ORDER
NUMBER0150
/ Reform of the Civil Justice System.
Second Edition
Date of Issue/Amendment / Click on Number for link to reference
29/03/99
Amendments can be tracked in the Numerical Index.
PSI Amendments should be read before and in conjunction with PSO
04/02/2000 / PSI 06-2000 - Civil Justice System
REFORM OF THE CIVIL JUSTICE SYSTEM (SECOND EDITION)
INTRODUCTION
1. The aim of the reforms is to deal with cases justly, avoiding litigation wherever possible. Pre-action protocols enable the parties to obtain information earlier and therefore promote settlement.
2. Where litigation is unavoidable judicial case management (ie by the judge) is used to promote the early resolution of disputes by:
(i) encouraging greater co-operation between the parties to narrow the areas of dispute;
(ii) ensuring strict adherence to time limits imposed by the courts; and
(iii) using financial incentives to promote settlement.
3. This means that key issues in litigation must be identified as soon as the Prison Service receives notification of a claim. This will involve analyzing the evidence and the arguments for and against settlement. This can only be done if:
(i) the accident/incident was the subject of proper investigation at the time it occurred; and
(ii) the relevant documentation has been completed and retained.
PERSONAL INJURY CASES
ACCIDENT/INCIDENT OCCURS
MANDATORY ACTION
4. All necessary investigations must be carried out and the relevant paperwork completed at the time of the accident or incident or as soon as possible thereafter.
5. Not all accidents or incidents will result in a claim being made by the injured party but investigations and records must be prepared on the basis that there will be litigation.
LETTER OF CLAIM IS RECEIVED
MANDATORY ACTION
6 . As soon as a letter of claim is received the recipient must:
(i) collect all relevant paperwork;
(ii) consider whether the Prison Service is liable;
(iii) decide within 21 days whether the prison or the Treasury Solicitor will deal with the claim (within 14 days in the case of medical negligence claims);
(iv) write, within 21 days, to the claimant informing him or her who will be dealing with the
claim (within 14 days in the case of medical negligence claims).
7. If the Treasury Solicitor is to deal with the claim all relevant paperwork must be sent to the Treasury Solicitor immediately with the completed form “Documents Required in Personal Injury Cases”. (Annex A (i): the list is not exhaustive the Treasury Solicitor will advise on a case by case basis if further documents are required).
8. Within three months of receiving a letter of claim the defendant must either:
(i) admit liability and accept the claimant’s view of value of claim; or
(ii) admit liability on the basis that defendant is only bound up to £15,000; or
(iii) admit liability but claim that the claimant was partly to blame and disclose documents that are relevant to the issue of contributory negligence; or
(iv) deny liability and send, with the letter denying liability, all documents that are relevant to the claim.
9. The following factors must be considered in deciding who is to deal with the claim:
(i) complexity;
(ii) high value;
(iii) allegations of serious wrongdoing by Prison Service staff;
(iv) the likelihood that claim may be contested;
(v) the prison cannot deal with claim swiftly.
INFORMATION & ADVICE
10. A specimen letter of claim is at annex B.
11. Whether liability should be admitted or denied will depend on the facts of each individual case. In view of the limited time scale for dealing with compensation claims, Home Office Health and Safety Services will no longer be able to offer detailed advice on liability in these cases. They will still, however, assist in the initial investigation of serious accidents, and will also provide telephone assistance where possible.
PROCEEDINGS
MANDATORY ACTION
12. When proceedings are received the Treasury Solicitor must be supplied with all relevant documents and be informed of all details of the incident without delay.
13. A defence must be served within 14 days of receipt of the Claim Form or the Particulars of Claim.
14. The parties can only agree to a maximum extension of 28 days to file a defence otherwise judgment will be entered for the claimant.
15. The Claim Form and/or Particulars of Claim must include:
(i) a concise statement of the facts relied on by the claimant;
(ii) any claim for interest;
(iii) if the claimant is seeking aggravated or exemplary damages, a statement to that effect and the grounds for claiming them.
