Report on the Management of Personal Injury Claims : Thirteenth Report Session 2009/2010 Together with the Minutes of Proceedings of the Committee Relating to the Report and the Minutes of Evidence

The Department for Regional Development's (DRD) Central Claims Unit (CCU) currently processes all public liability claims against Roads Service for damage to vehicles and personal injuries.

Personal injury claims (or so-called 'tripping injuries') account for over 80 per cent of its costs and are currently running at around GBP 4 million a year.

Roads Service has a statutory duty to maintain roads and footpaths in a reasonable condition, and its current inspection and repair regime allows CCU to reject around 70 per cent of claims on the basis that this statutory duty has been fulfilled.

Nevertheless the Committee believes that there is scope for better targeting of scarce resources at areas with higher levels of claims.

Roads Service needs to recognise that maintaining roads and pavements is not only about providing a legal defence, it is also about service and customer focus.

It is a matter of great concern that the legal profession, whose members stand to benefit financially, appears to be setting rates of compensation and fees largely in isolation from the public and private sector bodies which will have to bear these costs. Payments to DFP's Departmental Solicitor's Office (DSO) amount to some GBP 750,000 a year and have increased at nearly twice the rate of inflation over the last ten years.

The Committee sees no justification for these increases and finds it inexcusable that a costing system which is clearly not compliant with DFP's own guidance is still being used after ten years.