APIL analysis of the latest Official Injury Claim (OIC) data reveals a clear ‘justice gap’ in which victims of negligence are not receiving redress.

“There is no denying the collapse in the number of road injury victims seeking justice since the OIC was introduced in 2021,” said APIL president Jonathan Scarsbrook in a press release covered this morning by Politics UK and key insurance titles Insurance Times and Insurance Post.   

APIL has tracked and analysed data gathered from Department for Transport figures, claims data from the OIC, and Freedom of Information requests to the Compensation Recovery Unit (CRU). This graph illustrates how the number of injuries and claims have diverged since the OIC was introduced.

In the latest quarter (Q2 2023) for example, motor injury claims were 45 per cent below pre-pandemic levels, yet traffic volumes, a key indicator for the level of road casualties, were three per cent above pre-pandemic levels.

“Before the OIC was introduced, the number of claims reflected the number of injuries. The divergence between claims and injuries we see now shows a very clear justice gap,” said Jonathan.

He also criticised the Government’s justification for the reforms and the insurance industry’s failure to deliver on its promise of lower premiums in exchange for slashing compensation for whiplash injuries.

“We hope that insurers will be held to account when the Treasury reports on the benefits of the reforms to consumers. But by then thousands more people with real injuries caused by the negligence of other drivers will have fallen through the justice gap these reforms have created,” he said.

Read further comments in the press release here.

Keep up-to-date with exclusive APIL research and analysis by reading the quarterly Insight email. The next issue will be landing in members’ inboxes in the first week of September. 

APIL has encouraged the public to think carefully about the language used to discuss victims of negligence in a blog for the Rebuilding Shattered Lives campaign.

“A young mum and keen rugby player left paraplegic, a waitress rushed to A&E with severe chemical burns, and a man who hit a pothole which resulted in a four-year legal battle. What do they all have in common?” asked APIL chief executive, Mike Benner.

“These are all people who have made headlines in the past year because their lives have been shattered as a result of negligence. And yet newspapers still described each settlement as a “win”.”

An aim of the Rebuilding Shattered Lives campaign is to help stamp out damaging misconceptions so that the needs of injured people are put first. APIL is working hard to build greater public empathy for victims of negligence, and part of that is ensuring the public understands the purpose of compensation.

“By changing the language we use to talk about people who may be dealing with life shattering injuries, we can help support those people when they need it most. But this is unlikely to happen while compensation is still being misrepresented as a “win”,” explains Mike.

Read the full blog here. Members are encouraged to share the blog on their social media channels to help spread the message far and wide.

APIL will respond to an Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) consultation proposing a new product safety framework.

APIL previously highlighted that the current framework is extremely challenging and requires change to effectively protect consumers, in response to a 2021 call for evidence. This new consultation reflects on the responses of that OPSS product safety review call for evidence.

The reforms aim to ensure that only safe products are available to consumers; that the system is more accountable and proportional; that businesses’ costs are reduced; innovation is encouraged; and that the framework adapts to online marketplaces and connected devices.

Members who would like to share their views should contact Ana Ramos, legal affairs assistant, at [email protected].

A national broadsheet journalist would like to speak to any personal injury practitioners who have seen issues with Phillips Respironics devices, such as ventilator machines and home respirators.

There is a class action case running in America in relation to an alleged fault with some devices which caused them to stop working. It is not clear if they have all now been recalled or replaced, or the scale of problems with them in the UK. This journalist is making initial investigations.

Any members, or colleagues of members, who can help should contact Jane Hartwell, APIL’s communications manager, in the first instance. Email Jane at [email protected].  

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