In a decisive move, the government has dismissed concerns from compensators and legal representatives, opting to increase fees for medical reports related to road traffic accidents. The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) announced the decision following a consultation that began in July 2023.
The proposed changes involve raising the fees for initial medical reports from the current rate of £180 to £210. Likewise, fees for consultant orthopaedic surgeons will rise from £420 to £500, and those for accident and emergency consultants from £360 to £430. Accessing medical records will also see a cost adjustment from £30 to £35, with records holder fees increasing from £80 to £95.
While several stakeholders argued for a more substantial fee increase, the MoJ maintained that the service producer price index justifies the proposed alterations. They found no credible evidence to warrant a larger hike in fees. The concerns from compensators and defendant solicitors centred around fears that the fee increase might undermine the savings achieved through the whiplash reforms, but the MoJ was not convinced by these arguments.
Further adjustments include altering the qualifying criteria for national, tier 1 medical reporting organisations (MROs), from needing 40,000 medical reports annually to 28,000, and reducing active experts from 225 to 175. However, maintaining contracted medical experts in 80% of postcodes remains a requirement.
In addition, the MoJ plans to implement a ban on lawyers instructing medical experts prior to the defendant’s liability decision. With defendants generally having 30 days to make a decision, the risk of significant delays was deemed minimal by the MoJ. This would allow for better-quality instructions for medical experts, as data shows most liability decisions occur much sooner.
Changes are also expected in how reports are managed through the Official Injury Claim (OIC) portal. For represented claimants, there will now be consistency in how reports are sourced and uploaded onto the portal, streamlining processes previously conducted via MedCo. This aims to improve the reporting mechanism without infringing on the claimant’s right to review the report before submission.
Matthew Maxwell Scott, the executive director of the Association of Consumer Support Organisations, expressed frustration with the indefinite timeline for implementation of the increased fees, stressing the urgent need for these changes given the declining number of MROs due to suppressed fees and fewer claims.
The forthcoming changes to medical report fees and reporting processes by the MoJ are set to introduce significant shifts in how road traffic accident claims are handled. By 2025, these adjustments aim to refine the system further, although debates continue over their timing and impact.
