PI working party pushes for periodic payment awards

A high-level working party set up to look into damages in personal injury cases has called for the current practice of awarding a single lump sum to be abandoned where it would be more beneficial for the patient to receive periodical payments.

The structured settlement working party - set up by the Master of the Rolls, Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers - said periodic payments would provide more certainty that the patients' needs would be met throughout their lives.

It recommended that where the case involves a child, a court should not approve a settlement unless a structured settlement has been considered, and mooted the idea of a pilot scheme aimed at extending the use of interim payments.

Lord Phillips agreed that courts should make greater use of periodic payments.

'They better protect the damages awarded to individuals from loss or erosion caused by ineffective management,' he explained.

He said the report would be a valuable contribution to the work of the Civil Justice Council on clinical negligence.

Paula Rohan