The
Compensation Act was bought into force today and specialist personal injury lawyers are pleased that a regulatory system will be introduced to regulate so called 'claims firms'. Department of Constitutional Affairs Minister Baroness Ashton said:
"The Compensation Act is an important step in tackling false perceptions of a compensation culture. It will ensure that there is proper regulation of those who manage compensation claims. For too long people have been pressured into making claims by "hard sell" tactics and misled by inappropriate and aggressive advertising. This legislation will make those who sell such services conform to strict rules of conduct and deal with their clients honestly."
The Act paves the way for a new regulatory regime that is expected to be in place by Spring 2007. Regulation will be undertaken directly by the Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs, supported by a senior individual with appropriate skills and experience recruited from outside the civil service. After regulation comes into force, any unauthorised person offering claims management services will be committing an offence and will be liable to up to 2 years imprisonment.
Association of Personal Injury Lawyers
Richard Langton, president of the
Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL), said:"We applaud the Government for introducing long overdue regulation of claims management companies but we must ensure the new rules provide robust protection for injured people. A great injustice has also been rectified following a Herculean effort by the Government to reverse the ruling in the Barker case, which would have been disastrous for mesothelioma sufferers. This swift action is to be commended.
We fought vehemently alongside others for clause 1 of the bill, the so-called ‘negligence’ clause, to be removed. We believe it will provide a bigger safety net for negligent defendants and erode standards of safety, but we must now wait and see how the courts interpret “desirable activities,” and the impact this will have on compensation for injured people.”
Sue Bence, Partner and Head of the Cycling and Sports Injuries Team at Leigh Day & Co said:
"The unsavoury actions of some claims farmers that have contributed to the compensation culture myth in this country and the poor reputation of those professionals who strive to help the injured, will at last be regulated by the new legislation. I sincerely hope that any offence committed by any person under the new Regulations will be appropriate acted upon to ensure that the vulnerable are able to benefit from the protection that this new law envisages."
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