Legal profession

Why be an injury lawyer?

APIL reflects on its members’ commitment to assist vulnerable clients in the face of adverse reforms and negative perceptions about their profession.

About the author: Brett Dixon is president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL).

t can seem that personal injury lawyers are serving injured people under the constant threat of reform. The Civil Liability Act 2018, which received royal assent on 20 December last year, has, metaphorically, kicked over a keystone of the justice system, as the principle of 100 percent compensation has been abandoned. It comes only a few short years after the overhaul of costs in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012.

Misunderstandings and negative perceptions

Being under attack makes the job harder for APIL’s members. As do the misunderstandings and negative perceptions about lawyers and the so-called - but mythical - ‘compensation culture’.

There must be a profound reason why personal injury lawyers put up with such nonsense and hurdles. So, to find out, we asked a handful of APIL’s accredited members why they became personal injury lawyers.

Unanimously, they said that aiding some of the most vulnerable people in society is immensely satisfying and hard to give up. Most were attracted to this area of the law initially through a fascination with how the law has developed over a long time by the courts, from as far back as the Donoghue v Stevenson ‘snail in a bottle‘ case.

Training is key to expertise

They are all keen to keep on top of their game and set themselves apart from the rest. Taking training seriously is a requisite of being APIL accredited, so that injured people can spot the ‘APIL accredited’ logo and know that the lawyer is an experienced expert in the field. The human element is the most overwhelming reason for taking on PI: it deals with people’s lives.

A snapshot of APIL’s membership

  • Among APIL’s ranks is a former nurse who wanted to apply her medical knowledge to the law. A patient suffered a brain damage following a bleed after surgery. The relatives were just so grateful she was alive, they did not realise they had a case. Our member was able to identify the possible negligence by picking through the medical records.
  • One member’s daughter was injured when she was very small. There was a chance that the injuries could have been life-altering. Thankfully, she recovered fully, but our member was all too aware that she would have wanted someone to fight for her to try to put things right, at least financially.

It is evident that our members are proud to be accredited, and APIL works hard to make sure the public knows to search for the APIL accredited logo.

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