header-logo header-logo

27 February 2020 / Dominic Regan
Issue: 7877 / Categories: Opinion , Personal injury
printer mail-detail

PI reforms: on the road to nowhere (Pt 2)

Dominic Regan hopes the proposed changes to injury litigation will be abandoned, not just postponed, before more damage is done

Members of the judiciary are surprisingly passionate. I wrote an article here last month about what I perceived to be problematic about impending changes to injury litigation. This provoked an outpouring, the likes of which I have not experienced in 30 years. Judges and lawyers made me aware of their own grave misgivings, now only partly alleviated by the government’s announcement last month that the proposed changes will be ushered in in August not April.

The problem highlighted by several is that the road traffic reforms whenever and however they are implemented will cause a logjam and district judges, already close to, if not at, breaking point, will be overwhelmed. In order to alleviate the burden upon the civil judiciary a concept called ‘Push Down’ has gained momentum. The idea is that work can be cascaded downwards. Some High Court cases could be remitted to the Circuit

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

42BR Barristers—4 Brick Court

42BR Barristers—4 Brick Court

42BR Barristers to be joined by leading family law set, 4 Brick Court, this summer

Winckworth Sherwood—Rubianka Winspear

Winckworth Sherwood—Rubianka Winspear

Real estate and construction energy offering boosted by partner hire

Gateley Legal—Daniel Walsh

Gateley Legal—Daniel Walsh

Firm bolsters real estate team with partner hire in Birmingham

NEWS
A wave of housing and procedural reforms is set to test the limits of tribunal capacity. In his latest Civil Way column for NLJ this week, Stephen Gold charts sweeping change as the Renters’ Rights Act 2025 begins biting
Plans to reduce jury trials risk missing the real problem in the criminal justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, David Wolchover of Ridgeway Chambers argues the crown court backlog is fuelled not by juries but weak cases slipping through a flawed ‘50%’ prosecution test
Emerging technologies may soon transform how courts determine truth in deeply personal disputes. In this week's NLJ, Madhavi Kabra of 1 Hare Court and Harry Lambert of Outer Temple Chambers explore how neurotechnology could reshape family law
A controversial protest case has reignited debate over the limits of free expression. In NLJ this week, Nicholas Dobson examines a Quran-burning incident testing public order law
The courts have drawn a firm line under attempts to extend arbitration appeals. Writing in NLJ this week, Masood Ahmed of the University of Leicester highlights that if the High Court refuses permission under s 68 of the Arbitration Act 1996, that is the end
back-to-top-scroll