Article 13 Automatic directions in personal injuries actions

After Order 17, rule 10, there shall be inserted the following—

“Automatic directions in actions for personal injuries

11

(1)

This rule applies to any action for personal injuries except—

(a)

any Admiralty action;

(b)

any action in which an allegation is made of a negligent act or omission in the course of medical treatment;

(c)

proceedings to which Order 12 applies (third party and similar proceedings);

(d)

proceedings which stand referred for arbitration under Order 19, rule 2(3).

(2)

In an action to which this rule applies, Order 9, rule 5 and the foregoing provisions of this Order shall not apply and directions shall take effect automatically in accordance with the following paragraphs of this rule.

(3)

When the pleadings are deemed to be closed, the following directions shall take effect—

(a)

there shall be discovery of documents within 14 days, and inspection within7 days thereafter, in accordance with paragraph (7);

(b)

where any party intends to place reliance at the trial on expert evidence, he shall, within 10 weeks, disclose the substance of that evidence to the other parties in the form of a written report, which shall be agreed if possible;

(c)

unless such reports are agreed, the parties shall be at liberty to call as expert witnesses those witnesses the substance of whose evidence has been disclosed in accordance with the preceding sub-paragraph, except that the number of expert witnesses shall be limited in any case to two medical experts and one expert of any other kind;

(d)

photographs, a sketch plan and the contents of any police accident report book shall be receivable in evidence at the trial, and shall be agreed if possible;

(e)

the action shall be tried by a judge or registrar in accordance with the provisions of these rules relating to the distribution of business;

(f)

unless the proper officer has already fixed a date for the hearing, the plaintiff shall within 6 months request that the action be listed for hearing whereupon the proper officer shall fix a day for the hearing of the action and give to all parties not less than 14 days' notice of the day so fixed;

(g)

where a request is made under paragraph (f), the plaintiff shall notify the proper officer and all other parties of the estimated length of the hearing, and any such party who disagrees with the plaintiff’s estimate shall give notice to that effect.

(4)

Nothing in paragraph (3) shall require a party to produce a further medical report if he proposes to rely at the trial only on the report provided pursuant toOrder 6, rule 1(5) or (6) but, where a party claiming damages for personal injuries discloses a further report, that report shall be accompanied by a statement of the special damages claimed.

(5)

Without prejudice to the generality of paragraph (3)(b), where that provision requires disclosure to be made by more than one party the reports shall be disclosed by mutual exchange, medical for medical and non-medical for non-medical, within the time provided.

(6)

Nothing in paragraph (3) shall—

(a)

prevent the court from giving, of its own motion or on the application of any party, such further or different directions or orders as may, in the circumstances, be appropriate; or

(b)

prevent the making of an order for the transfer of the proceedings to the High Court or another county court.

(7)

The parties must make discovery by serving lists of documents and—

(a)

subject to sub-paragraph (c), each party must make and serve on every other party a list of documents which are or have been in his possession, custody or power relating to any matter in question between them in the action;

(b)

the court may, on application,—

(i)

order that discovery under this paragraph shall be limited to such documents or classes of documents only, or as to such only of the matters in question, as may be specified in the order, or

(ii)

if satisfied that discovery by all or any of the parties is not necessary, order that there shall be no discovery of documents by any or all of the parties; and the court shall make such an order if and so far as it is of opinion that discovery is not necessary either for disposing fairly of the action or for saving costs;

(c)

where liability is admitted or where the action arises out of a road accident, discovery shall be limited to disclosure by the plaintiff of any documents relating to special damages;

(d)

discovery under this paragraph shall not apply in civil proceedings to which the Crown is a party;

(e)

any list of documents made in compliance with this paragraph shall be filed;

(f)

the provisions of Order 14 of these rules relating to inspection of documents shall apply where discovery is made under this paragraph as it applies where discovery is made under that Order.

(8)

For the purposes of this rule—

(a)

pleadings shall be deemed to be closed 14 days after the delivery of the document specified in Order 9, rule 5 of these rules;

(b)

“a road accident” means an accident on land due to a collision or apprehended collision involving a vehicle;

(c)

“a statement of the special damages claimed” has the same meaning as inOrder 6, rule 1(7) and “documents relating to special damages” include—

(i)

documents relating to any industrial injury, industrial disablement or sickness benefit rights, and

(ii)

where the claim is made under the Fatal Accidents Act 1976^f1, documents relating to any claim for dependency on the deceased.”.