Medical reporting agency, Mobile Doctors (MDL), has won a landmark battle in the Court of Appeal.
The High Court ruled in December that liability insurers could avoid paying fees to medical agencies which assist in formulating medical reports for the insurer. Today that judgement, handed down by Master Hurst, has been overturned.
The judge said fees charged by MDL for supplying medical reports and records are reasonable and proportionate, and that they can be recovered in full as a disbursement from the defendant liability insurer.
The judgment, which many believed could have heralded the end of the medical reporting sector, has been eagerly awaited by insurers and lawyers for several months.
Matthew Game, managing director of MDL, said: “Since the introduction of the predictable costs regime, many insurance companies have been refusing to reimburse the claimant in full for the medical disbursement and often only offer to pay the examiners fee in isolation.
“Had the judgment gone the other way, lawyers would have had to meet the agency fee from their own pocket and it's not unreasonable to say that most solicitors would probably have stopped using agencies.
“This is also a victory for insurers because it is now clear that MDL's charges are reasonable, proportionate and, therefore, fully recoverable.”
