10 Year Anniversary

Issue 25
December 2006

S.J. Edney solicitors were established in 1996 and are a niche Clinical Negligence and Personal Injury Practice. Seamus Edney is a member of the Action against Victims of Medical Accidents Solicitors Panel, the Law Society’s Clinical Negligence Panel and the Law Society’s Personal Injury Panel. The firm holds a Legal Aid Franchise in Clinical Negligence.

As a firm we are committed to acting for victims of accidents and Seamus Edney has 20 years experience of Clinical Negligence and Personal Injury work.

THE YEAR AHEAD

2007 will also be a busy year for the legal profession. As mentioned by us in earlier issues, important changes are proposed to Legal Aid and we will also see come into force the Legal Services Bill.

Legal Aid reform has been in the news much lately. The Lord Chancellor seems determined to implement the majority of Lord Carter’s proposals. This will affect mainly criminal and family practitioners although some of the changes, for example, standard fees and having to tender for work, will apply to all areas of work.

The Legal Services Bill will also have a profound effect on lawyers. We now seem to be moving towards the era of Legal Disciplinary Partnerships between solicitors and barristers which would in effect create a fusion of the profession. Non lawyers will also be able to set up their own firms, which seems to be already happening, for example DAS (one of the top Legal Expenses Insurers) is taking steps to set up its own law firm once this Bill is enacted joining the likes of the AA and the Co-op.

Another important event which will take place in 2007 will see the NHS Redress Bill becoming law although it is unlikely to come into force until 2008. This enables so called “low value claims” ie. upto £20,000.00 being dealt with in-house by the NHS. Claimant lawyers are excluded from the initial stages of this process and will only become involved if the NHS are not prepared to offer redress to the patient.

It is also likely that we will see an increase in the small claims limit for personal injury claims. The current limit is £1,000.00 and there is talk of this limit being increased to as much as £5,000.00. In other words, any litigant bringing a claim at the Small Claims Court who is successful will not be able to recover their legal costs which will almost inevitably discourage them from taking legal advice. This seems to us to be a backward step which would significantly reduce access to justice for many victims of accidents. Statistics show that the majority of PI cases are for less than £5,000.00.

2007 also promises to see reform of Inquest procedures, corporate manslaughter, the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme and the coming into force of both the Compensation Bill and the Mental Health Bill. There is also likely to be a widespread review of the Civil Procedure Rules and the various protocols which govern pre-proceedings behaviour by the parties.

It is going to be an interesting year.

In memory of Linsay Price

We cannot allow 2006 to pass without saying a few words about a much loved former colleague, Linsay Price. Sadly she died from cancer in August 2006 (aged only 45) leaving a husband and a young daughter. Linsay joined the firm when it was founded back in July 1996 and initially worked as Mr Edney’s Secretary. She then trained to be a Legal Executive, working in this capacity for many years but latterly doing less legal work and more of the admin tasks involved in running a busy law practice. She had a real commitment to helping victims of accidents and she was a lovely person to work with. The firm has not been the same since she died.

Out of the bed and into the A & E

More than 15,000 people were admitted to hospital last year after falling out of bed.

A further 1,428 people fell from trees, including 60 people aged over 60. 53 more in the same age group were injured in falls from playground equipment, while more than 4,000 people of all ages managed to hurt themselves with hammers, screwdrivers and other non powered tools.

The data on hospital admissions after accidental injuries, issued by the Information Centre for Health & Social Care, showed that in 2005-06 more than 593,000 accidents required hospital admission, an increase of more than 40,000 on the previous year.

Explosions, bites and falls all increased. Non poisonous insect bites accounted for 2,324 admissions. 2 people were bitten by a crocodile or alligator. 2 more suffered the ill effects of a prolonged stay in a weightless environment, a category that in the past has included trainee astronauts and riders of roller coasters.

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This newsletter was produced by S J Edney, solicitors at:
Alexander House, 19 Fleming Way, Swindon, Wiltshire. SN1 2NG
e-mail office@sjedney.co.uk Telephone 01793 600721