Have economic changes affected the claims market?
At a financially problematic time, when spending cuts are seen across the board, millions of pounds of council budgets are going towards Britain’s bizarre compensation culture every year. In all services, risk-aversion has become the only way to mitigate legal fees spent on appeasing pay-out hunters.
Money and time that could be spent more usefully in the health and education sectors is going into the pockets of claimants. Schools are afraid of taking their pupils out on ever-important school trips due to the steep risks involved in leaving the classroom. Ten children a week are receiving compensation that can amount to thousands of pounds after parents are suing for injuries sustained at school.
Some of the claims are just strange: £3,000 for rose bush cuts? £2,500 for injury while cutting up fruit? Dear me…
The Health Sector
Compensation pay-outs have trebled in the last ten years and potential liabilities reach highs of £16.8 billion. NHS staff have been stretched very thinly, thanks to recession cuts, and so medical negligence seems almost unavoidable with the patient/employee ratio. However, it doesn’t seem to be coincidental that compensation claims have risen regardless.
Automobile Personal Injuries
Whiplash claims have increased, even for the smallest of knocks behind the wheel. Almost impossible to disprove, this claim could increase compensation by approximately £90. 1,500 whiplash claims are submitted every day. These claims are bumping up already extortionate insurance prices, by as much as £40 a year. Personal injury claims keep increasing, even though the number of collisions has fallen in the UK.
Smartboxes for young drivers are being heavily encouraged as a means of monitoring their driving. Insurance companies can then offer better rates to responsible drivers on the road, rather than penalising them with extortionate premiums.
Broader Concerns
The concerns have not just been solely seen at a claimant level, but for those solicitors and legal firms who help represent the claimants; their challenges have been equally difficult. A law firm who focusses on personal injury matters within their Preston branch, Vincents Solicitors, commented on the matter by stating, ‘widespread changes to the personal injury sector have led to many predictions forecasting up to as many as 20% of law firms in the North-West of England to close as a direct result of this; especially those weaker firms.’
Why?
Pinched finances are a great incentive to claim; if people can make fast cash, they will when they’re struggling to pay the bills. However, it’s not all about money-grabbing individuals. Forced to hire cheaper services, accidents can happen and poor building work, for example, can potentially be lethal.
Employees who’re forced to work longer hours, just to make ends meet, are plagued by stress-related health problems. Training has been reduced and poorer quality equipment has been purchased, in a bid to curb overhead costs.
Breaches in health and safety can result in employees having a claim but not executing it because they fear they’ll lose their job. With all the redundancies that the recession brought-on, people are free to sue the company as much as they like, as long as it’s less than three years after the incident. Job cuts will always result in a compensation claim increase. Especially if the remaining employees are left to pick up the slack.
