Lawyer Monthly Magazine -December 2019 Edition

14 WWW.LAWYER-MONTHLY.COM | DEC 2019 Monthly Roundup News Together for Rehabilita- tion – a leading group of personal injury reha- bilitation specialists – has warned of the potential for ‘unintended and ill- considered consequenc- es’ from the new soft tissue injury (whiplash) claims process. The warn- ing came as the group released details of their preferred framework for claimants to access re- habilitation. The new proposals were requested by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), which recently confirmed that there will be no option for victims to access reha- bilitation directly through the new Small Claims Track Portal. To address this, the Group propose a separate Rehabilita- A new bill was intro- duced by US Senators Chris Coons and Mike Lee with the intention of restricting the use of fa- cial recognition tech by US police nationwide. The Facial Recognition Technology Warrant Act of 2019 aims to “make sure that law enforce- ment has the tools neces- sary to keep us safe while also protecting funda- mental Fourth Amend- ment privacy rights”, said Coons, according to The Jurist. tion Portal, which will be reached via the Small Claims Portal, allowing for fair and easy access for unrepresented claim- ants. Claimants will under- take an online screening through the portal, and, if required, be directed to accredited provid- ers to ensure the highest standards of care and transparency. Together for Rehabilita- tion is working on this framework with a variety of leading sectoral or- ganisations and profes- sional bodies, including the Forum of Insurance Lawyers (FOIL) rehabili- tation group comprising of insurers, solicitors, the Association of Personal The bill requires all federal law enforcement agen- cies and officers to pull a warrant from a judge for any and all facial recog- nition actions involving Injury Lawyers and the Association of British In- surers. By providing easy access to rehabilitation to those who need it, despite the increased liability risk posed by the removal of legal representation under the reforms, the framework will protect against the increasing burden of rehabilitation injuries on the NHS. In turn, maintaining this ac- cess to treatment should avoid victims being una- ble to work for significant periods of time, which could adversely affect the UK economy. Part one of the consul- tation into reforming the soft tissue injury (whip- lash) claims process did individuals for more than 72 hours at a time. The bill also requires said judge to report the issuance or denial of the warrant to the Administrative Office Providers Propose Alternative Vision for Rehabilitation Portal Senate Bill Could Restrict Police Use of Facial Recognition PERSONAL INJURY US COURTS not consider rehabilita- tion. It is believed that Part two of the consul- tation will be released following the General Election. Joel Booth on behalf of Together for Rehabilita- tion said: “We are disappointed that rehabilitation has not been properly con- sidered to form a whole system approach in the process of reforming per- sonal injury claims. “Our industry supports over half a million pa- tients each year, ensur- ing that people can step back in to work and con- tinue to contribute to the UK workforce after an accident. A process that of the US Courts. The issue of facial rec- ognition surveillance has not been timid among authorities and the pub- is optimised to support injury outcomes and pa- tient needs is therefore essential to avoid unin- tended and ill-consid- ered consequences. “With the absence of lawyers protecting the best interests of patients under the new soft injury claims process, a simple framework is required which non-represented claimants can easily ac- cess and navigate. “The framework put for- ward by Together for Rehabilitation will deliver this, and we look forward to working with the MoJ and cross-industry part- ners.” lic, with much talk sur- rounding ‘big brother’ privacy concerns and the use of unlawful spy- ing on members of the public.