Arag warns of difficult times ahead for claimants

The announcement follows the decision by the Justice Secretary, Kenneth Clarke, to consult on the implementation of Lord Justice Jackson's primary recommendations.

Tony Buss, managing director at Arag, said: "We believe the measures proposed will encourage avoidable, unnecessary and unmeritorious cases. This will encourage defendants not to settle and will lead to a longer, more expensive, combative legal system that will achieve the opposite of what the government is seeking. The result will ultimately be the imbalance that puts the victim at a distinct disadvantage.

"The impact assessment Overarching Jackson Proposals acknowledges that should claimants be liable for the success fee and the ATE premium, this may well lead to fewer cases being pursued, coupled with the fact that with the proposed reduction in claimant solicitors' costs, settlements could be adversely affected. This is clearly unfair."

Buss also questioned how most claimants would be no worse off as a result of the 10% rise in general damages.

He stated: "We have not seen any statistical evidence to support this assumption and can only assume that if this was a well-thought through proposal, the evidence would have been published at the time of the consultation, which it was not."

Lord Justice Jackson's recommendations were set out in the consultation paper, Proposals for Reform of Civil Litigation Funding and Costs in England and Wales, and to consult on Proposals for the Reform of Legal Aid in England and Wales, which was published on 14 January 2010.

The consultation period is due to end on the 14 February 2011, with the government responding in the Spring.