Current Affairs

There is an ongoing debate about whether we live in a 'compensation culture'. The multitude of adverts on TV and radio reminding people they might be able to make a claim, along with the unsolicited phone calls and text messages many people receive, would suggest that there is some truth to the notion that the legal profession is being taken over by so-called 'ambulance chasers'. But, as anyone who has been seriously hurt in an accident that wasn't their fault will tell you, compensation can make a real difference, and it also provides an important means of holding those at fault to account.

Financial damages can be claimed in the event of an individual sustaining physical or psychological injury due to the negligence of another person. By enlisting the help of a lawyer, solicitor or claims assessor to determine who is responsible for their injury, the victim can claim either 'general damages' which will cover a loss of earnings and any suffering caused as a consequence, or 'special damages' which covers any financial losses incurred as a result of the injury itself (for instance, a new car after a road traffic accident).

Last year, the NHS Litigation Authority estimates it paid out 1.325 billion in compensation to victims of negligence, many of whom pursued their claims on a no win, no fee basis. As a result, lawyers raked in over 230 million in fees.

Against this background, the government has declared something of a war on the personal injury claims industry, epitomised by its promise to get rid of the no win, no fee (or conditional fee agreement) system next year. The objective, we are told, is to stop people making claims unnecessarily, and reduce the cost to the taxpayer by reducing the bill for public sector organisations like the NHS.

Unfortunately, however, the byproduct of this will be that people who don't have the financial means to fund a claim (that they have no guarantee will succeed) will not be able to go to court at all. That means that the most vulnerable members of society won't have the same access to justice in personal injury cases as those with a higher income, undermining the democratic principles on which our judicial system is supposed to be founded. It remains to be seen exactly how this change to the law will play out, but anyone interested in standing up for their rights would be well-advised to keep following this story.