Is that it? The Ministry of Justice took a year to decide the way forward after its claims process consultation – and this week’s retreat from the original proposals suggests that they were either far too ambitious or betrayed worrying ignorance about how personal injury claims work.

The government deserves credit for listening to and acting on the concerns expressed last year but, with many of the key proposals now ditched, was it really worth the bother and uncertainty caused?

All we are left with is a new fixed-fee procedure for road traffic claims worth up to £10,000 where liability is admitted – something we pretty much already have. The insurance industry will be looking askance at its lobbyists, whose work has generated a great deal of noise but little else unless the fees are set at very low levels – that will be the next battleground. Insurers will also have to deliver on their pledge to make a decision on liability within 15 days, which should cheer all claimant lawyers.

By contrast, the decision to exempt employer’s liability claims is being seen as a victory for trade unions, especially as the logic looks flawed. Once liability has been admitted, are such cases so much more complex than road traffic accidents that they cannot benefit from the new regime?

The response paper offers the vague hint that, should the model prove successful, it could eventually be rolled out to other types of personal injury claims, while it also obliquely mentions the possibility of post-issue fixed fees. But, for now, both of these notions sit firmly in the long grass. When this consultation was launched in April 2007, the then Lord Chancellor declared that ‘real reform’ was needed. Whether that was right or wrong, this week’s announcement has not delivered it.