Supreme Court unanimously rejects insurers’ mixed injury appeal

The Supreme Court has today (26 March 2024) rejected an insurer lodged appeal on two test cases – Rabot vs Hassam and Briggs v Laditan – that would have influenced guidance on appropriate compensation for those who have suffered whiplash and additional injuries during a road traffic accident. 

In January 2023, the Court of Appeal ruled that personal injury claimants can recover damages for both whiplash and non-whiplash injuries without one cancelling out the other. 

Today’s unanimous Supreme Court judgement has supported this decision, rejecting an argument from the ABI – on behalf of the insurance industry – that this would open the door to the “double counting of injuries” and, in turn, increase the level of awarded compensation. 

People with mixed injury claims can claim full common law compensation for their non-whiplash injuries at the same time as the statutory tariff payment for whiplash, the court has ruled.

The judgement explained that the “correct approach” to determining the level of compensation for mixed injuries was to assess the tariff amount for whiplash injury, assess the common law damages from non-whiplash injuries and then “add these two amounts together”. 

However, the court’s decision has accepted the ’Sadler approach’, which allows for compensators to take a “step back” after working out the total level of compensation to account for “double recovery”, or overlap in injury compensation.

Delivering clarity 

Commenting on the court’s judgement, Kennedys partner Ian Davies said: “The prompt delivery of the judgement from the Supreme Court provides welcomed clarity on the approach to non-tariff injuries – the unanimous decision provides absolute certainty moving forward on the approach to be adopted.” 

Andrew Wild, head of legal practice at First4InjuryClaims, added that the decision was “a victory for claimants” that suffer mixed injuries and ”ought to now end insurers’ baseless objections to the clear and sensible guidance laid down by the Court of Appeal”.

”The public was promised simpler, swifter access to justice when the whiplash reforms were launched nearly three years ago and it is time for insurers to deliver on this mandate by clearing the backlog of claims that were awaiting this ruling,” he added.

Matthew Maxwell Scott, executive director at the Association of Consumer Support Organisations (Acso), said: ”This looks like the right call and is a sensible middle ground that protects consumers both as injured parties and as policyholders.

“It’s good news that the wheels of justice have moved quickly here. With the judgement affecting hundreds of thousands of people each year, the huge backlog of cases can now start to be cleared and people get the compensation they are due.” 

• Insurance Times will update this article with further industry reactions to the Supreme Court judgement