SRA issues warning over personal injury fraud

The SRA has released a warning notice to solicitors on potential fraud in personal injury cases.

The watchdog’s notice comes after the Insurance Fraud Task Force published a report by in January which urged that more be done to ensure that solicitors were not involved in bogus insurance claims.

Areas for concern identified by the SRA include cold calling, breaching the ban on referral fees, acting without client approval or knowledge and paying damages to third parties.

Paul Philip, the SRA’s chief executive, said that the body had welcomed the Task Force’s report and its recommendations and acknowledged that more needed to be done.

“In particular, we want to remind solicitors of their responsibilities when conducting personal injury work,” said Philip.

“The consequences of failing to adhere to the Code of Conduct could be severe both for the client and to the profession.

“We will also be carrying out a comprehensive review of the personal injury market this year and that will contribute further to our understanding of this area of the market,” he added.

Further details can be found here.

Mark Dugdale