Personal injury plans revised

The Telegraph reports that personal injury victims could be able to claim up to £15,000 without hiring lawyers under revised plans being considered by ministers to cut down on legal fees. Ministers were intending to reduce lawyers’ fees from £1,200 to between £500 and £800 for motorists’ personal injury claims of up to £25,000 from April. But after lawyers brought a judicial review over the plans this week, Chris Grayling is understood to be reassessing whether more drastic changes should be brought in. The revised plans could see the limit on cases being made in the small claims court increasing from £1,000 for personal injuries and £5,000 for other cases to £15,000 for all claims. The judicial review, brought by the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers and the Motor Accident Solicitors, appears likely to delay the Government’s plans to reduce lawyers’ fees, particularly in whiplash claims.