Litigants in person making Personal Injury claims face ‘bewildering’ choice
Published 12/06/2019
Industry insiders stress that unrepresented claimants will need more information and financial safeguards if they are to instruct medical experts. MedCo, the company that currently runs the electronic system for allocating experts, recommend that the government builds in greater protection if litigants in person are to use the new portal.
Starting April 2020, thousands of Road Traffic Claimants are likely to be without a lawyer with the small claims limit for costs recovery rising to £5,000. This will force them to instruct their own medical expert to diagnose their injuries and even pay for the report themselves if the defendant has denied liability. The medical expert is allocated through a newly launched portal which could prove too complicated to understand for LIPs, forcing them to seek advice on which expert to instruct.
Currently, the wrongdoer must pay the upfront cost of the medical report but only when liability is admitted or partially admitted. As soon as an insurer denies liability, numerous claimants are likely to give up because they cannot afford to pay the £180 upfront fee or they are reluctant to battle experienced lawyers in court and risk not getting their money back.
