Industry news roundup: week ended 15 May 2013:
The whole row over the so-called ‘compensation culture’ is hotting up once again, and this time the injured are facing off against fraudsters in a major way.
The National Accident Helpline has gone to bat for those suffering from accidents and needing to make personal injury claims, announcing in a new research report that the impact of injuries on the working population of the UK includes nearly 60 per cent of injured suffering at least some loss of earnings. 17 per cent of those injured have been hit particularly hard according to the study, as they have lost out on more than £1,000 as they recovered from their injuries.
Personal injury compensation has proven to be incredibly important for injured Brits, says the National Accident Helpline, with more than 4 out of every 5 having to turn to seeking damages to offset costs or in order to recover lost earnings. This is hardly the mark of a populace caught up with making spurious claims in order to rake in some extra cash if you ask me, and I for one would like those who have suffered legitimate injuries treated with a bit more respect instead of being vilified by insurance companies that are reticent to pay out on work accident claims.
Meanwhile for every report that showcases how badly compensation is needed by the legitimately injured, there seems to be another high-profile news story that draws attention to the greed of fraudsters and that gives more fuel to the fire when it comes to those arguing that there actually is a rampant compensation culture in the UK. The newest bone of contention is the £54,000 personal injury claim that was just thrown out thanks to new technological breakthroughs designed to prevent fraud.
Luckily, one of the vehicles involved in the accident was fitted with a telematics device that recorded the speed at which the accident occurred, allowing investigators to determine that there was no actual way for such severe injuries to have happened. I’m dead chuffed to hear that these fraudsters got caught red-handed trying to trump up charges that they were so terribly injured in the accident, but this doesn’t help the case of providing better access to justice for those injured legitimately. Insurers are more than happy to throw the baby out with the bathwater if it means saving a few quid, the bastards!