Update: Damages for non-economic loss to increase by 10% from 1 April 2013
The Court of Appeal has now handed down its further judgment in Simmons v Castle [2012] EWCA Civ 1288, in which Andrew Davis appeared for the Defendant. Following representations by the Association of British Insurers (ABI), the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) and the Personal Injuries Bar Association (PIBA), the Court of Appeal has effectively amended its earlier judgment and declared as follows:
“…with effect from 1 April 2013, the proper level of general damages in all civil claims for (i) pain and suffering, (ii) loss of amenity, (iii) physical inconvenience and discomfort, (iv) social discredit, (v) mental distress, or (vi) loss of society of relatives, will be 10% higher than previously, unless the claimant falls within section 44(6) of LASPO.”
The effect of the amendment is to widen the scope of the 10% increase beyond tort claims and to disapply the increase for claimants who have entered into conditional fee agreements (CFAs) and are entitled to recover a success fee under s44(6) of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.
