Personal Injuries Resolution Board Act 2022

Amendment of section 51A of Principal Act

16. (1) Section 51A of the Principal Act is amended—

(a) by the substitution of the following subsection for subsection (3):

“(3) Subject to subsections (6) and (7) and notwithstanding section 169 of the Legal Services Regulation Act 2015 , if, as respects a relevant claim to which this section applies, a claimant brings proceedings in accordance with this Act, no award of costs nor any other order providing for payment of costs may be made in favour of the claimant where the amount of damages (if any) awarded on foot of, or accepted in settlement of, those proceedings does not exceed the amount of the assessment referred to in subsection (2).”,

(b) by the insertion of the following subsection after subsection (3):

“(3A) (a) Subject to subsections (6) and (7), if, as respects a relevant claim to which this section applies, a claimant brings proceedings in accordance with this Act a respondent, as the defendant in the relevant proceedings, shall be deemed to have made an offer of tender of payment pursuant to rules of court on the relevant date equal to the amount of the assessment in relation to the relevant claim concerned.

(b) Where the court finds that the defendant was not in a position to pay a sum equal to the amount of the assessment on the relevant date the court may, by special cause shown and mentioned in the order, direct that paragraph (a) shall not apply.

(c) In this subsection—

‘relevant date’ means the date on which—

(i) the respondent made a statement in writing, in response to a notice under section 30, that he or she accepted the assessment, or

(ii) the respondent was deemed, by virtue of section 31, to have accepted the assessment.”,

(c) in subsection (4)—

(i) by the substitution of “In subsections (3) and (3A)” for “In subsection (3)”, and

(ii) in paragraph (a), by the substitution of “section 14(1)(c)(ii)” for “section 14(1)(b)”,

(d) in subsection (5), by the substitution of “Subsections (3) and (3A) apply” for “Subsection (3) applies”,

(e) in subsection (6), by the substitution of “Subsections (3) and (3A) do not apply” for “Subsection (3) does not apply”, and

(f) in subsection (7), by the substitution of “Subsections (3) and (3A) do not operate” for “Subsection (3) does not operate”.

(2) The amendments effected by subsection (1) shall not affect proceedings—

(a) in relation to which, before the commencement of this section, the claimant refused an assessment in response to a notice under section 30 of the Principal Act, or

(b) in relation to which the claimant was deemed, before the commencement of this section by virtue of section 31 of the Principal Act, not to have accepted an assessment.