Personal injury lawyers need to be ready to shout loudly about the difference they make to people’s lives, APIL’s incoming president has said.
Matthew Tuff addressed his fellow APIL members following the association’s annual general meeting today (Thursday 15 May).
“Let’s remember why we chose this job - to fight for those who find themselves at the lowest point in their lives and to help them to rebuild those lives,” said Mr Tuff, who specialises in catastrophic injury claims.
“In their need for redress to help them turn their lives around, they risk standing alone against big, corporate insurance companies. And, it is you who make sure that these vulnerable, injured people, and their families, are not in that fight alone,” he said.
“More than ever, we need a strong, united voice... APIL is proud to be that voice and proud to be the champion of the claimant PI sector,” he went on.
Matthew is committed to APIL’s flagship Rebuilding Shattered Lives campaign, which aims to rebuild trust in personal injury lawyers and put injured people at the heart of policymaking. Another key issue on his agenda is the “increasing abuse of fundamental dishonesty rules”.
“It is awful that a claimant who may have experienced catastrophic injuries and psychological trauma is, on top of everything else, wrongly accused of dishonesty,” he said.
Mr Tuff also lauded the Serious Injury Guide, a collaborative project with FOIL which marks its 10th anniversary this year and is a tool he uses himself.
“As a mature, modern, pragmatic organisation, APIL is open to collaborating with defendant organisations if this can help to achieve positive outcomes for victims of negligence,” he said.
New postholders on APIL’s executive committee were also announced at the annual general meeting today. Sabrina Lawlor, from Thompsons Solicitors, is the association’s representative for Northern Ireland and James Byrne of Deka Chambers takes the dedicated barrister seat. Jonathan Scarsbrook from Irwin Mitchell and Erin Darling-Finan from Amicus Law have been elected as additional officers