Ministry of Justice Civil Litigation Reforms – (Jackson Reforms)
Ministry of Justice reforms for civil litigation came into effect on 1 August 2013. The aim of the reforms are as follows:
- To regulate claims management companies
- To improve timescales involved when dealing with claims
- To cap third party solicitors costs
All personal injury claims made that have a value of between £1,000 to £25,000 will have to be made through the ‘portal’. Solicitor's will need to determine who the Council's insurer is and send the claim to our insurer. The Council's insurer will have to acknowledge the claim within 24 hours.
Once the claim has been acknowledged the Council will have 30 working days to determine liability for Employers Liability claims and 40 working Public Liability claims. To ensure these deadlines are met we will require a response to our request for documentation within 20 working days.
If liability is admitted the claim will remain in the portal and all costs are capped and fees remain low.
If liability is not admitted the claim comes out of the portal and if successfully defended no compensation is paid but the Council cannot recover expenses or legal fees. If it is not successfully defended the Council will have to pay compensation, our own costs and escalated third party costs.
Flow Chart for guidance on the claims handling procedureIf you have any questions regarding the Jackson Reforms and the procedure to comply with the protocol please contact a member of the Risk and Insurance Team.