No win no fee lawyers have paved the way for criminals to make personal injury claims for injuries sustained while committing crimes, with one MP stating that this practice must be stopped.
Due to ‘no win no fee’ conditional fee arrangements, criminals have made claims against the Government, resulting in a collective £5 million being claimed from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority for injuries suffered in prison or while committing offences. In the wake of this new information, Ken Clarke, Justice Secretary, has said that offenders will no longer be privy to this money, as he will work to have it re-directed to those victimised by these criminals instead.
Criminals often claim legal aid money in order to fund any court actions brought against prison authorities, with the current system awarding compensation to burglars who suffered an injury whilst fleeing the scene of a break-in. The system needs to be re-balanced with more weight on the side of the victim instead of the side of the criminal, said Tory backbencher Andrew Griffiths, who added that while legitimate claims for compensation should not be prevented, the system needs to be changed.
Mr Griffiths was also appalled to see criminals making claims under the Human Rights Act. Hardened criminals claiming their human rights were infringed by the Government were ‘ridiculous,’ Mr Griffiths also said, especially since many of these cases involve seeking damages for such things as prisoners being denied access to pornographic literature.
The MP also said that he was gladdened to see the Government is working to institute common sense back into the legal system with the Legal Aid bill currently working its way through Parliament.