Personal injury (PI) has been undergoing something of a revolution since Lord Woolf overhauled the Civil Procedure Rules almost four years ago. This year, however, has been even more seismic than the previous three. With the collapse of claims farmers Claims Direct – subsequently relaunched by Russell Jones & Walker – and The Accident Group (TAG), the claims industry, still thrashing out arguments sparked in the wake of the Woolf reforms, has found itself forced into serious reflection on its future.
At the centre of the many PI debates sit two men: David Marshall, president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (Apil) and Jason Rowley, his counterpart on the Forum of Insurance Lawyers (Foil). Relations between the two organisations have, both admit, become cranky of late – largely because of the ongoing debate on costs.
