Compensation culture
Monday, 31st January 2011
There has been a growing trend in recent years, especially within certain areas of the media, to highlight the concept of a ‘Compensation Culture’. This is usually done with examples involving alleged deadly conker fights in school yards and ice on pavements.
In actual fact, according to the Compensation Recovery Unit statistics in almost all types of claims, save for motor claims, there has been a decrease over the years 2000-2010. This demonstrates that much of today’s culture about more and more people claiming is by and large a myth.
Health and Safety laws have not over the last few years suddenly become more draconian and the system is largely there to protect innocent people from unnecessary accidents and provide a fair amount of compensation when an accident does occur. Compensation is not an automatic right and a claimant still has to prove that the other person or organisation is at fault and has committed a negligent act.
Furthermore the compensation awarded often largely comprises the injured person’s expenses, such as medical charges and care costs incurred in the person receiving help and assistance. Additionally, if a person is off work as a result of their accident they may also have lost wages. Therefore, the claim for compensation will often include a reimbursement of these losses. Effectively, income the Claimant would normally have been entitled to in any event.
Putting matters in to perspective the majority of claimants are simply looking to recover the costs and losses they have incurred as a result of the accident and, unlike the US, there are no large payouts for minor or apparent trivial injuries.
A final thought is to consider one of the legal principles that governs personal injury claims which is that ‘A person should be put in the position they would have been in, but for the accident’. A sentiment that surely most people would share.
If you would like to discuss a personal injury claim, click here to contact one of our legal advisors.
We are here to help
Call 0800 027 5999 or ask a quick question here:
