Duncan Rutter reviews The Serious Injury Guide
The Serious Injury Guide has taken over a year to finalise. It was developed in response to the pilot of the Multi Track Code (2008) which concluded in 2011. It is a voluntary guide that applies to high value claims. To date 13 insurers and 48 law firms have signed up to it. The full guide can be found here.
This is a best practice guide for complex injury claims with a full liability value of at least £250k. It does not apply to clinical negligence or asbestos-related disease claims and, emphasising the voluntary nature of the code, does not affect a solicitor’s duty to act in the best interests of his/her client.
Objectives
The guide begins with its objectives. It is intended that liability should be resolved as quickly as possible and in any event within six months of first notification, a period twice as long as that allowed by the pre-action protocol reflecting the importance of a more careful consideration of liability in higher value claims.
Where resolution is not possible an action
