For immediate
release
RNS
Reach
|
2 April 2024
|
Anexo Group
plc
('Anexo',
the 'Group' or the 'Company')
Supreme Court Judgment on
Damages for Injuries
Anexo (AIM: ANX), the specialist
integrated credit hire and legal services provider, is pleased to
note the Supreme Court judgment, announced on 26 March 2024,
regarding the calculation of damages for injuries caused by a motor
accident.
Background
The Civil Liability Act 2018 and the
Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021 have significantly reduced the
amount of damages payable for pain, suffering and loss of amenity
("PSLA"), and these are now calculated on a fixed basis depending
on the duration of the injury and whether the PSLA was based solely
on whiplash injuries or upon whiplash injuries with concurrent
minor psychological injuries.
The case (Hassam and another v Rabot
and another) explored the effect of the new legislation on
non-whiplash injuries which would normally be covered by common law
precedent. In other words, what is the position on concurrent PSLA
caused by both a whiplash injury and a non-whiplash
injury?
Official statistics from the
Official Injury Claim Service ("OIC") for the period 1 October 2023
to 31 December 2023 show that, during that three-month period,
there were 62,557 whiplash claims via the OIC portal. Of these,
43,159 (66.7%) were for both whiplash and non-whiplash
injuries.
Judgment
The Court of Appeal was divided on this issue,
the majority holding that claimants remained entitled to full
common law compensation for their non-whiplash injuries, but the
Master of Rolls disagreed and gave a dissenting
judgment.
The Supreme Court has affirmed the majority
approach and dismissed the insurers' appeals.
Giving the unanimous judgment, Lord Burrows
agreed with the Claimants, explaining that the correct methodology
to value an injury for whiplash with a non-whiplash injury is as
follows:
1.
Assess the tariff amount for the whiplash;
2.
Assess the common law damages for the other
injuries;
3.
Add the figures together;
4.
Step back and consider whether a 'totality' adjustment was
needed to avoid over- or under-compensation and make any such
adjustment to the common law award. The judgment includes
the caveat that the final award cannot be lower than
the common law damages which would have been awarded for PSLA
caused by non-whiplash injuries only.
Alan Sellers, Executive Chairman of Anexo Group,
commented: "We are very pleased to note this Supreme
Court decision. It establishes as a matter of law that claimants
can claim for both whiplash and non-whiplash PSLA, without the
quantum of damages in the latter being restricted by the Whiplash
Injury Regulations. This ruling will have a positive impact on
thousands of individual cases where the claimant is seeking damages
for non-whiplash injuries following a no-fault accident. It
provides support for Bond Turner in seeking to represent the
interests of our clients in all aspects of their claims and
underpins our dedication to assuring the best possible outcome for
the claimants for whom we act."
-Ends-
For
further enquiries:
Anexo Group plc
|
+44 (0) 151 227 3008
www.anexo-group.com
|
Alan Sellers, Executive
Chairman
Mark Bringloe, Interim Chief
Financial Officer
Nick Dashwood Brown, Head of
Investor Relations
|
|
WH
Ireland Limited
(Nominated Adviser & Joint Broker)
|
|
Chris Hardie / Hugh Morgan/ Darshan
Patel (Corporate)
Fraser Marshall / Harry Ansell
(Broking)
|
+44 (0) 20 7220
1666
www.whirelandplc.com/capital-markets
|
Zeus
(Joint Broker)
David Foreman / Louisa Waddell
(Investment Banking)
Simon Johnson (Corporate
Broking)
|
+44 (0) 20 3829 5000
www.zeuscapital.co.uk
|
|
|
Notes to Editors:
Anexo is a specialist integrated
credit hire and legal services provider. The Group has created a
unique business model by combining a direct capture Credit Hire
business with a wholly owned Legal Services firm. The integrated
business targets the impecunious not at fault motorist, referring
to those who do not have the financial means or access to a
replacement vehicle.
Through its dedicated Credit Hire
sales team and network of over 1,100
active introducers around the UK, Anexo provides
customers with an end-to-end service including the provision of
Credit Hire vehicles, assistance with repair and recovery, and
claims management services. The Group's Legal Services division,
Bond Turner, provides the legal support to maximise the recovery of
costs through settlement or court action as well as the processing
of any associated personal injury claim.
The Group was admitted to trading on
AIM in June 2018 with the ticker ANX.
For additional information please
visit: www.anexo-group.com.
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