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25 February 2022
Issue: 7968 / Categories: Opinion , Personal injury , Constitutional law
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The insider: 25 February 2022

Pain ahead for lawyers? Dominic Regan takes a look into his crystal ball for the future of fixed costs & recounts a particularly unfortunate disclosure…

A bolt from the blue was delivered in late January with publication of a fixed costs consultation for cases worth up to £25,000 by the Department of Health and Social Care.

The NHS will be the obvious beneficiary. However, buried in the small print of the 84-page document is the declaration that claims against private health care providers will also be captured. This is significant because claims against aesthetic clinics are rife and much dental work today is outside the NHS.

I was told last September that something was definitely in the pipeline. What has traumatised the claimant fraternity is that the government, confronted in earlier negotiations with rival contentions as to what those fixed costs should be, has plumped for the exact figures adduced by the defendant camp. The misplaced expectation was that the difference would be split.

The ‘consultation’ closes at 11.45pm on 24 April

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MOVERS & SHAKERS

Charles Russell Speechlys—James Paterson

Charles Russell Speechlys—James Paterson

Charles Russell Speechlys further bolsters Private Equity expertise with the appointment of James Paterson

Ellisons—Samuel Flower

Ellisons—Samuel Flower

Ellisons strengthens Rural Affairs team with senior appointment

Sidley—Carl Hotton

Sidley—Carl Hotton

Sidley adds insurance mergers and acquisitions partner to London office

NEWS
A deputy costs judge correctly exercised his discretion to allow late service rather than strike out the point of dispute, the Court of Appeal has held
Prince Harry, Baroness Doreen Lawrence and five others have lost their case against the publisher of the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday and MailOnline, in Various Claimants v Associated Newspapers [2026] EWHC 1637 (KB)
Public confidence in the justice system is being undermined by a lack of accessible, useable data, magistrates have warned
The Sentencing Council has launched draft guidelines for facilitation and endangering another person during a sea crossing to the UK
Government proposals to make independent written legal advice a prerequisite for workplace non-disclosure agreements (NDAs) may prove unworkable, according to a senior employment lawyer
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