Law360 is providing free access to its coronavirus coverage to make sure all members of the legal community have accurate information in this time of uncertainty and change. Use the form below to sign up for any of our weekly newsletters. Signing up for any of our section newsletters will opt you in to the weekly Coronavirus briefing.
Sign up for our Commercial Litigation UK newsletter
You must correct or enter the following before you can sign up:
Thank You!
Law360, London (June 1, 2020, 2:26 PM BST) -- Personal injury law firms across the U.K. as well as insurers such as Allianz and Aviva have extended a deal made in April to use digital tools to resolve injury disputes and "keep the wheels of justice moving" during the COVID-19 lockdown, representative bodies said Monday.
The Association of British Insurers and the Association of Consumer Support Organisations, a body that represents businesses that support consumers making a claim, said more than 40 law firms, medical reporting agencies and rehabilitation providers have signed on to the so-called statement of intent for weathering the coronavirus outbreak. The statement has been extended for an extra three weeks from May 15.
The statement of intent is designed to keep personal injury claims moving during the pandemic and lighten the load on courts.
Matthew Maxwell Scott, executive director of the Association of Consumer Support Organisations, said the majority of the organization's members remain committed to the statement of intent.
"So far the vast majority of insurers we or our members have engaged with have confirmed they are supportive of the principles of the statement of intent which they are applying in their own ways," Scott said.
He added that the insurers that had signed on include German giant Allianz and British insurers Aviva and Hastings, among others.
Law firms that have agreed to the statement include True Solicitors, Slater and Gordon, and Leigh Day.
The measures in the statement of intent include bolstering the use of remote medical examination and rehabilitation, extending the negotiation period for personal injury claims, promoting the use of joint settlement meetings and use of independent barristers' chambers to arbitrate a settlement.
"We urge all parties to make use of the temporary measures to get cases settled as quickly as possible, to ease the backlog and make sure consumers don't have to carry the after effects of their injuries any longer than necessary," Scott said.
The ABI and the ACSO announced in May that they had reached an agreement to make sure diagnosis and rehabilitation could be performed via video link with doctors, psychologists or physiotherapists.
Medical reports typically come from an examination conducted face to face, particularly when those reports are used in court.
The ABI and Thompson Solicitors announced a so-called personal injury protocol in March, with some 335 law firms and 105 insurance companies signed on. The protocol involves freezing limitation dates in all personal injury cases, a requirement that claimants "respond constructively" if defendants ask for more time to provide a defense and "hotline" to provide legal advice to help mitigate disputes.
The protocol was due to expire on April 20, but was extended until at least May 20.
The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers and the Forum of Insurance Lawyers announced a separate set of rules in April aimed at keeping claims moving amid the pandemic.
--Additional reporting by Martin Croucher and Joanne Faulkner. Editing by Rebecca Flanagan.
For a reprint of this article, please contact reprints@law360.com.
