GOVERNMENT ATTACKS LEGAL REPRESENTATION

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: april 2013 :: RMTnews 25 LEGAL The government’s devastating attack on access to justice for injured people means that from 1 April, if you’re injured in an accident (at work or otherwise) or develop a work-related disease in England or Wales, only trade union members and their families will continue to benefit from a free and independent legal service that guarantees them 100% of their compensation. The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders (LASPO) Act became law last year, in spite of massive opposition from the trade unions, victim support groups and civil rights organisations. The media only reported the Legal Aid cuts, but the Act also ripped up the current arrangements that enable genuinely injured people to get legal representation without the risk of having to pay from their own pocket if their claim is unsuccessful. This is because the guilty party, usually the employer or their liability insurer, will no longer have to pay the insurance premium that the injured person takes out to cover the cost of things like medical reports and court fees should they lose. Such costs, called disbursements in legal jargon, are usually vital in order to pursue a case and to prove who or what caused the accident that led to the injury, the exact nature of the injury and the short and long term prognosis. But they can cost thousands of pounds. As well as removal of the losing defendant’s obligation to pay the insurance premium, the successful claimant lawyer will no longer be able to claim what is known as a “success fee” from the losing side. This fee, usually paid by the employer or their liability insurer, recognised the risk that the claimant’s lawyer would not get paid anything for their work should the claim fail. This enabled them to take the risk of no payment in unsuccessful cases, meaning that they could take on cases that might be risky, such as complex injury claims and test cases. Success fees haven’t been banned by the government, but the injury victim and not the guilty party will have to pay them. Lawyers will be allowed to take up to 25% of a claimant’s compensation to cover this. Although many lawyers may continue after 1 April to promise no deductions from compensation, they are likely to refuse to take on cases that are anything other than straightforward, which won’t require lots of investigation and evidence (which is rare in work-related accident and disease cases) and which they cannot be sure will succeed. Or they may agree to take on a complicated claim, but only if the claimant is able to pay up front for fees, investigations and medical reports. An injured person doesn’t have to accept being referred to a law firm provided by an insurance company, just because they may have legal expenses insurance added onto their household or motor policies. Injured people have a right to genuinely independent legal advice, not to be told what their claim is worth by a lawyer who has been given the case by an insurance company. That is why RMT has been working closely with Thompsons since LASPO became law, in order to work out ways in which claims can still be supported. As a result we have negotiated an agreement with our lawyers Thompsons which will continue to guarantee members and their family members in England and Wales 100% of their damages and the ability to instruct lawyers directly. To benefit from this service, members who have been injured at or outside of work or have developed a work-related disease or other condition should contact the TUCH (Trade Union Call Handling Service) on 08457 125 495. Family members injured in non-work related accidents and in road traffic accidents can also benefit from the service. Details will be taken over the phone and are sent direct to the nearest office of Thompsons. There are no changes to arrangements for cases outside of England and Wales. Members and their families who have been injured or have developed a work-related disease or other condition in Scotland will continue to benefit from the arrangements which the RMT has with the union’s Scottish solicitors, Drummond Miller LLP, who can be contacted on 0141 332 0086. Andrew Hutson of Thompsons Solicitors on how the government has changed the way personal injury claims in England and Wales are funded. GOVERNMENT ATTACKS LEGAL REPRESENTATION