If you’ve seen a news story about whiplash compensation claims in the newspapers or media in recent times, the chances are it was reported with a negative spin as far as the compensation claimant was concerned. Other reports suggest failings on the part of our law and Courts because they allow compensation for people who suffer these injuries.
However, the major insurance companies – the ones who have to pay out compensation to the people injured by negligence - are in on the act. They have been using all media, and more recently social media to promote the idea that compensation claims for whiplash injuries are somehow morally wrong, and campaigning for the changes to the law that would invalidate them.
There was a similar agenda over recent years in relation to workplace compensation claims and Health and Safety regulations. This was driven by the business lobby throughout the UK who said that workplace compensation claims and the Health and Safety regulations were making it difficult for businesses and costing them money. There was some kick-back against this, most notably by the Health and Safety Executive who set out to ‘bust Health and Safety myths’ on their website. Ultimately the business led campaign won out. Changes to the law, making it more difficult for people to bring workplace compensation claims through the Courts were made in October 2013.
Call me a cynic, but isn’t the real reason for pushing these agendas transparent? Is it not obvious that the real agenda is to save businesses – mainly insurance companies – money? If these organisations are able to use their influence to make it culturally unacceptable to claim compensation, then the number of claims they have to pay will fall. Likewise, if they are able to drive through legal changes to make it more difficult for people to succeed with claims, then there will generally be less claims as those seeking compensation will be discouraged and less successful claims as a result of the legal changes. In each situation who do you think are the ones to benefit? You’ve guessed it insurance companies and their boosted profits! Not that those profits are exactly in the meagre category as things stand eg. Aviva insurance, interim results announcement 7th August 2014, ‘Operating profit 4% higher at £1,052 million (HY13: £1,008 million)’; Direct Line Group – Interim Management Statement for Direct Line Group for the third quarter and first nine months of 2014, 31.10.2014 ‘On track to achieve targeted total cost base2 of approximately £1,000 million in 2014.’
As a personal injury lawyer, this is hard to take because one rarely reads positive reports of success compensation claims. Where are the stories of the thousands of cases where someone’s life is devastated, either by a careless driver or a careless employee, but they are able to recover to a level which allows them to carry on and lead a fulfilling life in spite of their injuries, thanks to the compensation they received. Such cases seem to be deliberately excluded from the media spotlight. I guess that good news simply does not sell.
The whole reason for being of our system of compensation and Health and Safety law is to protect and preserve our communities. It’s a fundamental belief of any civil society that if someone suffers harm because of another’s negligence, then they ought to be compensated to try and restore them to the position they were in before the harm occurred.
Aside from the immediate benefit to the injured person and their family, there are many other benefits to society of having a robust system of Health and Safety law that permits compensation claims where someone is negligently injured. And there’s no doubt that successful claims are the best way to effect changes in unsafe working practices or unsafe driving practices or roads.
No one makes a claim for compensation without thinking about it carefully, and no one should make a decision about making a claim without first speaking Thompsons Solicitors. It’s important to us at Thompsons Solicitors that people know claiming compensation is not something they should be ashamed or afraid of. In every claim we deal with we are helping the injured person to stand up for themselves, stand up for their community and stand up for justice. We’ll be with them every step of the way and on hand in the Scottish borders to ensure this community has access to the type of expert advice and fearless representation that is essential when taking forward a claim for injury.
As the country’s leading personal injury lawyers, with a success rate of over 90% and £1m a week in compensation, Thompsons is better placed than most to ensure your compensation claim is successful. Come in and speak with us today.
