APIL’s new president has commended members for the results they achieve for victims of negligence, despite “significant pressures” on the civil justice system.

Jonathan Scarsbrook (pictured), a partner at Irwin Mitchell in Sheffield, took the helm as APIL’s new president yesterday (Wednesday) at the annual general meeting (AGM).

“You are literally changing people’s lives for the better,” he said in his inaugural address.

“You do an amazing job despite the system we have to work within,” he said, citing court backlogs, closures, a shortage of judges, and “constant legal reform”.

“APIL is as relevant, as necessary, and as important as it has been at any time in its history,” he said. “There is such a volume and scale of change facing us that we need an organisation which will continue to fight for what is right.”

Members can read a press release about Jonathan’s election, featuring some more quotes from his speech here.

Pauline Roberts, a solicitor at Hugh James, Cardiff, was re-elected to APIL’s executive committee (EC) as the Welsh representative.

Daniel Easton, a partner at Leigh Day, joined the EC for the first time as an additional officer.

The latest flagship film for the Rebuilding Shattered Lives campaign has been shortlisted in this year’s Memcom Excellence Awards.

APIL executive committee member Victoria Lebrec shared how the law helped her get her life back on track after a life-changing injury in the short film which has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times on social media since it launched late last year.

Victoria’s Story has been shortlisted in the best use of video, animation or audio category, alongside entries from prominent membership organisations including the Royal College of Nursing and the Royal Institute of British Architects.

The film has been viewed more than 300,000 times across APIL’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn channels.

Members can see the film on the Rebuilding Shattered Lives website here.

APIL welcomes Civil Justice Council (CJC) recommendations for retention of cost budgeting, and uprating guideline hourly rates (GHR) in line with the service producer price index (SPPI).

Following a consultation last year to which APIL responded, the CJC’s final report on costs sets out that costs budgeting should be retained, but that it should not be “one size fits all”. The report highlights personal injury and clinical negligence where qualified one-way costs shifting (QOCS) applies as areas in which costs budgeting may need to deviate from “the norm”. It recommends a lighter touch approach to budgeting in Part 7 multi-track cases valued up to £1 million. The changes to costs budgeting will be subject to a pilot.

The CJC also proposes that judges who operate specialist lists, for example for mesothelioma cases, are approached for their views on more bespoke practice arrangements for conducting budgeting.

Recommending a detailed review of GHR in five years, the report calls for an uplift of the 2021 figures in the meantime, using the SPPI. The CJC believes that five years will allow enough time to identify a satisfactory methodology on which to base the review.

The Civil Procedure Rule Committee will now need to consider the rule changes necessary to bring forward the CJC’s recommendations.

Independent public advocates (IPAs) will play a necessary and important role for victims and their families after a major incident, APIL has told MPs.

Proposals for independent public advocates are included in the Victims and Prisoners Bill, which will be debated by MPs next week (Monday 15 May).

In a briefing sent to MPs ahead of the debate, APIL gave its support for the creation of IPAs, but warned that they will need to have appropriate resources to be of any benefit to victims and their families.

APIL’s briefing to MPs can be read here.

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APIL is currently working with FOIL (Forum of Insurance Lawyers) on a project to address the unfairness around universal credit (UC) and compensation recovery.

APIL is aware that the Compensation Recovery Unit (CRU) is unable to provide a breakdown of the composite elements of UC on the certificate of recoverable benefits. As such, the entirety of a UC payment is recouped against a claimant’s loss of earnings claim even if there are elements of that payment that are unrelated to the injury. Examples of this include elements of the UC benefit that relate to other household members, or the claimant being already in receipt of benefits prior to the injury.

APIL is looking for case examples to illustrate the problem and strengthen the call on the Government to rectify this unfairness. Members are encouraged to get in touch with cases that particularly relate to the following:

1. Liability for benefit elements that were not historically covered by the CRU scheme.
2. A disproportionate level of recoverable benefits compared with the value of the claim.
3. Refusal by CRU to provide a UC breakdown to ascertain the elements that relate to specific heads of claim.
4. Refusal by CRU to review certificates where a claimant was already in receipt of benefits which were converted to UC after they were injured.
5. Where benefits relating to other household members are assigned to the claimant on certificates, as UC is a ‘household benefit’.
6. Inaccurate certificates, which include benefits of which the claimant is no longer in receipt.

APIL members should send any anonymised case examples to Alice Taylor, APIL’s legal policy manager, at [email protected] by Tuesday 30 May.

Eight new experts joined the expert database in April. They are:

Mr Skaria Alexander, consultant plastic, burns and reconstructive surgeon, Manchester

Mrs Lisa Barnes, expert witness and care expert, Leicester

Dr Frank Beesley, consultant clinical psychologist, Wirral

Mr Matthew Izett-Kay, consultant gynaecologist and subspecialist urogynaecologist, Manchester

Mr Andraay Leung, consultant orthopaedic spinal surgeon, Birmingham

Mr Nadir Osman, consultant urologist, Sheffield

Miss Christine Pringle, skin camouflage practitioner/expert, Kilcock, Republic of Ireland

Mr Mehdi Tofighi, consultant limb reconstruction, foot and ankle surgeon, Manchester

One expert was restored to the database in April.  He is:

Mr Laurence Newman, consultant maxillofacial surgeon, Tunbridge Wells

Find experts by using the expert database. Alternatively, call Jacqui Newman, APIL’s experts and events coordinator, on 01159 435 437.

New experts are encouraged to join APIL’s database to increase the wealth of choice for personal injury lawyers in need of expert witnesses. Members who know of experts who could be an asset to the database should ask them to get in touch with Jacqui.