Government response to 'Revisions to the Medical Reporting Process for Road Traffic Accident Claims' consultation
The Government has published its response to the consultation it ran from 18 July to 10 October 2023 on 'Revisions to the Medical Reporting Process for Road Traffic Accident Claims’. The consultation sought comments from interested stakeholders on several issues of relevance to those who commission and/or provide medical reports used in support of RTA-related personal injury claims valued up to £5,000. The EWI responded to the consultation.
The report setting out the government response summarises the responses received, along with information on the decisions taken and the next steps in relation to implementing outcomes related to the policy proposals consulted upon.
The Government has decided to move forward with the following changes:
Part 1: Changes to MedCo Qualifying Criteria
The Minsitry of Justice ('MoJ') will work with MedCo to update the qualifying criteria for Medical Reporting Organisations ('MROs'), including reducing the required report capacity for tier 1 MROs from 40,000 to 28,000 per year, and reducing the number of active experts from 225 to 175. MoJ will retain the requirement for tier 1 MROs to have active experts in 80% of regions in England & Wales.
Part 2: Amended DME Rules
MoJ will work with MedCo to implement the proposed changes to the Direct Medical Expert ('DME') rules and will slightly modify the wording around the role of the audit committee.
Part 3: Review of MedCo ‘Offer’
MoJ will work with MedCo to change the ‘offer’ for represented claimants. They will be offered two tier 1 MROs, six tier 2 MROs and seven DMEs. Unrepresented claimants will continue to be offered two tier 1 MROs, two tier 2 MROs and five DMEs.
Part 4: Use of Administration Agencies by Direct Medical Experts
MoJ will work with MedCo to develop a range of Qualifying Criteria which fairly encompass the support activities of different types of Administration Agencies before changes are made to the necessary secondary legislation.
Part 5: Review of Fixed Cost Medical Report
MoJ will increase the fixed cost medical report levels as outlined in the report and will consult on the required rule changes and new figures before implementation.
Part 6: Official Injury Claim: Medical report process
MoJ will work with MedCo to review and refine the MedCo Accreditation process and training, in line with stakeholder feedback. This is aimed at improving compliance with Parts 7.8 of the RTA PAP and 7.9 of the Small Claims PAP and improving the quality of MedCo medical reports generally.
MoJ will amend the RTA Small Claims PAP and accompanying Practice Direction 27B to ensure represented claimants using the OIC system must receive the defendant’s response on liability before instructing a medical expert. This is to ensure the instructions to the medical expert are complete and improve the quality of medical reports. MoJ will also work with stakeholders to explore the development of options for aligning the processes for obtaining medical reports, so that represented and unrepresented claimants follow the same medical reporting journey.
Government Engagement on Further Revisions to Fixed Cost Medical Reports
As noted above in Part 5, Government is engaging with stakeholders on further revisions to the fixed cost medical reports. After considering the responses on this issue, the Government decided to increase the FCMR using SPPI as the inflationary measure. They are seeking additional input from stakeholders regarding a further revision of the FCMRs to account for the delay between the closure of the consultation and the government response. The proposed revised figures are set out in Table 3 of the stakeholder engagement document which is attached below. The Government is seeking a response to two survey questions by 31 January 2025.
Survey Questions
The Government previously consulted on revisions to the FCMR regime included at Part 45.19 of the CPR and agreed to increase them using the SPPI inflationary measure. However, to account for delays in publishing the outcomes of this consultation, a further revision to the previously proposed figures is now proposed.
1. Please provide any views on this proposal to set FCMRs at the newly revised values (a 25.4% increase on current figures, as shown in Table 3) as opposed to the values previously proposed in the 2023 consultation (a 18.3% increase on current figures, as shown in Table 2). Please provide an explanation of your reasoning and any evidence in support of your position as it relates to this proposal.
2. If you disagree with the proposal included in this document, please provide details of any alternative proposal you may have along with an explanation of your reasoning and any evidence in support of your position as it relates to this proposal.
The EWI will be responding to the stakeholder engagement. If you would like to provide input into the EWI's response please contact us at policy@ewi.org.uk by 24 January 2025.