These reactions would
be perfectly understandable if the stories which prompt them were true or typical. The problem is they’re usually little more than urban legends with the truth being exaggerated and embellished beyond all
recognition. The everyday reality is very different. Most personal injury cases are settled for under £5,000.
They’re usually David and Goliath battles with someone who’s never taken legal action in his life pitched against some
multi-national insurance company or public body with teams of lawyers at their disposal. Those big companies don’t
just have lawyers. They also have public relations officers to keep the anti-compensation stories coming. Let’s
introduce a few facts into this world of propaganda, innuendo and half-truth. People don’t get compensation just because
something bad happens to them. They have to prove to a court that it happened because someone else was negligent. The courts are no soft touch and providing that proof isn’t easy. Very few victims can afford legal costs so most compensation claims are on a no win, no fee basis. Consequently, no solicitor is going to take on
an unjustifiable case with little chance of success. It’s is hard enough to pursue genuine claims let alone an
obviously spurious one. Despite these facts, big business and insurance companies are winning the propaganda war. So
much so that many lawyers now report that some victims with valid cases are deciding not to take action because of the stigma attached to seeking compensation.
The number of claims is actually falling. So much for the notion that we are spiralling out of control and becoming just like America. Nevertheless, the campaign to drive down compensation awards rages on. The Association of British Insurers wants to stop injury victims having
their own solicitor in claims of under £25,000. They say this will speed up procedures, but cynics might say the real reason is the fact that claimants who are legally represented usually get twice as much
compensation as the figure first offered by the insurers. One major insurance company even went so far as to say that
there should be no compensation for claims of less than one thousand pounds. An apology and a bunch of flowers should be enough. Would they say that to someone whose car had sustained £999 damage in an accident?
There would be public outrage if they did, but so successful have the insurers been in their propaganda battle that
there is no outrage at the thought of offering flowers to injury victims. But surely it would be a mad world where flowers are not adequate compensation for a broken car bumper but are considered good enough for a
broken leg? No lawyer would argue that all claimants are genuine; there are people who will try to abuse any system.
Most of them are weeded out long before they get to court but, unfortunately not before they’ve made some nonsensical claim giving insurers yet more propaganda material.
The fact is that the vast majority of cases that do go the distance are genuine and do no more than provide adequate compensation for the injuries and trauma
victims have suffered as a result of someone else’s carelessness. Even then, I’ve never come across a victim who
thought the compensation was worth the pain and inconvenience of the injury. They would all have preferred not to have been injured in the first place.
Critics of our so called compensation culture might find themselves feeling the same way if they were paralysed in a crash caused by a drunk or reckless driver. Or
perhaps badly injured at work because they’re employers weren’t following the right safety procedures. At such a point
they may not be so quick to say, ‘hey, bad things happen. Get over it.’ They’re more likely to want to seek justice and
adequate compensation for their injuries and loss of earnings. I think most people would agree that they would be right
to do so, and they shouldn’t be put off by thinking they’re doing something wrong or unworthy just because of the propaganda put out by insurance companies and big business.
Andrew Scott is a Partner
specialising in Personal Injury cases at Andersons Solicitors in
Nottingham and a member of the Law Society Personal Injury Panel For further
information contact Andrew Scott, tel 0115 947 0641, e-mail
Andrew Scott. Whilst most legal Expenses Insurers have their own Panel Solicitors, by Law you
are free to instruct a Solicitor of your choice. Most insurers recognise this and will indemnify your chosen Solicitor to act on your behalf. We will apply to them on your
behalf. If they refuse to indemnify us at the outset, they are legally obliged to do so when proceedings are issued.
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Carly Williams. | 
