The date for the UK to leave the EU currently stands at March 2019, which is predicted to have a potential impact on the UK’s economic, political and legal industries, including a potential impact on Personal Injury Claims.

Considering many of our health and safety laws are intertwined with EU regulations and directives, a potentially great impact of Brexit could be on personal injury claims. There are various EU directives and regulations which currently apply to personal injury claims, so how will UK lawyers, clients and practices change?

To help give an insight into the future of personal injury claims, Tilly Bailey & Irvine Law Firm — medical negligence lawyers — have explored what Brexit might mean for the UK.

What are EU regulations and directives

EU directives are legal acts that are aimed at members of the EU. Once enacted, every nation that is part of the EU must make the national law by a stated deadline. What does this mean for the UK? EU directives have been turned into laws using Statutory Instruments. This is a process that means the government isn’t required to create a new piece of law and get it passed through parliament every time a new legal action is created.

As for EU regulations, these differ from directives in the sense that they are more specific. EU regulations are basically the minimum requirements and fundamental principles that members of the EU must follow once the legal acts are instated.

Personal injury claims and EU regulations/directives

Here are some examples of EU regulations and directives in the UK:

Accidents when UK residents are abroad

A familiar EU directive and regulation example is in relation to receiving medical treatment when out of the country and traveling the EU — the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) scheme. At the moment, this gives those from the UK the right to access state-provided healthcare whenever they are temporarily situated somewhere else in the European Economic Area. Approximately 27 million EHIC cards have been issued across the UK to date, so changes to this will be felt countrywide. EHIC cards are helpful in times when someone in the UK has an accident in an EU Member State, regardless of the extent of their travel insurance cover.

Alongside the advent of the EHIC scheme, there’s another law from the European “Sixth Directive” 2009. This help passport holders of an EU country who have had an accident in an EU member nation which was caused by an uninsured driver. If an incident like this occurs, the person from the UK can make a claim and request compensation through the UK’s Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB). As a result, a process is started where the MIB seeks reimbursement from the equivalent office that is set up in the country where the accident took place.

Consumer Protection Act 1987

Essentially, this act ensures and improves product safety. This means that people paying for goods and services in the UK are protected. The Consumer Protection Act 1987, and its associated regulations, was passed as a result of an EU directive from 1985 — which ensured strict liability for producers of substandard products.

1974 Health and Safety at Work Act

This directive assures basic safety and health requirements for businesses across the EU. These companies operating within the union must put in place certain safeguards to protect workers and visitors to a site or workplace.The groundwork for the 1974 Health and Safety at Work Act came from The European Framework Directive on Safety and Health at Work.

What could Brexit mean for personal injury claims in the UK

The government’s primary thought when it comes to divorcing the EU officially should be ensuring that EU laws (which technically leave us at that time) are reintroduced as UK laws.  However, the public shouldn’t worry too much. Until any such motion is made, nothing will change — old European laws will not instantly stop being relevant just because the UK is no longer a part of the EU.

In terms of personal injury claims specifically, there’s evidence that those in power have already broached the subject of Brexit’s impact. This has come in the form of the EHIC scheme where there has been a deal in principle agreed by negotiators in Brussels at the end of August this year, which involved David Davis, the Brexit Secretary. Essentially, this agreement outlines that a British pensioner who has retired in another EU country and then travels to another EU nation for holidays can still use their EHIC card whenever they need medical attention. Although this does not include everyone, this move is a positive indicator for the future of the EHIC scheme.

Unfortunately, the future remains the unsteadyin reference to many crucial aspects. Trying to decipher how Brexit will affect personal injury claims is no easy task. But hopefully, the more discussions and negotiations that take place, the clearer we’ll be on what to expect in 2019. Essentially, we will have to play the waiting game to find out for sure how Brits will make personal injury claims post-Brexit and how lawyers will be able to assist their clients.

Sources:

• http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-32810887
• https://www.ashfords.co.uk/article/impact-of-brexit-on-personal-injury-claims
• https://www.hughjames.com/news/comment/2016/08/effects-brexit-upon-personal-injury-law/#.WbJb3MiGOUk
• https://www.ashfords.co.uk/expertise/brexit-2/brexit-personal-injury
• https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2017/aug/31/brexit-healthcare-deal-is-good-news-for-pensioners

The post The Effect Brexit may have on Personal Injury Claims in the UK appeared first on Wipsen.org.