Industry news roundup: week ended 6 Oct 2014:
When it comes to claiming personal injury compensation, it seems like all too many Brits are being denied access to justice – and that’s a serious problem.
It’s not just me who thinks there’s an issue, either – major organisations have had it with hearing reports about how people in dire need of compensation are being denied on accident claims. One such group, Motorcycle Law Scotland, recently spoke out on the issue, with founder Brenda Mitchell saying that insurers need to stop trying to sweep legitimately injured people under the rug because they don’t want to pay out on claims.
These insurance companies are treating injured individuals in an inhumane manner, Ms Mitchell claims, especially when it comes to whiplash claims. While it’s true that claims fraud can be a problem – and that whiplash is a favourite of fraudsters due to the difficulties associated with disproving whiplash – there’s simply too many people with real claims being left out in the dark, the group’s founder added.
For what it’s worth this is a definite problem facing the personal injury claims industry at the moment, but I’m unsure what types of steps can be taken to rectify it short of forcing insurers to take these sorts of claims more seriously. Still, it could be worse for many claimants, much as it has become for one Army veteran: his story will most likely get you hopping mad.
Former corporal Jason Wilkes, who was caught in a suicide bombing whilst serving in Iraq, has become so disillusioned with the way his own government has been mistreating him. The Army has left him out to dry despite the injuries he received in the attack, which include not just burns and shrapnel wounds but also a Post Traumatic Stress Disorder diagnosis as well.
Wilkes has been desperate to get treatment and compensation, especially for his PTSD in the wake of his injuries. Still, Army medical evaluations have been reluctant to help him; it took until 2012 before his PTSD diagnosis was confirmed, despite the fact that the incident that led to him developing it was in 2006. The poor man has been so incensed by his treatment that he’s handed his Armed Forces Veterans Badge in to Easington MP Graham Morris, telling him to pass it along to Defence Minister Anna Soubry.