Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL)

Victoria Lebrec has given an unmissable interview to The Guardian in which she explains with great eloquence the challenges of the compensation process and highlights the difficulties of dealing with the insurance industry. Victoria's pelvis was crushed when the driver of a skip lorry knocked her off her bicycle. Her leg had to be amputated. Her new prosthetic leg cost £70,000, which as she points out, no-one can reasonably afford without compensation. “Obviously, it wasn’t my fault, because the driver was found guilty, but the insurance companies will literally do anything to victim-blame,” she says. “I felt angry. These people, they’re educated people. They are, on purpose, making my life difficult, hoping that I’m going to give up, or that I’m going to break." Read the article here: https://lnkd.in/ghZmR7Nq #compensation #news #interview #rehabilitation #insurance

Successful candidates for APIL's executive committee have been revealed. Matt Tuff, of Moore Barlow, and Guy Forster, from Irwin Mitchell, have been elected as APIL's vice presidents. Guy has been an EC member since 2021 and has acted as a spokesman for APIL on a wide range of issues relating to clinical negligence claims. Matthew is new to the EC and specialises in catastrophic injury cases. Brett Dixon has been appointed for a further term as secretary, while Suzanne White and John McQuater have been re-elected as additional officers. #APILCIC24 #committee

Kim Harrison has been announced as APIL's new president. She told the AGM at the Catastrophic Injuries Conference: "I am committed to using the time I have in this role to help inspire and encourage other women to believe in themselves. I am hoping that my appointment as president will mark a turning point, so that other women will feel empowered, inspired and confident enough to believe that they too can become president of APIL. "Now is the time to look outwards at the challenges but also the significant opportunities that 2024 and beyond can bring for APIL and its members. "I am so proud to be at the forefront of this incredible organisation that is APIL and am very much looking forward to continuing APIL's dynamic drive for positive change and legal reform to support and improve the lives of victims of negligence." To read Kim's full speech, click here: https://bit.ly/4blm1Sv If you are at the conference, show us and tag us in your pictures with the #APILCIC24. #conference #president #injuredpeople #reform #APILconference

A judge involved in the development of the new fixed recoverable costs (FRC) regime will deliver the keynote address at APIL’s dedicated FRC conference next month. Lord Justice Birss is a member of the Civil Procedure Rule Committee and the current Deputy Head of Civil Justice. He also led the Civil Justice Council (CJC) working group to consider the four aspects of the civil costs regime, including the consequences of the extension of fixed recoverable costs. He will address delegates at APIL’s fixed recoverable costs conference on 7 June at the Marriott Hotel Regents Park, London.

The latest issue of PI Focus is out now, with a special focus on technology and the tough IT choices for PI firms. It also includes a look at how prolonged grief is now a recognised mental disorder, and an overview of the improvements to APIL’s Best Practice Guide on Rehabilitation (which will go live this week). As always it is packed full of analysis, news, research, and insight on various hot topics affecting the personal injury sector. APIL’s West Midlands regional group has provided a piece on bullying and harassment claims, while the Yorkshire group has delved into creative arts therapy. APIL secretary Brett Dixon has also given readers an update on where we’re up to on the journey towards a digital justice system. PI Focus is an exclusive benefit for APIL members and a new issue is released every two months. For members, the magazine can be read online here: https://bit.ly/4aIkCW5 If you wish to join APIL and enjoy all the benefits membership provides, click here: https://bit.ly/3Hd6Rkw

APIL will raise awareness of the impact of avoidable workplace injuries this #IAWeek2024. 561,000 people were injured at work in Britain in 2022/23. Not all were accidents - some of the harm and hardship could have been avoided. #negligence #injuryawarenessweek #workplaceinjury #avoidableinjury #injuryawareness #injuredatwork

Did you consent to receiving personal injury cold calls? Under the current guidance, claims management companies (CMCs) can cold call and text people about making a personal injury claim if they have given consent to be contacted. However, by putting the onus on someone to consent to being cold called, the Government has also put the onus on someone to let it be known that their consent has expired. And that is by no means simple. The Government has admitted that there is no fixed time limit for when consent automatically expires. The Government opposed the inclusion of an amendment in the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill to introduce a proper ban relating to calls and texts which tout for personal injury claims. So the issue is ongoing. Read the latest in a blog from APIL's chief executive Mike Benner: https://lnkd.in/eTyyN-37 #personalinjury #cmcs #claimsmanagement #spam #claims #injuryclaims #coldcalling 

Many of the underlying assumptions about how severely injured people invest their compensation will remain unchanged for this year’s reviews of the discount rates in Scotland and Northern Ireland. The Department of Justice NI and the Scottish Government have published the outcomes from their consultations. APIL had urged for the hypothetical investment portfolio to be reconsidered, primarily because injured people do not behave like typical investors. "The outcome of this consultation is disappointing to say the least," said APIL executive committee representative for Northern Ireland Oonagh McClure. "There is a real risk that injured people will be undercompensated." Gordon Dalyell, executive committee member of APIL said: "Seriously injured victims of negligence will now have even more pressure on them to ensure they make savvy investments, so that their compensation will last." "It is wholly unfair to assume that someone with life-changing injuries is willing to invest their compensation for longer in a bid to reap greater returns. They simply do not think that way." #compensation #discountrate #injuredpeople

An exciting opportunity has opened up for a junior personal injury lawyer to sit on APIL's executive committee (EC) and be at the forefront of the PI sector. The candidate who is appointed will join the EC and experienced staff as they work on a range of issues affecting the PI sector. Members of the EC attend four meetings a year, either virtually or in-person, and cover a range of issues, including legal reforms, campaign and finance. APIL president Jonathan Scarsbrook said: “This is an incredible opportunity for someone embarking on a career in PI. I wish there had been a chance for me to do something like this when I was starting out.” Criteria is as follows: 👉 APIL members who have been practising within personal injury for four years or less, and; 👉 Hold a level of membership that provides them with the right to vote. 👉 Comply with article 31.6: No more than two members of the executive committee shall be a member or partner or employee of the same barristers/chamber, solicitors/firm, or academic institution. To find out more about this opportunity and how to apply, click here: https://lnkd.in/eKUA6znS. The closing date for expressions of interest is Friday 10 May, 5pm. #personalinjury #lawyer #committee #member #opportunity #juniorlawyer

MPs should seize the opportunity to support people who are injured by self-driving automated vehicles and back an amendment to the Automated Vehicles Bill. The Bill will be debated in the House of Commons today (Wednesday). Ministers have recognised the difficulty these injured people would face in making a legal claim, and introduced strict liability for automated vehicles while they are “driving themselves”. Instead of having to make a product liability claim against the manufacturer of the vehicle, which can be complex and expensive, injured people can now claim against the driver’s insurance. But to benefit from this provision, injured people will still need to prove a vehicle was “driving itself”. This might not be easy, and could even be impossible. MPs should support NC6 (new clause six) an amendment tabled by shadow minister transport minister Bill Esterson, which would mean injured people can make a claim under the strict liability provision without having prove the vehicle was “driving itself”. See APIL’s briefing here - https://bit.ly/44qbOSc #Law #Justice #AutomatedVehicles #AutomatedVehiclesBill #Parliament #HouseofCommons # Amendment #Legislation #InjuredPeople #Compensation #AccesstoJustice