Association of Personal Injury Lawyers

APIL: committed to injured people for 30 years and beyond

In its 30th anniversary year, the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers sets out its vision for the future.

About the author: Mike Benner is APIL’s chief executive.Everyone can agree that life in 2020 is looking very different to how it looked back in 1990, when APIL was founded. This year marks the association’s 30th anniversary.

In those 30 years, the world of personal injury has been subject to enormous change. Where injured people used to be able to turn to legal aid, there are now conditional fee agreements, and where ongoing professional development and training was lacking, APIL’s training and accreditation programmes enable injured people to find personal injury specialists with the experience and expertise they need.

Fighting battles, winning wars

APIL has been involved in every battle on behalf of injured people. Some of the key events which have led to progress on behalf of injured people and bereaved families can be attributed, at least in part, to APIL’s tenacious work. Through relentless reforms, APIL has never backed down in doing what it can to give needlessly injured people a voice and protect their rights. The respect the organisation garnered through its measured approach has meant there has been representation of injured people through reforms - from the abolition of legal aid to the introduction of MedCo. It also played a part in batting away three threats of an increase in the small claims court limit.

Bereavement damages

The association’s proactive campaigns are long-fought, and successes are hard-won. The level of bereavement damages in England and Wales has increased four times, and APIL was instrumental in pushing the government for all the increases, as well as being largely responsible for an increase in Northern Ireland.

Reviews of the discount rate

From as early as 1992, APIL lobbied for regular reviews of the discount rate for personal injury claims across all UK jurisdictions. The association even issued a judicial review against the Lord Chancellor, in 2011, which eventually resulted in a dramatic decrease in the England and Wales rate in 2017, and subsequent reviews in 2019 and 2020.

Campaign on ‘corporate killing’

APIL’s influence through its campaign on ‘corporate killing’ led to the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007.

Periodical payments

In 2003, APIL worked on the Courts Act, which allowed courts to impose periodical payments, as it passed through the House of Lords. Previously, defendants had to agree to periodical payments, which they rarely did.

Fund for mesothelioma claims

After years and years of campaigning and consultation, the government finally introduced a fund of last resort for mesothelioma claims, for those who cannot find their former employers’ insurers.

Refusing to rest on our laurels

Be assured though, that at APIL we are not resting on our laurels. Looking ahead, we hope that our new strategic plan, launched in this 30th year, will mark a new era, not just for APIL but for the whole sector of personal injury law. What sets it apart is that we are facing up to the long-term challenges faced by the whole sector.

Many personal injury lawyers, for example, have practised for several years in an environment where misconceptions have been bred from misinformation and, in some cases, poor standards of practice. This has led to deeply entrenched public views that too many claimants are fraudsters and too many personal injury lawyers are so-called ‘ambulance chasers.

A government and insurance industry-led focus on whiplash claims has undermined the work of the sector and public support. It is a fact that the ‘compensation culture’ never really existed: it is a misconception. APIL has a zero-tolerance approach to any reports which imply the alleged ‘compensation culture’ is anything other than a myth and is quick to correct them. An analysis by APIL found an 85 per cent reduction in such references in the press since 2009, but we will do more.

Our research found that only two per cent of UK adults say they ‘trust’ personal injury lawyers. The remaining 98 per cent are surely fortunate enough to have never had the need to call upon the services of a personal injury lawyer to help rebuild their shattered lives. Not all lives are shattered by injury, of course, but the pain, suffering and impact on lives, if only temporary, should not have happened, and we wonder that this is sometimes forgotten when the right to claim compensation comes under attack.

Despite the negative connotations often associated with their work, APIL members have continued to help millions of people get their lives back on track following injuries. We want our members to feel proud of - and be recognised for - what they do for injured people and society. Any negative reflection of personal injury lawyers, even if misled, can have an impact on justice for the injured people they serve.

Building a brighter future for injured people

To build a brighter future for people injured by negligence, APIL’s work will be based around four strategic pillars. They are not mutually exclusive: each pillar relies on the others. They were born out of a consultative process with APIL members and discussions with other stakeholder organisations, including CILEx.

Firstly, we want to rebuild public trust in personal injury lawyers. There is no magic bullet, and its success depends on a commitment from across the sector. We are planning a long-term, hard-hitting campaign. We will promote our members as experts in their field. We will call out bad behaviour in the sector and be at the forefront of representation at all levels.

Next, APIL has a key aim of prevention needless injuries. Just imagine a world where everyone takes proper care, is not negligent, and no one is harmed. This is our vision. Injury prevention must be treated, by government, as a public health priority. We will lead the sector towards a national strategy for the prevention of injuries and continue to build public support and awareness.

This summer, APIL embarked on its biggest ever, consumer-facing injury prevention campaign, Injury Prevention Week (formally Injury Prevention Day). Our research from YouGov revealed that most non-drivers do not know to look out for reserve lights to know a car is about to move backwards, and most parents are not convinced that their children understand how to stay safe near roads. MPs, charities, road safety campaign groups, insurers, injured people, parents, local councils, and even driving schools got behind the campaign to raise awareness of better road safety knowledge and practices.

The third pillar of APIL’s new strategy is to ensure prompt and full redress. When injury is not avoided and someone’s life is shattered, either in the short or long term or permanently, they must receive the justice they need. We will provide a voice for injured people when threats arise and pursue opportunities for a better system, as we have done for 30 years.

We also want to see a more cohesive approach to rehabilitation. Fair redress after negligence is about getting injured people back on track and rehabilitation is essential to achieving that.

Fourth and finally, but by no means least, we will drive excellence in legal representation. This includes developing our accreditation programme, so that injured people can have every faith that the APIL lawyer they choose is the right one for their case. And APIL members can thrive through networking, engagement and the best training.

APIL has the right foundations and expertise to achieve a fairer position is society for injured people and bereaved families. Our past campaigns demonstrate that we never look for a quick win. This strategy is ambitious and far-reaching, but we are building on what is already there. I hope that others can join us and support the cause for a brighter future for injured people.

APIL’s ambitions for the next ten years are as follows:

Most people will recognise and value the contribution of PI lawyers in our society in rebuilding the lives of injured people
To stamp out misconceptions such as ‘the compensation culture’ and ‘ambulance chasers’ and build positive perceptions
There will be widespread support for a national strategy for injury prevention
The wellbeing of injured people will be at the centre of relevant government policy
APIL members will be recognised as providing the best in legal representation for needlessly injured people
APIL will have the highest standards in governance and management

Visit: www.apil.org.uk

Telephone: 0115 943 5400

Follow APIL on Twitter: @APIL

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