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A not-for-profit organisation
committed to injured people
A not-for-profit organisation
committed to injured people

Dealing with highway collisions 2024

APIL CPD:
6 hours

(Please note that the number of CPD hours may be subject to change)

BULK BOOKING DISCOUNT
  • Pay for five delegates and get one additional place for free^

    To take advantage of this offer, please return your completed booking form with all six names or contact the APIL office - [email protected]

    ^Cheapest place to be free of charge

"Excellent speaker - very clear diction and didn’t rush presentation - explained everything very carefully and provided good tips"

This fully updated virtual one day course, presented by Warren Collins will cover:

Getting the right cases 

  • Avoiding the limitations of the portal, fixed recoverable costs and proportionality
  • Avoiding missed injuries and negligence claims
  • Meeting your client – when, how and where?
  • Understanding medical records and stop acting as a post-box 
  • Key medical issues – articulated fractures, basic neurology and basic psychology
  • Identifying the disciplines of experts and its impact on presentation
  • The Rehabilitation Code
  • The letter of claim – throwing out your standard letter and why this is key
  • Risk of degeneration and implications to the claim
  • Provisional damages 
  • Impact of disability and what you need to know about earnings multipliers
  • Issue of proceedings – timing and costs budgeting strategies in road traffic collisions

Motor insurance

  • BTE Insurance for drivers and passengers
  • Policy excess and storage claims
  • Credit hire claims – evidence of impecuniosity
  • MID database searches and police information
  • Indemnity and Uninsured motorists: 
    • The Motor Insurers Bureau: Notices and knowledge of passengers
    • RTA Insurance – Article 75
  • S151/152 RTA notices 
  • Untraced motorists – identifying other defendants – the 1% rule
  • Insurance reserves and collaboration
  • Foreign defendants: Jurisdiction and insurance issues

Liability issues in motor collisions

  • Securing evidence at an early stage – how when and why
  • Visiting the locus and visiting the scene
  • Detective work – dash cam footage, interrogating mobile phone, sat nav and onboard data – seeking disclosure and impact of spoliation of evidence – need for early letter of claim or pre-letter of claim request
  • Facebook, Twitter, Instagram – and old school surveillance in relation to liability
  • Police accident reports and what you can get and when.
  • Highway Code
  • Allegations for letters of claim and pleadings
  • Police prosecutions – understanding standards and burdens of proof
  • Animals on the Highway – the Animals Act and unpacking Mervahedy v Henley
  • Contributory negligence of:
    • Drivers
    • Passengers – seatbelts
    • Cyclists – helmets
    • Pedestrians
    • Children
  • Impact of contributory negligence on claim generally
  • Multiple vehicle collisions – picking out the bones of liability issues
  • Costs implications of picking on the wrong defendant – discontinuance of proceedings and negotiating Tomlin Orders

Claims against the Highway Authority

  • Highways Act 1980
  • Who is correct highway authority? 
  • What is a defect? – Is 1 inch a rule?
  • Evidence – photos and measurements
  • Duty to inspect – what is sufficient?
  • Duty to maintain – what does this mean – when and how?
  • Trips and slips
  • Potholes, road surfaces and highway furniture 
  • Snow and ice – winter weather policies and evidence from the Met office
  • Utility companies: drains, manhole covers and road works
  • Maintenance records and reports of previous collisions
  • Reviewing the medical records – paramedics and hospital as well as GP records
  • Contributory negligence
  • Blind and disabled claimants

An Introduction to the Psychology of Law

  • Heuristics and biases
  • Persuasion techniques
  • Recommended reading

Strategic tips 

  • Timing of issue of proceedings
  • Getting the right experts – disciplines and experience
  • Selecting counsel
  • Witness statements
  • Disclosure
  • Video surveillance and social media – responses and fundamental dishonesty
  • Deep fake videos and virtual reality evidence
  • Harnessing AI in your PI practice
  • Schedules of loss – some key tips – telling the story
  • Forms of award – lump sums vs PPOs
  • JSMs and trials

Cost per delegate:

Corporate accredited firm: £255 + VAT
APIL member: £290 + VAT
Non-member: £435 + VAT