ILC ARTICLE

ABI to appeal mixed injury verdict

12th June 2023

The outcome of mixed injury motor claims processed by the Official Injury Claim (OIC) portal is still uncertain after the Supreme Court granted the insurance industry permission to appeal a landmark ruling.

In January the majority decision of the Court of Appeal in the Briggs and Rabot cases was that victims should be compensated separately for whiplash and other injuries.

However, the Association of British Insurers has now been given permission to appeal the verdicts in the Supreme Court.

A spokesperson said, “We believe that the Court of Appeal’s judgment on the mixed injuries test cases risks undermining the intent of the whiplash reforms and opens the door to double counting of injuries. We’re pleased that we have been granted the right to appeal, and will continue to act in the best interests of motor insurance customers, while ensuring fair and proportionate compensation for claimants.”

However, claimant representatives fear this will lead to further delays and lower payouts.

Matthew Maxwell Scott, Executive Director of ACSO, said, “We hope the Court rules in favour of the injured party, to offset the dramatically lower levels of compensation they now receive for whiplash injuries and to avoid the conclusion that other injuries sustained are somehow less important or severe simply because there was a whiplash involved.

“Tens of thousands of cases remain in limbo at the present time, so we urge the Supreme Court to deal hear the appeal with urgency. If the Appeal is not heard quickly, hundreds of thousands of people suffering from mixed injuries may have to wait until as late as 2025 for clarity, which would be a full seven years after the Civil Liability Act was passed into law.

“Of course the beneficiaries of a reversal of the Court of Appeal decision by the Supreme Court will be insurers and their shareholders, while consumers with multiple injuries lose. We repeat our view that such an outcome would be unfair, unwarranted and unreasonable.”