Insurers, Government and media have been quick to portray lawyers as fuelling a compensation culture.
The joint APIL (Association of Personal Injury Lawyers) and TUC (Trades Union Congress) report highlights 10 myths around compensation claims and the workplace.
Here is a snippet of the finding
Claims are escalating out of control
Claims against employers have fallen every year for the last five years. Britain has also paid out less in compensation as proportion of its GDP than any other major European country apart from Denmark.
Workers are too ready to claim compensation
The number of UK employees who become injured or ill as a result of their job is over 850,000, with over 25,000 forced to give up their job.
A further 20,000 are compensated by the government funded ‘no fault compensation scheme’ known as Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit.
According to the ABI (Association of British Insurers) 60,000 workers successfully claim compensation from their employers each year. This means that 9 out of every 10 workers injured or who become ill because of their work do not claim compensation.
Lawyers often drag cases on to keep their costs high
Solicitors are legally required to act in the best interests of their clients.
In reality employers and insurers are slow to admit liability and this has significant and detrimental effect. Early treatment and rehabilitation is key to helping claimants on the road to recovery, reduce future costs and legal costs.
Congratulations to APIL and the TUC for debunking the myth about employers liability claims and putting balance into the ‘compensation culture’ argument.
Link: Full Report
