The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) will campaign with other claimant organisations against government plans to make injured people pay for legal fees out of their own compensation, the association’s new president will tell delegates at the APIL annual conference later this week.

Bott & Co managing partner David Bott will say that it is ‘plain wrong’ for injury victims to have up to 25% of their damages removed to meet legal costs.

‘I believe that payment in full is the minimum that individuals in the UK should expect and demand,’ he will say.

‘Claimants have not chosen to litigate. They did not arrive at the decision after a cost-benefit analysis.

'They were injured and rightly expect redress. All that they want, and all that the law can give them, is to get back to where they were before the injury.

‘To turn to a seriously injured person and say, "I am very sorry but the law says we cannot get you everything you are entitled to", is literally adding insult to injury.

‘APIL will work with as many claimant bodies as possible to try to get the voice of injured people, the voice of ordinary people, the voice of the voting public, heard.’

Last week, APIL alleged that some claimants were under-compensated because the damages discount rate was not reviewed.