The reforms enter the report stage in the House of Lords today
A former lord chief justice is launching an assault on a key part of the civil liability bill.
Cross-bencher, Lord Woolf and Labour’s Lord Beecham have tabled amendments to the bill, which would ultimately scrap any plans for a tariff on injury claims as a result of a road traffic accident (RTA).
The two lords tabled the amendments today, and they will be debated later as the bill goes through the report stage in the House of Lords.
According to the Law Society Gazette, Labour and Liberal Democrat peers intend to vote for the amendments, with several cross-benchers potentially swayed by the intervention of Lord Woolf.
The amendments have gained the support of the legal industry, with the Motor Accident Solicitors Society labelling the amendments “potentially significant”.
Lord Woolf said: “The proposals are novel in making a proposal which involves a genuine victim of whiplash injuries receiving reduced damages in order to deter a dishonest claimant from bringing a claim.”
Currently, the bill outlines a maximum fixed tariff for a whiplash injury, applying where victims have suffered for up to 24 months, of £3,725.
Another amendment, tabled today by the Lib Dem peer Lord Sharkey, asks for damages to be limited to £1,800 for injuries lasting up to three months, rising incrementally to £4,750 for injuries lasting up to two years.
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