Whiplash reforms (31.05.2021)

This article was posted on: 14 Jun 2021 By Kate Bower

The Civil Liability Act 2018 (CLA) and the Whiplash Injury Regulations – more commonly known as the whiplash reforms – came into effect on 31.05.2021 and made a number of changes that will affect how you can make a Personal Injury whiplash claim.

The CLA introduces a ban on offers to settle road traffic accident (RTA) related whiplash claims without a medical report (‘pre-medical offers’). This applies to anyone regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), as well as the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), the Bar Standards Board and CILEx Regulation.

Until we have seen appropriate evidence of injury, we are prohibited from:

inviting a person to offer a payment in settlement of the claim
offering a payment in settlement of the claim
making a payment in settlement of the claim, and
accepting a payment in settlement of the claim.

This will apply to all cases regardless of the claim value. Medical reports will continue to be sourced through MedCo to make sure that the reports are provided by accredited, independent experts and meet minimum standards.

Source: https://www.sra.org.uk/sra/news/sra-update-93-whiplash-reforms/