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13 November 2007:
Glasgow Conference Report
BICMA goes to Scotland
Sheriff keen on Rehab
October saw another major conference on rehabilitation for accident victims by the Bodily Injury Claims Management Association – this time in Scotland. Those invited included insurers, lawyers and rehab providers.
The legal system in Scotland was always significantly different from the rest of the UK and the Woolf reforms south of the border have created even wider divergence. Against this background, BICMA wished to explore how the favourable experience in England and Wales could relate to the handling of personal injury claims in Scotland. Speakers from across the range of stakeholders delivered a unique insight into the background and motivation for greater involvement.
Norman Cottington (Managing Director of The Injury Care Clinics, President of BICMA) outlined the development of rehab from 1994, identifying the advantages of immediate needs assessment and covering the Rehabilitation Code, contractual agreement beyond the Code, the Practitioners Guide, the generic Quality Standards, and the Rehab Mediation Scheme.
David Blofeld (retired claims consultant Swiss Re) representing the Dark Side, explained why insurers and their lawyers support the initiative. He covered some of the research demonstrating the effectiveness of rehab, how it can be measured, and the relevance of anger in the claims handling process.
Ian Walker (Russell Jones & Walker, Criminal Injuries Compensation Appeals Panel, Past President Association of Personal Injury Lawyers) explained the benefit to the claimant of the new focus in which getting him or her as well as possible was the first priority, getting damages sorted out the second. Collaboration between the two sides, a sensible approach to resolving disagreement, and separation of the rehab process from the litigation process were vital.
Janet Tilley (Colemans CTTS, Past Chair MASS, Chair Civil Justice Council Rehab rules group) set out the Civil Justice Council’s reasons for strongly supporting the concepts, and the steps being discussed to reflect that support in the procedural rules in England and Wales.
Rosie Corless (Rehab Manager QBE, Past Chair Case Management Society UK) described the function of CMSUK and detailed the pivotal role of the Clinical Case Manager in the process, backed up with striking case studies.
Gilbert Anderson (Anderson Partnership, Dean of the Royal Faculty of Procurators – Glasgow) examined the special issues for “Woolf-free” Scotland, cultural and procedural, including the damaging delays caused by the Legal Aid system.
Finally, Sheriff Ken Mitchell, one of the two sheriffs running the Scottish personal injury pilot, outlined his approach to judicial case management, expressing his whole-hearted support and urging a creative approach from all concerned, including government.
The conference was chaired ably and with great humour by Robin de Wilde QC.
The consistent themes of the conference were –
• the importance of placing the injured person at the centre of the process
• the benefit to all of getting the rehab process started early,
• earlier resolution of claims
• a more consensual approach benefiting all participants
• the development of standards by which relevant providers can be evaluated.
In summary, the conference concluded that the way forward was likely to involve -
• greater clarity and awareness of the benefits of rehab
• a more collaborative and trusting approach by the two sides to their common interest in best outcome for the claimant in terms of his physical, psychological and social well-being
• relevant training for claims practitioners
• some fundamental changes in practice -
Much would depend on Lord Gill’s ongoing review of Civil Court Procedure, further development of the voluntary Pre-action Protocol 2006 and an increasingly proactive role for the judiciary. There was debate as to the extent to which rehab has been embraced already north of the border, but all agreed that there was much scope for improvement to the advantage of all.
Reactions from those attending were very favourable, opinion evenly divided between those who thought it “good” and those insisting it was “excellent”. Nearly 70% said they would welcome a further conference.
The following Power Point presentations are available to download:
Norman Cottington, President, BICMA (382kb)
David Blofeld, Vice President, BICMA(234kb)
Rosie Corless, QBE – Rehabilitation Manager(2.1Mb)
Ian Walker(4.4Mb)
Sheriff Ken Mitchell, Judicial Studies Committee(69kb)
Gilbert Anderson, Senior Partner, The Anderson Partnership(118kb)
Janet Tilley, Colemans CTTS(660kb)
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