MoJ ditches mesothelioma portal and fixed fees

The Ministry of Justice announced today it would not be going ahead with a portal or fixed fees for mesothelioma claims, as recommended by the ABI.

However the MoJ said it would be removing the exemption from conditional fee changes enjoyed by mesothelioma cases from July 2014.

Cases were exempted from Part 2 of LASPO, which abolished recoverability of CFA success fees and ATE insurance premiums, until a review had been carried out.

Justice minister Shailesh Vara told the Commons today that the ABI "will wish to reconsider" its proposal for a portal or 'secure mesothelioma claims gateway'.

Vara said the government also rejected the ABI's plans for a pre-action protocol combined with fixed fees on the grounds that there was "not a strong enough case" that they would meet the government's aim of ensuring claims were settled quickly and fairly.

However, the minister said the LASPO changes to conditional fees would be applied to mesothelioma claims, as they already had been for other personal injury cases, from July 2014.

This would be timed to coincide with the introduction of the new compulsory payment scheme, under the Mesothelioma Act, for victims who cannot trace employers or employers' insurers.

Karl Tonks, former president of APIL, said the government had listened to the "impassioned arguments" of victims, their families and lawyers.

"We now look forward to working closely with the government to see how the process can be improved for people who are dying from this horrific disease and whose life expectancy is very short."

However, he said the cost implications of the conditional fee changes meant that some mesothelioma claims may never be brought to court at all.

"In those cases which do go ahead, sufferers may have to make deductions from their damages to pay their costs, which they can ill afford to do," Tonks said.

"We understand the government has conducted a review of this issue and we await justification for this decision."

Under the Mesothelioma Bill, victims who cannot trace their employer or employer's insurer could be eligible for up to £355m in compensation payments over the next 10 years.