Changes to the Civil Procedure Rules are finally due to come into force in May 2021 in respect of damages for pain and suffering caused by whiplash arising out of certain Road Traffic Accidents.
Under the new rules, a potential claimant will not be able to recover their legal costs if the value of the claim for such damages would not exceed £5,000 (previously £1,000).
This will mean that clients either have to pay a solicitor privately to help with such cases (without being able to recover such costs from the other side), or deal with the matter themselves.
There have been concerns expressed by the Law Society that the changes may lead to low settlements of such claims with inadequate compensation being given to victims of such accidents.