PI Brief Update

We’re on the Right Road in Whiplash Journey - Philip Waters, Your Legal Friend

22/07/14. Philip Waters, RTA solicitor, Your Legal Friend responds to the Transport Select Committee’s recent report: Driving premiums down: fraud and the cost of motor insurance.

The latest Transport Select Committee report into whiplash, fraud and the cost of motor insurance, makes for interesting reading for both the insurance and legal industries. At Your Legal Friend, we completely endorse the Committee’s call for the Government to prohibit insurers from settling accident claims before a claimant has undergone a medical examination. This is an unfair practice and in our experience, is still widespread.

The legal industry has a duty to act and we must not allow powerful insurers to hijack the news agenda and bandy about figures for which there seems little substantiation. There is a job to be done by our profession to speak up for our clients, those innocent victims of accidents who should not be denied access to justice. Many of our clients receive substandard offers from insurers before a medical examination has taken place and go on to secure significantly higher levels of damages, having gained the benefit of this additional evidence, along with legal representation.

The discussion around medical examinations in terms of whiplash has been an ongoing issue. AXA recommends that whiplash victims should undergo MRI scans and x-rays to determine if they have a genuine case of whiplash. However Dr Andre Brittain-Dissont’s evidence to the Transport Select Committee last year asserted that MRI scans and x-rays would only show fractured bones and would not show stretched or torn muscles, a key indicator of whiplash. By listening to medical professionals and not the insurance industry, the Transport Select Committee will have a better understanding of the injuries encountered by road traffic accident victims.

Going back to the latest TSC report, it is heartening to see the Committee’s demand for data sharing around potentially fraudulent claims. The legal and insurance industries need to work more closely together to share data that will help to pinpoint the perpetrators of fraudulent claims.

Our own industry needs to present a united front, to demonstrate to the government and the public that the insurance industry is only providing one side of a story. The version of events presented by the insurance sector has been proliferated for a long-time and has an obvious financial agenda behind it. All too often it is referred to in the media without proper examination.

We must find a middle ground. Cracking down on fraudulent claims should be supported by both sides of the equation. At the same time, helping people get back on their feet is something which our legal system should be justifiably proud of and keeping sight of this against the continuing tide of ‘compensation culture’ headlines is essential.

Philip Waters
RTA solicitor
Your Legal Friend

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