Reforms of the civil justice system which focus on costs fail to consider the “bigger picture” for injured people, Muiris Lyons, president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) said in a recent speech.
Mr Lyons told guests at the annual President’s Luncheon that a ‘big society’ should put the interests of injured people ahead of those who cause needless injury or their insurers.
He stated: “And what is the big picture? It’s one where a decade after the Law Commission reported that general damages were too low, their recommendations remain unimplemented. It’s a picture where long overdue reforms to the coroners system are being shelved. It’s a picture where the draft Civil Law Reform Bill is being shelved despite having cross party support.
“It’s a picture where despite almost universal recognition of the urgent need for an ELIB, it remains merely a proposal.”
His “biggest disappointment” was the Government’s consistent failure to recognise that injured people should be regarded differently from those who choose to bring commercial or consumer claims in court.
“It may be appropriate for those who freely choose to litigate to bear some of the risk and cost of doing so, but our clients do not choose to be injured. They do not volunteer to bring claims. They do so because those who injure them refuse to accept proper responsibility,” he concluded.
Source: Legal & Medical Magazine
