PERSONAL injury lawyers in the region are warning that plans to send higher value compensation cases to small claims courts could discourage people from seeking justice.

At present, small claims courts deal with personal injury claims if the compensation for the injury is expected to be £1,000 or less.

Claimants have to either represent themselves or pay for legal advice.

With more serious injuries, claimants usually have a professional legal representative to present their case and advise them on the amount of compensation they can expect.

The lawyer's costs are usually met by the defendant when the claimant wins, or by an insurer if the claimant loses.

The Government is considering raising the small claims court threshold to £2,500.

Personal injury lawyers say this means claimants will be forced to represent themselves in cases that are potentially complex and where more compensation is at stake, or use their own money to pay for an independent solicitor.

Paul Saxon, a partner at Blackett Hart and Pratt's Newcastle office, predicted such a move could lead to people deciding not to seek justice.

He said: "Personal injury claims can involve complex evidence upon which people really should seek professional advice.

"However, if the case has to be brought in the small claims court, the cost of obtaining that advice cannot be recovered.

"This means that if people want to bring such a claim, when they have suffered an injury as a result of someone else's negligence, they will either have to use some of their compensation to pay for legal fees, or have no legal representation or advice.

"That is likely to result in legitimate claims failing or people being under-compensated."

Mori research commissioned by the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers recently found that 64 per cent of people would be unlikely to go to court without a solicitor, and nearly three-quarters of people said they would be unable to work out how much compensation they were entitled to.