Public Liability and Highways Claims Post-Jackson: The Portals - Andrew Mckie, Clerksroom
25/05/14. The public liability (PL) portals came into effect on 31 July 2013. Any book looking at slipping and tripping claims post-Jackson, would not be complete without an examination of the portals, and perhaps more importantly for claimant practitioners, the exit points from the Low Value Portals. What stays in, and what comes out of the portal, may be a key decision for some claimant law firms as to whether they feel it is economical to undertake this type of work.
It is arguable that the success of the RTA portal, has encouraged the MOJ to introduce the Low Value Portal for slipping and tripping claims. However, early indications seems to be that the dropout rates from the portal are quite substantial, which is probably for two reasons; a) the timescales for the defendant to investigate cases in the portal are inadequate, and b) slipping and tripping cases are evidentially more complex than road traffic cases, hence it is much more difficult to determine the issue of liability.
If a slip or tripping claim starts in the Low Value Portal and liability is admitted, then the case will remain in the Portal to the conclusion, subject to other dropout points. If liability is denied, then the case will exit the Portal, and ordinarily, proceed in Fixed Recoverable costs, discussed in...
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