Part 1: Whiplash Chapter 2: Damages Section 3: Damages for whiplash injuries
This section enables the Lord Chancellor to specify in regulations, in the form of a tariff, the damages that a court may award for pain, suffering and loss of amenity ("PSLA") for whiplash injuries specified in section 1. Regulations may specify damages in those cases where the duration of the injury does not exceed or is not expected to exceed, two years, or, but for the failure of the claimant to take reasonable steps to mitigate the effect of the injury, would not have exceeded or be likely to exceed two years. The tariff will provide for an ascending scale of fixed sum payments with the relevant tariff amount for a particular case identified by reference to the duration of the injury. Regulations may specify different sums for different durations of injury: it is intended that the power will enable the Lord Chancellor to (a) specify particular durations of injury in the tariff; and (b) set the amount of the fixed sum payment for each duration of injury specified. The Lord Chancellor may amend the specified durations, and/or the amount of the payments and may increase or decrease the amounts. The Lord Chancellor may also include within, or in addition to, the specified sums, an additional sum for minor psychological injuries (often referred to as ‘travel anxiety’) arising from the same accident. The Lord Chancellor is required to consult the Lord Chief Justice before making regulations under this section. Regulations made under this section would be subject to the affirmative resolution procedure.