Ministry Of Justice Launch Consultation On Revisions To The Medical Reporting Process For Road Traffic Accident Claims – Insurance Laws and Products

The Ministry of Justice (“MoJ”) has launched a
Consultation on 18 July 2023 focusing on medical reporting in road
traffic accident claims with a value up to £5,000 (“the
Consultation”).

Specifically, the Consultation is seeking views on:

• revised MRO qualifying criteria and DME rules;




• the MedCo ‘offer’ for both represented and
  unrepresented claimants;




• use of administration agencies by DMEs and how this can be
  effectively overseen;




• the level of the fixed cost medical report regime; and




• changes to improve the quality of medical reports and how
  medical reports for represented claimants are sourced.

The industry has seen continued reform and evolution since 2014.
Following the whiplash reforms introduced in 2021, coupled with the
Covid pandemic, the number of road traffic accident claims have
reduced according to the MoJ.

Lord Bellamy KC, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for
Justice said “The industry continues to provide services
to both represented and unrepresented claimants seeking good
quality medical reports in support of their claims through the
Official Injury Claim (OIC) service. However, the Government
understands that there have been increasing financial pressures on
the sector over the last two years following the implementation of
the whiplash reforms and the more recent wider economic conditions.
Therefore, we have decided that it is an appropriate time to
consult on a number of medico-legal reporting issues related to the
MedCo process, fixed cost medical reports and the implementation of
the OIC service”.

The Consultation is not only inviting
responses from key consultees included in Annex A, but all those interested stakeholders
are encouraged to respond to the Consultation before its closing on
10 October 2023. The response to the Consultation is expected in
January 2024.