Is there a ' compensation culture ' in the UK ?

[lacs54]

Re: Bailiffs demanding money from my 6 year old daughter

good idea and here we are

[wales01man]

Re: Is there a ' compenstation culture ' in the UK ?

Lets have a fair fight no abuse of others for their views

[lacs54]

Re: Is there a ' compenstation culture ' in the UK ?

Lets have a fair fight no abuse of others for their views

OK I figure it ; ] be Nice in our differings

[des8]

Re: Bailiffs demanding money from my 6 year old daughter

And on the compensation culture front, I'm more on the if you trip over a kerb that's your own damn fault,

But what if the kerb is incorrectly laid, or at an odd angle, and if those responsible for the kerb are aware of the danger it poses, and it was a father distracted by his children who didn't spot the danger, tripped and broke his ankle and then had to have it fused and so lost his job?
And potholes in the road..... is it up to the cyclist to avoid them? Ask any biker what they think about potholes (especially when they are invisible due to being filled with rainwater)
Trip over your own shoe laces and it's your own fault
Trip over a pavement or kerb and it MAY be that someone else has contributed to the accident, and may be at least partially responsible & therefore partially liable to pay damages.

If people faced their responsibilities perhaps there would be fewer claims

[lacs54]

Re: Bailiffs demanding money from my 6 year old daughter

[QUOTE=des8;462732]

And on the compensation culture front, I'm more on the if you trip over a kerb that's your own damn fault,

Trip over your own shoe laces and it's your own fault Trip over a pavement or kerb and it MAY be that someone else has contributed to the accident, and may be at least partially responsible & therefore partially liable to pay damages.
If people faced their responsibilities perhaps there would be fewer claims

Agreed
lets take this instance of tripping say ... therefore means that those responsible for using our community charges
actually pay for repairs in areas they Know, have had accidents rather than just let more happen before someone has the fury to sue,
To me such Reactive behaviour of ignoring issues the public user faces - sets up a cycle of Distrust and litigation at the drop of a hat without the aggrieved thinking it through or communication pre action ..... so you get this remark thrown out ''My Uncle sued ''them'' and won a bundle - You should do the same'. and peeps invariably do just that. This clogs systems wastes time money resources. Whereas Consumer Knowledge of their rights and Communication pathways with a LAs good client handling practise in serving and sorting out issues in an orderly manner would be better ... Ah yes yes I am a Utopian at heart ;] Oh I can dream on cant I

[wales01man]

Re: Is there a ' compenstation culture ' in the UK ?

LACS we get so many threads where disagreements end In abusive remarks to others hope this stays friendly

[lacs54]

Re: Is there a ' compenstation culture ' in the UK ?

Cant say Ive noticed really but then Im a relative Newbie but if it does get silly then a quick tap on the 'contact mods' should be able to sort it ;] ;]

[Johnboy007]

Re: Bailiffs demanding money from my 6 year old daughter

How else are victims to be compensated for their injury. Their only means of redress is to pay compensation. Anyone else got an idea of how to compensate victims that doesn't cost money please let us know

Shoot the perpetrators..........

[righty]

Re: Bailiffs demanding money from my 6 year old daughter

Shoot the perpetrators..........

Agreed but I'm more about helping their victims

[Wombats]

Re: Bailiffs demanding money from my 6 year old daughter

I get a bit frustrated that it is no longer possible for simple 'accidents' to happen. Rather than compensation culturew we should say blame culture.

Why can someone not have an accident without there being a witch-hunt for someone to blame (and possibly claim from)? I often have accidents as I'm clumsy as hell, got about five left feet and am generally totally unaware of many things around me. I would never dream of claiming for falling over a slightly raised kerbstone. If I broke my ankle so be it.

I gave up motorbiking as a pothole threw me across the road into the path (and then under) an oncoming transit van. By the next day when friends went up to photograph the scene, the pothole had already been filled in. The statement of the van driver said I was doing about 70-80mph - the bike was restricted to 50, it was a country road and I didn't have a death wish.

On that occasion I would have claimed as I lost my job in the cheese factory, I broke both legs, nearly all bones in my right foot and one arm. We laugh as I phoned my wife from the back of the ambulance and said, "I've had a bit of an accident, but I'm OK; they're taking me to the hospital to be checked out."

I arrived home later in a wheel chair, two legs, one foot and my arm in plaster.

As the council covered up the evidence so quickly no claim could be made. Heck, at the end of the day it was an accident - yes, a nasty one, but I was lucky to be alive, and they cannot check every road all the time with limited resources to fill in potholes.

Put yourself in the council's shoes now. You've £x.xx in the kitty till March 31st. You can fill in a few potholes in case someone comes off a bike or you can buy more salt as they're forecasting a bad winter. What do you do? Fill in the potholes - people complain they should have bought more salt. Buy salt, they say the potholes should be filled in.

The compensation culture / blame culture (if it exists) is not straightforward. :beagle:

[righty]

Re: Is there a ' compenstation culture ' in the UK ?

There is no such thing as an 'accident' They don't 'just' happen and they are all now 'incidents' and the police now have 'crash' investigators, not 'accident' investigators. Reason an accident is seen as inevitable, for which no one can be held responsible as it wasn't foreseeable. An incident may be different in that someone was negligent thereby cause the victim loss or injury

[righty]

Re: Bailiffs demanding money from my 6 year old daughter

I get a bit frustrated that it is no longer possible for simple 'accidents' to happen. Rather than compensation culturew we should say blame culture.

