Proposals to raise the small-claims limit for personal injury cases will lead to 'an access to justice disaster', the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) has claimed, after research suggested that two-thirds of people would turn their backs on pursuing claims if it meant going ahead without a solicitor.

The MORI poll of 2,300 people, commissioned by APIL as the Department for Constitutional Affairs conducts research into whether the limit should be raised from £1,000 to £5,000, found that 64% would be reluctant to fight their corner.


The majority of respondents - 80% - said they would not receive the right amount of compensation from an insurer without a solicitor, with three-quarters saying they would not be able to work out what they were entitled to.


APIL president Colin Ettinger argued that without specialist representation, clients would not be operating on a level playing field. 'The small-claims court is not a place in which injured people should be forced to battle against the odds for compensation to which they are entitled,' he said. 'If [the government] goes ahead with the plans, there will be an access to justice disaster for thousands.'


But the Forum of Insurance Lawyers said the results conflicted with research by the Better Regulation Task Force, which indicated that costs in lower-value cases were spiralling, and suggested that respondents to the poll were in the dark about the impact on insurance premiums.


'This type of survey merely creates a smokescreen,' president Andrew Underwood warned. 'An issue that all sides should be agreed on is that the system needs to change, and the whole market needs to determine how to bring this about.'


Last month the Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer, said he was not yet convinced about raising the limit.