Regulators must resist any impulse to completely overhaul the high-volume claims market and instead target the ‘problem players’, APIL says.
The personal injury lawyers’ campaign organisation has told the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) that imposing blanket tighter rules on the entire market, which includes firms handling holiday sickness personal injury claims, is not necessary, and would restrict people’s access to justice.
“Penalising all firms that deal with high-volume claims by introducing tougher regulations because of the actions of a few rogue players would be like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut,” said John McQuater, executive committee member of APIL (the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers).
The SRA was heavily criticised for failing to protect consumers when Sheffield firm SSB Law went into administration and has since launched a discussion paper to consider views about the market.
SSB clients were told their cavity wall insulation claims would be run on a ‘no win, no fee’ basis but many were left facing bills running into thousands for defence costs when it emerged that claims were not insured.
“The SRA should take a targeted approach to swifty identify problem players and intervene early, including reacting quickly when clients raise concerns. There must be monitoring and early intervention when individuals or firms identified as being high risk of breaching the regulations are identified,” Mr McQuater went on.
“The current system of handling high-volume claims generally works well and allows consumers access to justice in circumstances where it would not be viable for a firm take on individual cases,” he said.
“We also support the introduction of standardised wording and checklists during the onboarding process of clients across the entire legal sector, not just high-volume claims. It would increase transparency and reduce disputes with clients due to misunderstandings on matters such as paying success fees,” said Mr McQuater.