Why can someone not have an accident without there being a witch-hunt for someone to blame (and possibly claim from)? I often have accidents as I'm clumsy as hell, got about five left feet and am generally totally unaware of many things around me. I would never dream of claiming for falling over a slightly raised kerbstone. If I broke my ankle so be it.

I gave up motorbiking as a pothole threw me across the road into the path (and then under) an oncoming transit van. By the next day when friends went up to photograph the scene, the pothole had already been filled in. The statement of the van driver said I was doing about 70-80mph - the bike was restricted to 50, it was a country road and I didn't have a death wish.

On that occasion I would have claimed as I lost my job in the cheese factory, I broke both legs, nearly all bones in my right foot and one arm. We laugh as I phoned my wife from the back of the ambulance and said, "I've had a bit of an accident, but I'm OK; they're taking me to the hospital to be checked out."

I arrived home later in a wheel chair, two legs, one foot and my arm in plaster.

As the council covered up the evidence so quickly no claim could be made. Heck, at the end of the day it was an accident - yes, a nasty one, but I was lucky to be alive, and they cannot check every road all the time with limited resources to fill in potholes.

Put yourself in the council's shoes now. You've £x.xx in the kitty till March 31st. You can fill in a few potholes in case someone comes off a bike or you can buy more salt as they're forecasting a bad winter. What do you do? Fill in the potholes - people complain they should have bought more salt. Buy salt, they say the potholes should be filled in.

The compensation culture / blame culture (if it exists) is not straightforward. :beagle:

SO you would have become a member of the compensation culture, but for the council hiding the evidence. Problem is if they knew of your accident, then they WOULD have been negligent if they didn't take immediate steps to rectify the problem, hence the quick repair AND did you bother to ask them if there had been a pothole there AND did you ask to see their walking check list AND when the road was last inspected etc etc

[Wombats]

Re: Bailiffs demanding money from my 6 year old daughter

SO you would have become a member of the compensation culture, but for the council hiding the evidence. Problem is if they knew of your accident, then they WOULD have been negligent if they didn't take immediate steps to rectify the problem, hence the quick repair AND did you bother to ask them if there had been a pothole there AND did you ask to see their walking check list AND when the road was last inspected etc etc

I couldn't become a member of something which doesn't exist, so no. :tinysmile_twink_t2: We know what happened. The council heard about the accident, and I believe it was an accident, and repaired it asap to prevent a claim. Had the van driver not made a crazy statement - quite possibly fearing I would blame him, I suspect there would have been an element of compensation.

What I found very illuminating was the number of companies who heard about it and phoned me up asking if I had legal representation already. I was insured via the RAC at the time, I think, and everything was pursued through them. The fact a 50mph restricted motorbike was travelling at 70-80mph was the stumbling block.

It happened on the road alongside Bristol Airport - maybe I got in the slipstream of a 747 taking off! They didn't seem to fight hard, and TBH I wasn't bothered because I do believe accidents happen, whatever anyone else believes. I really do not like witch-hunts over pretty insignificant things. Health and Safety has gone mad! Everyone has to be wrapped in cosy, fluffy cotton wool, but I'd rather not be. Quite a significant part of learning to be safe as an adult was learning by my mistakes / accidents as a child. I guess having hobbies which included parachuting, rock climbing, snow and ice climbing and surf kayaking helped raise my awareness a little bit.

[des8]

Re: Is there a ' compenstation culture ' in the UK ?

Where there is responsibility, there is liability.
Liabilities can be insured, and the sensible do so.
If there is an incident for which liability attaches to a person or organisation, it is only right and proper that person or organisation indemnify the loser.
The indemnity is set by the courts or by agreement between the parties.

It is up to injured parties to avail themselves of the redress the law provides. If they decide not to, for whatever reason, that's fine; but it does not give them the authority to speak pejoratively of those who do.
And why shouldn't private companies look for business by alerting those who might need their assistance? Who is it who would allow the injured to remain in ignorance of their rights?
On this site we are in favour of advising people of their rights in all sorts of scenarios, but when it comes to liabilities some shout "compensation culture" when it is a right for the injured to receive redress.
And no, I do not approve of insurers or others selling claim details to other companies. There are other ways of making referrals.

I dislike intensely the use of words like "compensation" & "blame" being associated with "culture"(the arts,customs & ideas etc of a particular people).

And for the record I do not approve of fraudulent claims, either ab initio or inflated.

[Guest]

Re: Is there a ' compenstation culture ' in the UK ?

I remember hearing a story(it may be apocryphal) some years ago, when microwaves were first being introduced in America. The story goes that a member of the social elite sued the manufacturer of her new device, she was in the habit of securing her pet poodles curls, prior to showing with a brief spell in the oven , of course when she tried it in the microwave there were disastrous results. She sued successfully stating that there should have been a warning notice on the MW about not inserting live animals, although then decision was overturned on appeal.

I think there are occasions where people should be held accountable for causing harm, but there also such things as accidents where nobody is to blame i also think that sometimes it is just your own stoopid fault.