16 The defence must:
(i) deal fully with all allegations in the Particulars of Claim;
(ii) set out the defendant’s version of events;
(iii) not plead bare denials but where the defendant does not know whether the facts stated in the Claim are true must say so and put the claimant to strict proof;
(iv) include a Statement of Truth indicating that all statements in the defence are true - if this latter is proved to be false there will be heavy financial penalties.
INFORMATION & ADVICE
17. After proceedings are issued a case should be ready for trial within 30 weeks of allocation to a Judge - Prison Service staff identified as being involved in the incident concerned may need to be contacted urgently by the Treasury Solicitor.
DISCLOSURE
MANDATORY ACTION
18. Parties must disclose documents relied on in support of their own case as well as documents which do not support their own case but which may assist the other party’s case.
19. Parties must make a reasonable search for documents when giving disclosure and make a statement indicating the extent of the search.
INFORMATION & ADVICE
20. There is a standard disclosure list at annex C which will assist in the identification of relevant documents. Some regulations there listed may be outdated or may have been superseded. They are still of relevance in relation to claims arising from incidents or injuries that occurred when they were in force. The list is not exhaustive and the Treasury Solicitor will advise, on a case by case basis, if further documents must be disclosed.
EXPERTS
MANDATORY ACTION
21. Where, at any point in the course of action, solicitors indicate that they are going to instruct a specialist to examine their client and indicate suitable specialists whom they wish to instruct, the letter giving this information must be sent to the Treasury Solicitor immediately - the defendant only has 14 days to object to the claimant’s choice.
INFORMATION & ADVICE
22. The joint selection and instruction of experts is encouraged.
23. Expert evidence is to be used as little as possible and each party must seek specific permission to rely on expert evidence at trial.
24. The courts will decide whether the costs of more than one expert’s report should be recoverable.
COURT ORDERS
MANDATORY ACTION
25. There must be compliance with Court Orders.
INFORMATION & ADVICE
26. Any party who breaches a Court Order or behaves inappropriately will have awards of costs made against them and the defendant will face the possibility of parts of the defence being struck out.
27. The courts will have extensive powers to manage the litigation.
ALTERNATIVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION
MANDATORY ACTION
28. Alternative dispute resolution must be considered by the parties and they must confirm this to the court. Unreasonable failure to use alternative dispute resolution will result in costs penalties.
INFORMATION & ADVICE
29. Alternative dispute resolution is the use of informal methods of resolving claims eg mediation, arbitration and conciliation.
LOST PROPERTY CASES
MANDATORY ACTION
30. On receipt of a Request/Complaint Form or Letter of Claim the recipient must:
(i) collect relevant documentation;
(ii) decide whether it is worth contesting the claim considering the value involved;
(iii) If the case is to be contested decide who should deal with it.
31. If the Treasury Solicitor is to deal with the claim all relevant documentation and information must be sent to the Treasury Solicitor together with the completed form “Documents Required in Lost/Damaged Property Cases” and the letter of claim (Annex A(ii): the list is not exahaustive and the Treasury Solicitor will advise on a case by case basis if further documents are required).
INFORMATION & ADVICE
32. All claims under £5000 will be dealt with informally.
Annex A(i)
THE TREASURY SOLICITOR
Queen Anne’s Chambers, 28 Broadway, London SW1H 9JS
DX 123242 St James’s Park Direct Fax: (0171) 210 3250 Switchboard 0171 210 3000
(GTN 210)
Direct Line: (0171) 210 3271
Documents Required in Personal Injury Cases
It is imperative that in dealing with this matter on your behalf that I have copies of all relevant documentation. In order to assist you I have set out below a list of the documents which should be available in Personal Injury claims. It would be helpful if you would complete this form and return it to me along with copies of the documents. Please place a tick in the box corresponding to the document listed to indicate that you have enclosed a copy of the document. Where you are not enclosing the document please fill in the second box detailing why the document is not available.
Please note that this list is not exhaustive and any further relevant documentation/information should also be sent. I would ask that you ensure the copy documents you send are legible and verify the signatories to the documents where these are not clear.
You should of course retain a copy of this document for your own records for further reference.
