RCS - Anexo Group PLC - Supreme Court Judgment on Damages for Injuries

AnexoAnnouncement

02/04/2024 07:15

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RNS Number : 7706I  Anexo Group PLC  02 April 2024

 For immediate release  2 April 2024

 RNS Reach

 

Anexo Group plc

 

('Anexo', the 'Group' or the 'Company')

 

 

Supreme Court Judgment on Damages for Injuries

 

Anexo (AIM: ANX), the specialist integrated credit hire and legal services
provider, is pleased to note the Supreme Court judgment, announced on 26 March
2024, regarding the calculation of damages for injuries caused by a motor
accident.

 

Background

 

The Civil Liability Act 2018 and the Whiplash Injury Regulations 2021 have
significantly reduced the amount of damages payable for pain, suffering and
loss of amenity ("PSLA"), and these are now calculated on a fixed basis
depending on the duration of the injury and whether the PSLA was based solely
on whiplash injuries or upon whiplash injuries with concurrent minor
psychological injuries.

 

The case (Hassam and another v Rabot and another) explored the effect of the
new legislation on non-whiplash injuries which would normally be covered by
common law precedent. In other words, what is the position on concurrent PSLA
caused by both a whiplash injury and a non-whiplash injury?

 

Official statistics from the Official Injury Claim Service ("OIC") for the
period 1 October 2023 to 31 December 2023 show that, during that three-month
period, there were 62,557 whiplash claims via the OIC portal. Of these, 43,159
(66.7%) were for both whiplash and non-whiplash injuries.

 

Judgment

 

The Court of Appeal was divided on this issue, the majority holding that
claimants remained entitled to full common law compensation for their
non-whiplash injuries, but the Master of Rolls disagreed and gave a dissenting
judgment.

The Supreme Court has affirmed the majority approach and dismissed the
insurers' appeals.

Giving the unanimous judgment, Lord Burrows agreed with the Claimants,
explaining that the correct methodology to value an injury for whiplash with a
non-whiplash injury is as follows:

1.         Assess the tariff amount for the whiplash;

2.         Assess the common law damages for the other injuries;

3.         Add the figures together;

4.         Step back and consider whether a 'totality' adjustment was
needed to avoid over- or under-compensation and make any such adjustment to
the common law award. The judgment includes the caveat that the final award
cannot be lower than the common law damages which would have been awarded for
PSLA caused by non-whiplash injuries only.

Alan Sellers, Executive Chairman of Anexo Group, commented: "We are very
pleased to note this Supreme Court decision. It establishes as a matter of law
that claimants can claim for both whiplash and non-whiplash PSLA, without the
quantum of damages in the latter being restricted by the Whiplash Injury
Regulations. This ruling will have a positive impact on thousands of
individual cases where the claimant is seeking damages for non-whiplash
injuries following a no-fault accident. It provides support for Bond Turner in
seeking to represent the interests of our clients in all aspects of their
claims and underpins our dedication to assuring the best possible outcome for
the claimants for whom we act."

 

-Ends-

 

For further enquiries:

 Anexo Group plc                                        +44 (0) 151 227 3008

                                                        www.anexo-group.com (http://www.anexo-group.com)
 Alan Sellers, Executive Chairman

 Mark Bringloe, Interim Chief Financial Officer

 Nick Dashwood Brown, Head of Investor Relations
 WH Ireland Limited

 (Nominated Adviser & Joint Broker)
 Chris Hardie / Hugh Morgan/ Darshan Patel (Corporate)    +44 (0) 20 7220 1666

 Fraser Marshall / Harry Ansell (Broking)               www.whirelandplc.com/capital-markets
                                                        (https://url.avanan.click/v2/___https:/eu-west
                                                        -1.protection.sophos.com?d=whirelandplc.com&u=aHR0cDovL3d3dy53aGlyZWxhbmRwbGMuY29tL2NhcGl0YWwtbWFya2V0cw==&i=NWNkOTc2NmM5OWJhMjAxMDhmN2IyYzQ1&t=SXVCMnArbXpCUWFUR3hiN0dhVjR5Q3d4VDNrTGVJc1JZVXNxWVRpbE8zcz0=&h=0482e68813aa4f569a47aab5cdad04d1___.YXAxZTp3aGlyZWxhbmRwbGMyOmE6bzpjYjY3ZDZhNTE1ZmUwZTA0Zjg3MDFkYTJhYTAxZGMyNDo2OmU0NjA6M2ViNTgwYzkxMmM5NTFlMzUyMzM1ODhlNzcyOGFhMjZhNjI0OTkzOGRkOTkzZjQ5NTUzNjFjYzE5N2UwYTBkNzpoOlQ)

 Zeus

 (Joint Broker)                                         +44 (0) 20 3829 5000

 David Foreman / Louisa Waddell (Investment Banking)    w (http://www.arden-partners.co.uk) ww.zeuscapital.co.uk

                                                      (http://www.zeuscapital.co.uk)
 Simon Johnson (Corporate Broking)

 

Notes to Editors:

 

Anexo is a specialist integrated credit hire and legal services provider. The
Group has created a unique business model by combining a direct capture Credit
Hire business with a wholly owned Legal Services firm. The integrated business
targets the impecunious not at fault motorist, referring to those who do not
have the financial means or access to a replacement vehicle.

 

Through its dedicated Credit Hire sales team and network of over 1,100 active
introducers around the UK, Anexo provides customers with an end-to-end service
including the provision of Credit Hire vehicles, assistance with repair and
recovery, and claims management services. The Group's Legal Services division,
Bond Turner, provides the legal support to maximise the recovery of costs
through settlement or court action as well as the processing of any associated
personal injury claim.

 

The Group was admitted to trading on AIM in June 2018 with the ticker ANX.

 

For additional information please visit: www.anexo-group.com
(http://www.anexo-group.com) . To subscribe to our investor alert service and
receive all press releases, financial results and other key shareholder
messages as soon as they become available, please visit:
https://www.anexo-group.com/content/investors/alert.asp
(https://www.anexo-group.com/content/investors/alert.asp) .

 

 

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