Claimants cannot afford to lose part of their damages in legal costs, says Richard Scorer
Assuming the claimant is successful, who should pay the legal costs in a personal injury (PI) case? Should costs be paid by the defendant, by the claimant, or should they be apportioned between both and if so in what proportions?
The traditional rule in civil cases in England and Wales is that costs follow the event—the loser pays the winner’s reasonable costs. A successful claimant in a PI case can expect to recover most, if not all of his legal costs from the defendant—the tortfeasor, or, in practice, the tortfeasor’s insurers. This contrasts with the position in employment tribunal cases, for example, where costs are not recoverable inter partes and a successful claimant can expect to forfeit some part of his damages to meet the costs of the claim. The issue has now come to the fore in the debate on Lord Justice Jackson’s review of civil litigation costs. One area put forward for consultation by Jackson LJ is the question of whether a claimant’s damages should be sacrosanct
