Sue everybody. Before they sue you!

Resident said:
I have no issue with people suing for what's rightfully theirs however I do have a problem with 'ambulance chasers', the no-win-no-fee scum etc. It can't be a coincidence that the rise in fraudulant injury claims (notably in motor insurance) began not long after these came into being.

IMO No-win-no-fee lawyers should be BANNED. You want to sue someone then you pay for a lawyer and hope the court awards you your fees on top of the compo.

If you don't win, you pay your lawyer yourself. That risk alone should dampen down the fraud.
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All that will do is prevent people that can't afford a lawyer from getting the compensation they are entitled to.
The problem isn't no-win-no-fee, its the payouts on frivolous or down and out fraudulent claims. If this was cracked down on, the no-win-no-fee companies would be far more selective, since if they don't win they don't get paid.

Greebo said:
I do agree thought that we are going the american way. A council worker in my area won a fortune after he fell off his ladder and hurt himself.

The reason he won is that the council had never trained him how to use a ladder. The fact that he had used a ladder daily for 40 years was irrelevant. He had never been offically trained so it was the employers fault.

I hate the fact we have to have "caution hot water" over the hot taps at work just to stop anybody suing us.
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We have those signs too!

Also, we have to be signed off on any job we are trained to do every 12 months. This can take up to 2 days training, per person, per year, on jobs we have done for years. I have seen a guy taken off loading his trailer after over 20 years of doing that very job with no incidents because his review was up and the staff trainer wasn't in. It is madness but you can't blame a company doing it because of all the stupid claims being thrown around.

During all that snow we had 2 years back, our place gritted the car parks, and all the footpaths. One guy went off the path, slipped and put a claim in. I don't know if he won his claim but what he should have got was fired, for leaving the path on a busy truck yard!
 
Nitefly said:
People think that it's small businesses and companies that bear the brunt of this culture, but it's not at all. The cost is entirely consumed by the insurance industry and there is huge pressure on the government from the major insurance groups. Reviews are constantly ongoing to eradicate this as much as possible.
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More claims, higher insurance premiums. Simples.
 
FoxEye said:
Don't we have state appointed lawyers for people who can't afford a private one? Or did I imagine that?
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Not for everything

Problems you can’t get legal aid for, as per direct.gov
  • personal injury
  • legal representation at an Employment Tribunal
  • irresponsible damage to property
  • conveyancing (the legal transfer of property when you buy or sell a house or flat)
  • boundary disputes
  • defamation (libel and slander) or malicious falsehood (knowingly spreading lies about people)
  • making a will
 
Woden said:
More claims, higher insurance premiums. Simples.
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What do you mean by that? Premiums go up as a result of inflation and soaring overheads. Obviously an amount is set aside and budgeted for fraud, but this is growing in a way that can't be offset competitively by endlessly increasing premiums.
 
Woden said:
Not for everything

Problems you can’t get legal aid for, as per direct.gov
  • personal injury
  • legal representation at an Employment Tribunal
  • irresponsible damage to property
  • conveyancing (the legal transfer of property when you buy or sell a house or flat)
  • boundary disputes
  • defamation (libel and slander) or malicious falsehood (knowingly spreading lies about people)
  • making a will
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I guess that makes sense. I imagine there would be a lot of people trying their luck with little chance of success, at the expense of the state, if the above qualified for public aid.

As opposed to people trying their luck at the expense of people who pay for insurance. Which is still us, isn't it :p

Seems like win/win for the lawyers tho!
 
Nitefly said:
What do you mean by that? Premiums go up as a result of inflation and soaring overheads. Obviously an amount is set aside and budgeted for fraud, but this is growing in a way that can't be offset competitively by endlessly increasing premiums.
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You said its not the small businesses and companies that are paying for this. But insurance firms are not charities, they are increasing everyone's premiums to make up for the extra payouts.

Just look at the last few years of car insurance. Some people that have never made a claim, not changed their car are seeing 25% hikes.
 
Resident said:
Why would it? If they have a genuine claim that they'd win in court then they'd be awarded fees additional to the compo in my scenario.
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Because they don't have the money to hire the lawyer in the first place. Even if they are awarded £25 trillion, and the lawyer only wants £2.85 up front, if they don't have that £2.85, they can't hire the lawyer.
 
Greebo said:
I do agree thought that we are going the american way. A council worker in my area won a fortune after he fell off his ladder and hurt himself.

The reason he won is that the council had never trained him how to use a ladder. The fact that he had used a ladder daily for 40 years was irrelevant. He had never been offically trained so it was the employers fault.

I hate the fact we have to have "caution hot water" over the hot taps at work just to stop anybody suing us.
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We have a hot water sign on the coffee machine and one for the shower in the office toilets. Some stupid cow at work tried to sue them as she fell down the stairs and broke her ankle.

Daft bint was carrying a laptop under 1 arm and a hot drink in the other whilst wearing 6inch+ heels. They told her to go swivel her claim failed, but she then tried to play the doctors note game on full pay so they got a company approved doctor to assess her. She was fine, but refused to return to work citing bull**** problems so they sacked her for not turning up to work.

She got everything that was coming to her
 
Greebo said:
The reason he won is that the council had never trained him how to use a ladder. The fact that he had used a ladder daily for 40 years was irrelevant. He had never been offically trained so it was the employers fault.

I hate the fact we have to have "caution hot water" over the hot taps at work just to stop anybody suing us.
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First, just because someone has been doing something for forty years doesn't mean that they are doing it right - the fact that he fell proves that. Second, the taps only need warning labels if the water is hot enough to scald.
 
Eeeeeethan said:
If someone is at fault, why not?

My dad got injured at work due to faulty machinery and he had to have a major operation on his hand which had pins in and metal splint for 6 months.

How do you go from earning £1400 a month to £350~ with SSP........ his work knew this and told him to put in a claim for lost earnings and future lost earnings as he lost 60% mobility in one hand.

These places have insurance for a reason, so get off your high horse and hope you never have to use one of these services.
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Ouch! £1400 a month?
 
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