
The number of new road traffic accident claims (RTA claims) made in the first month, following the decision to introduce harsh cuts to the fees solicitors receive for offering their services, dropped dramatically according to figures released by Claims Portal Limited.
The figures revealed that in May there were 53,895 claims notification forms open which was a 31% drop from April and was down 25% on last years total for the same period of time.
But Craig Budsworth, chairman of the Motor Accident Solicitors Society (MASS) has called for calm over the figures, claiming that it is still too early to judge the reforms. He said: “We need to look at what happens over the next year before we can conclude they are successful or not.”
For the insurers and the government who introduced the cuts, this could be seen as a vindication of their success, but the drop in RTA claims does not necessarily mean the problem they are claiming to be tackling is being neutralised.
A drop in the number of RTA claims could also reflect the removal of peoples right to access to justice. With fees being cut and, as it was reported last week, firms struggling to remain profitable at the same level of before the implantation of LASPO.