Resolve civil disputes

A pioneer of the scheme that aims at dealing with low-value clinical negligence cases in six months has this week suggested that it should be rolled out to other civil disputes.

Brian Raincock is the founder and managing director of Resolve - which worked with the NHS Litigation Authority and Action for the Victims of Medical Accidents on the scheme for claims worth less than 15,000.

He told the Gazette that feedback from the pilot had suggested the concept could be applied to other low-value cases such as road traffic accident (RTA) claims and construction disputes.

Solicitors involved with the pilot, who were paid fixed costs of 1,500 for ten hours' work, last week gave it the thumbs up, although they raised concerns about profitability (see [2002] Gazette, 17 October, 1).

Research on the scheme is expected before the end of the month.

Mr Raincock said he has been in talks with defendant practitioners, insurers and RTA solicitors with a view to debating the expansion of the scheme and developing a model in the near future.

'I believe this could work with RTA, small construction claims and eventually low value contractual disputes,' he explained.

'We would do this little by little, and they would all be dealt with slightly differently.'

Mr Raincock added that he thought an extension of the pilot would be 'in the interests of both the public and the exchequer'.

Paula Rohan