Delay to holiday sickness small claims court plans
Plans to raise the maximum value of personal injury claims such as holiday sickness in the small claims court have been delayed for a year.
The government’s change of stance means that rules that were scheduled to come into effect in April 2019 will now be implemented in April 2020.
From then, personal injury claims worth up to £2,000 will be able to be dealt with in the small claims court. Currently, the personal injury limit in the small claims court is £1,000.
The delay is likely to affect the number of holiday sickness claims that are dealt with in the small claims court, as many are between the value of £1,000 and £2,000.
Abta said it welcomed the news that the rise in the personal injury claims limit will be carried forward “albeit with a one-year delay”.
The Travel Association said “customers who have legitimately fallen ill on holiday will have an easy to use, convenient source for redress which does not require the services of claims management companies and the firms of solicitors they partner with.”