Description
A Claimant who had elected to withdraw from the Pre-action Protocol for Low Value Personal Injury Claims in RTA's was only entitled to his costs under the protocol.
A motor vehicle insurer had failed to acknowledge a PI claim notification from in accordance with the procedure under the Pre-Action Protocol for Low Value PI claims in RTA's. The Claimant had withdrawn his claim from the protocol due to a delay of 1 day in responding to the claim electronically via the RTA Portal. It was held that a claimant might always choose not to comply or continue with the process under the Protocol, but he would then be at risk as to costs under CPR r. 45.36. Here the Claimant had acted unreasonably by discontinuing the Protocol process and commencing Part 7 proceedings, particularly where he had failed to identify any reason over and above technical non-compliance for bringing the process to an end. Under CPR r.45.36, the court had a discretion to award costs, having regard to the overriding objective and also the matters set out in CPR r. 44.3 and the Defendant was ordered to pay the protocol fixed costs only.