Document / Enclosed / Reason document not available. /In All Accident/Incidents
Accident Book Entry
Witness Statements compiled
including any Accident Investigation Report
Staff report completed at the time e.g. memoranda, log or occurrence book entries
HSE Health & Safety Report Form and any other communications with HSE, EHOs or other Statutory Bodies
Home Office or Prison Service Accident, Assault or Near Miss Form
Major/Minor Incident Report
Photographs of the accident site
Sketch Plan
Health & Safety Risk Assessment Record, pre and post accident , and any specific assessments such as manual handling, pregnancy, VDU, or COSHH
All correspondence with the claimant and his/her Solicitors
Any reports or recommendations by Home Office Health & Safety Services
Minutes of H&S Committee meetings where accident/matter considered
Record of assessment of suitability and issue of PPE
Additional Documents in Slipping Cases
Details of the cleaning rota in force at the time of the accident
Details of any changes to the cleaning rota following the accident
Memoranda showing whether area was inspected. If so, how soon after the incident and the results of the inspection.
Additional Documents where
Plant/Machinery Involved
Maintenance/Repair Orders before and after accident
Full service history
Details of any complaints made about the plant/machinery prior to the accident
Additional Documents required in Staff Cases
Absence/Sickness record
Wage details 6 months prior to the accident to date including details of overtime pay and public holiday working
Relevant extracts from the personnel file held at the establishment
Training records for claimant
Additional Documents required in Inmate Cases
Report of Injury to Inmate (F213)
IMR
Induction and Training Record for Workplace Accident
Relevant documentation from inmates record (Form 2050)
Additional Documents required in Assault Cases (Involving Inmates or Staff)
Use of force reports
Register of Non-Medical Restraints
Serious Incident Reports
Adjudication Records relating to the incident
History of behaviour of the victim and the alleged assailants upon the wing prior to the alleged assault
Where Police involved, all correspondence with the Police and statements given together with the name of the Police Liaison Officer.
Inmate Personal Record (F2050) for all inmates involved in the incident
Miscellaneous Documents
Wing Record
Gatekeeper’s Daily Occurrence Book
Security Information Reports
Group Leader - B McKay
Team Leader - L John-Charles
Annex A(ii)
THE TREASURY SOLICITOR
Queen Anne’s Chambers, 28 Broadway, London SW1H 9JS
DX 123242 St James’s Park Direct Fax: (0171) 210 3250 Switchboard 0171 210 3000
(GTN 210)
Direct Line: (0171) 210 3271
Documents Required in Lost/Damaged Property Cases
It is imperative that in dealing with this matter on your behalf that I have copies of all relevant documentation. In order to assist you I have set out below a list of the documents which should be available in Lost or Damaged Property claims. It would be helpful if you would complete this form and return it to me along with copies of the documents. Please place a tick in the box corresponding to the document listed to indicate that you have enclosed a copy of the document. Where you are not enclosing the document please fill in the second box detailing why the document is not available.
Please note that this list is not exhaustive and any further relevant documentation/information should also be sent. I would ask that you ensure the copy documents you send are legible and verify the signatories to the documents where these are not clear.
You should of course retain a copy of this document for your own records for further reference.
Document / Enclosed / Reason document not available. /In Possession Property Cards
Stored Property Cards
Cell Clearance Certificates
Request/Complaint/Reply/Appeal Forms
Signed Disclaimer
Radio & Electrical Equipment Receipt
Convicted Property Records
Property Records for Transfer
All correspondence with the claimant and/or with his/her solicitors
Memoranda from Prison Service staff
Group Leader - B McKay
Team Leader - L John-Charles
SAMPLE LETTER OF CLAIM Annex B
To
Defendant
Dear Sirs
Re: Claimant’s full name
Claimant’s full address
Claimant’s National Insurance Number
Claimant’s Date of Birth
Claimant’s Clock or Works Number
Claimant’s Employer (name and address)
We are instructed by the above named to claim damages in connection with an accident at work/road traffic accident / tripping accident on (insert date) at (place of accident which must be sufficiently detailed to establish location).
Please confirm the identity of the insurers. Please note that the insurers will need to see this letter as soon as possible and it may affect your insurance cover if you do not send this to them.