The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) has announced that the fees for medical assessments of people claiming to have suffered whiplash will be cut to £180 in a bid to crackdown on the “compensation culture” that has grown up around the injury.
There are around 500,000 whiplash insurance claims brought each year, many of which are thought to be bogus, and it is claimed that the costs associated with them push drivers’ premiums up by as much as £90 a year.
Currently, doctors can charge anything up to £700 to deliver a report on a suspected whiplash injury and, in a minority of cases, the high fees can encourage them to persuade claimants to have treatment they don’t need. The MoJ is hoping that the capped rate will deter them.
The new measures, which were originally promised just under a month ago, and which will come into effect in October, are the latest announced by the Government to tackle bogus claims, with the new focus on compensation companies and a minority of medical staff who, ministers claim, are overcharging people.
Justice Secretary Chris Grayling said that capping the fee will make sure that people get paid for that they really do, that the claims that do go through are genuine and that some of the practices that are inflating insurance premiums get stamped out.
In addition, under the changes, solicitors will not longer be able to double their fees in “no win, no fee” cases, while further curbs to stop them offering incentives to clients are being debated by MPs.
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has welcomed the cap on the cost of medical reports, with a spokesman saying that any move to reduce the compensation culture is supported by insurers.