Periodical payments have been receiving much attention of late. There has been debate about whether their arrival will transform the way that claims with substantial future losses will be dealt with. So have they arrived with a roar or a whimper?
Since April, courts have had the power to order that damages for future pecuniary losses (not general damages or past losses) are wholly or partly in the form of periodical payments. No specific limit has been set on the size of claim to which such an order can apply, but they are not intended to be universal. They are unlikely to be considered proportionate where the future loss is small, but quite where the boundaries will be set has not been made clear.
