Urgent action needed to help sexual abuse survivors |  | APIL has highlighted the urgent need for removal of the three-year time limit on bringing civil claims for historical sexual abuse, in a letter to regional newspapers.
Currently, the law dictates that for a survivor to bring a civil claim against their abuser, it must be brought within three years of the abuse, or within three years of turning 18 if they were abused as a child.
The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse recommended removing this three-year time limit, which APIL strongly supports.
The letter for publication is in time with this year’s Sexual Abuse and Sexual Violence Awareness Week, which begins on the 6 February.
Members can follow APIL on Instagram, and Twitter for more content throughout the week.
Keep reading the weekly APIL News emails to members for further updates on APIL’s work on this issue.
Read the full letter here.
| | New digital technology special interest group |  | A new special interest group on digital technology is being established for APIL members.
The draft remit of the group will be to:
- Help members keep abreast of developments within the sector
- Drive innovation and make recommendations for improving efficiency within firms, for example through the practical use of AI and automation
- Bring together members to discuss current issues, such as digitisation of the courts
- Develop, establish and enable technological support though an IT discussion forum on the website
- Inform on funding options that may be available
- Consider the development of a directory of hardware and software suppliers
- Suggest authors, speakers, and provide articles through communication channels such as PI Focus and group meetings
- Share information on technological advances and assistive technology for severely injured clients
Two joint coordinators are sought who have a particular interest in digital technology in the PI sector. Coordinators will work together to establish the new special interest group and may add to the remit as required. The overall purpose of the new group is to provide a platform for sharing knowledge between members.
Applicants should be either practitioner, paralegal, or academic members of APIL.
To register your interest in becoming a joint coordinator, contact Marlene Lord, APIL’s head of membership services, at [email protected] by 5PM, 23 February.
| | Whiplash reforms analysis |  | APIL’s research department has analysed the impact of the ‘whiplash reforms’ which were introduced through the Civil Liability Act 2018.
So far, the reforms have not resulted in lower insurance premiums, the system for litigants in person is not user-friendly, and there has been a dramatic fall in injured people accessing justice.
A summary of the analysis is on LinkedIn.
Further analysis of APIL’s research can be found in the quarterly APIL Insight email which is an exclusive benefit for members. The next edition will be released on 7 March, delivered direct to your inbox.
| | Welsh mandatory licensing consultation response |  | APIL will respond to a Welsh Government consultation on mandatory licensing of special procedures in Wales.
This consultation seeks views on proposals to enact part 4 and schedule 3 of the Public Health (Wales) Act 2017. It sets out requirements for a mandatory licensing scheme for practitioners of special procedures, such as acupuncture, body piercing, and tattooing in Wales.
Practitioners will need a license to perform special procedures, unless they are exempt. Under the new scheme, it will also become an offense to carry out these procedures without the appropriate license.
Members can share their views by contacting APIL’s legal affairs assistant, Ana Ramos at [email protected], by Monday 13 February.
| | New additions to the expert database |  | Four new experts joined the expert database in December. They are:
Dr Mohamed Altawil, clinical psychologist, Hertfordshire
Mr Max Mifsud, consultant paediatric orthopaedic surgeon, Oxfordshire
Professor Peter Rankin, consultant paediatric neuropsychologist, Merseyside
Mr Nihil Vasukutty, consultant orthopaedic surgeon, Lincolnshire
Find experts by using the expert database. Alternatively, call Jacqui Newman, APIL’s experts and events coordinator, on 01159 435 437.
New experts are encouraged to join APIL’s database to increase the wealth of choice for personal injury lawyers in need of expert witnesses. Members who know of experts who could be an asset to the database should ask them to get in touch with Jacqui.
| | Online conversations this week |  | | |
|