Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Key definition

Pre-action definition

What does Pre-action mean? Pre-action describes the stage before court proceedings are issued, when parties investigate the dispute, exchange information and attempt resolution. It is a descriptive expression rather than a statutory term, but in England and Wales it is structured by the Civil Procedure Rules via the Practice Direction – Pre-Action Conduct and Protocols and specific Pre-Action Protocols (for example, debt, clinical negligence, construction, professional negligence and media claims). Typical steps include a letter before claim/letter before action, an informed response, proportionate disclosure of key documents, obtaining early expert input where needed, considering ADR/mediation, and addressing limitation (often with a standstill agreement). The...

EL/PL low-value personal injury portal: Stage 2 settlement packs, interim payments, negotiations, exits and Stage 3 PD 49F procedure, child claims and limitation (England and Wales)

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Practice notes

This Practice Note summarises the Pre-action Protocol for Low Value Personal injury (Employers’ Liability and Public Liability) Claims (the EL/PL protocol) from Stage 2 of the process onwards. For guidance on Stage 1, see Practice Note: EL/PL claims in the portal—a practical guide (Stage 1).

The Portal

The Portal, initially launched for road traffic accident (RTA) claims on 30 April 2010, was extended on 31 July 2013 to include Employers’ Liability (EL) and Public Liability (PL) claims. For direction on when the EL/PL protocol applies, see Practice Note: The Pre-Action Protocol for Low Value Personal Injury (Employers' Liability and Public Liability) Claims.

Stage 2 Medical reports

In order to commence Stage 2, the claimant (C) requires a medical report to proceed. The EL/PL protocol provides that ‘it is expected that most claimants will obtain a medical report from one expert but additional reports may be obtained from other experts where the injuries require reports from more than one medical discipline’ (para 7.2). The medical expert should also specify the medical records considered relevant to the claim, and the ‘Claimant Representative’ (CR) should then disclose those relevant records to the ‘Compensator’ (Comp) with the medical report (para 7.4). Any relevant photographs...

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Sue Brown

Susan Brown qualified as a solicitor in 1996, and was a partner and Head of Personal Injury at niche West End litigation firm Reid Minty until 2003, when she moved to the in-house legal team for Royal&SunAlliance. She was with Prolegal from 2007 to June 2016 as Head of Personal Injury and Professional Negligence. She is now a mediator and a director of Claims Portal and Medco.Sue has specialised in personal injury, clinical negligence and professional negligence claims for over 20 years and has a particular interest in asbestos disease claims and in complex psychiatric injury claims. She has handled a wide range of professional negligence claims including against solicitors, surveyors, architects and accountants.Sue talks and makes regular published contributions in the legal and national press on issues of personal injury, professional negligence, costs and funding.Sue was Chair of the Motor...

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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