accredited medical panels to verify whiplash

Under proposals announced by the MoJ panels of "accredited" doctors are to be set up to vet all whiplash claims. The process of approving doctors for the panels will begin soon, in order to enable the system to start next year.

 

According to the ABI, whiplash is now costing motorists £2bn a year, adding an average of £90 to each premium. Chris Grayling said: "We are turning the tide on the compensation culture and helping hardworking people by tackling high insurance premiums and other motoring costs. It's not right that people who cheat the insurance system get away with it while forcing up the price for everyone else - so we are now going after whiplash fraudsters and will keep on driving premiums down."

 

Independent doctors' panels were welcomed by experts. James Dalton, the ABI's head of motor and liability, commented: "We have long called for more robust medical assessment of whiplash claimants.

 

Setting up independent panels of accredited experts will help the UK shake off its reputation as the whiplash capital of Europe." Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, added: "Bogus whiplash claims create a grinding financial burden on millions of honest motorists. These proposals are to be welcomed if they manage to weed out fraudulent claims in a fast, cost-effective manner."

(source: the times)

Whiplash targeted in car costs drive

A package of measures aimed at bringing down motoring costs, including insurance premiums, have been announced by the government.

Ministers have pledged to crack down on the "compensation culture" on claims for whiplash injuries.

And there are plans to pilot fuel price comparison signs on major roads and freeze the cost of the MoT test.

The statutory maximum price of the MoT test for a car will be pegged at £54.85 until 2015.

 

Medical report

The inflated cost of fuel on major roads is among the most common complaints among drivers.

In some areas petrol and diesel can cost 10p per litre more at motorway service stations.

The government wants to install a series of price comparison signs which will show the cost of fuel at all petrol stations along any given route.

Ministers are also promising to save motorists money by tackling what they call the compensation culture.

Independent medical panels will be set up to identify exaggerated or fraudulent claims for whiplash.

Currently insurers can make an offer to claimants without a medical report.

Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said: "We are turning the tide on the compensation culture and helping hard-working people by tackling high insurance premiums and other motoring costs.

"It's not right that people who cheat the insurance system get away with it while forcing up the price for everyone else - so we are now going after whiplash fraudsters and will keep on driving premiums down."

Mr Grayling later told BBC Radio 5 live he wanted any cost reductions from clamping down on whiplash payouts to be used to lower drivers' premiums, rather than boost companies' profits.

 

'Shake off reputation'

Labour MP Louise Ellman, who chairs the Commons Transport Select Committee, said she welcomed the package of measures announced, particularly when it came to whiplash claims.

"The Transport Select Committee has looked at this over a long time and very recently we recommended that insurance companies shouldn't pay out for whiplash claims without a medical report and that those medical reports should come from independent medical practitioners," she said.

"So I'm very pleased that the government have now accepted one of our key recommendations."

GP Dr Rosemary Leonard told BBC Breakfast that the UK has a rate of whiplash that is "way higher" than the rest of Europe and "it is thought an awful lot of them are bogus".

"If you had a genuinely nasty shunt in your car and you went to your doctor and you said 'Well my neck's aching a bit,' and the doctor just said 'Well actually I don't believe you,' you would quite rightly be very annoyed.

"So as GPs we're in this position where we have to go along with what the patient says, because if we don't and it's a genuine case we could be sued."

Roads minister Robert Goodwill said: "The costs of owning and running a car are felt by millions of households and businesses across the nation. The government is determined to help keep those costs down."

Statistics from the AA show that motor insurance premiums are falling at the fastest rate since 1994 - 12.3% for an average comprehensive policy in the year to October.

James Dalton, Association of British Insurers head of motor and liability, said: "We have long called for more robust medical assessment of whiplash claimants.

"Setting up independent panels of accredited experts will help the UK shake off its reputation as the whiplash capital of Europe."

The moves have been welcomed by the Institute of Advanced Motorists, and motoring organisations the RAC and the AA.

 

(source: bbc.co.uk)

Personal Injury Solicitors - Are you looking at getting out of personal injury work?

Solicitors throughout the UK are looking at walking away from providing their clients with personal injury services due to the ban on referral fees, reduction of fixed fees and the introduction of the wider claims portal.

 

Some of the larger personal injury 'factories' are swallowing up smaller firms or providing them with a commission based incentive to pass over their personal injury claims.

 

Whilst this may be favourable to the referring law firm in the short term, the client often suffers from having to deal with inexperienced claims personnel, computer focused systems, frequent changes in respect of their claims handling personnel and distance from their legal adviser.

 

At JMP Solicitors, we place our clients at the very heart of everything we do and encourage regional law firms to liaise with us thereby ensuring a personal legal service in the provision of specialist legal advice in personal injury, medical negligence and industrial deafness claims.

 

The firm also has considerable experience in taking over personal injury files from other solicitors having taken over hundreds of files following the closure of Blakemores Solicitors and their legal marketing brand 'Lawyers2You'.

 

To discuss the option of creating a 'personal injury file transfer' scheme that allows you to instruct us online and to discuss any terms that you require in order for us to work with you, please contact Ian Howard, JMP Solicitors' Managing Director or visit our dedicated website
EXIT PI