Letters: Claimants will lose out, not lawyers
Posted on January 18th, 2010
It is claimants and not lawyers who will be the losers from Lord Justice Jackson’s recommendations (Writ large: A blow for justice – and only the lawyers lose, 18 January). Implementation of Jackson’s review of civil costs will rob injured people of up to 50% of their compensation while insurers get extra profits.
The Jackson report appears to have forgotten the furore (often reported in the Guardian) about no-win, no-fee lawyers taking money from compensation. It recommends that claimants pay lawyers’ success fees and also the costs of medical reports and court fees should they lose.
A proposed increase of 10% in one aspect of damages is woefully inadequate to make up for what the injury victim is going to have to pay their lawyer from their compensation.
Fixed costs will enable employers to work out what an injury to a worker will cost them in total and to calculate whether it is a price worth paying.
The ultimate winner is the insurance industry. It has got almost everything it lobbied for. Claimants are going to be paying out of their damages and insurers will be paying out to their shareholders.
Marcel Berlins may interpret the Jackson report as providing “justice for all”. But this is not what we would recognise as justice for claimants.
Stephen Cavalier
Chief executive, Thompsons Solicitors
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Tags: Lawyers
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