APIL Vice-president speaks up for claimants at Westminster forum
Insurers are not launching an 'all-out-attack' on claimants, Nick Starling of the ABI insisted at a Westminster event on Tuesday.
He said there was 'an absolute commitment to paying redress to people who are injured when it is not their fault'.
His claim to the audience, which mainly comprised employers, that claimants can obtain redress direct from an insurer was challenged robustly by the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) vice-president Karl Tonks, who pointed out that an injured person only has one chance to claim compensation. Karl said people have no way of knowing what a claim is worth and that they deserved more than just 'partial justice'.
The event, chaired by Professor Ragnar Lofstedt, was attended by representatives from the Ministry of Justice, the Health and Safety Executive, and from safety institutions, unions, and employers. They gathered to discuss the future of health and safety law.
In his address, Karl reiterated the views of Lord Young that the compensation culture is 'perception rather than reality', and he spelled out the implications of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders (LASPO) Bill.
"The catastrophically injured claimant may not be able to afford the care that they need," he said. "The seriously injured claimant may not be able to pay off their debts, run up whilst off work without sick pay. Many claimants, particularly in the current economic climate, are on low wages with poor sick pay provision. For them to recover only part of their damages in itself reduces access to justice. If I stole your wallet, would you be happy if I offered to give it you back - only with 25 per cent of its contents removed?"
Speaking for the Government, Ministry of Justice official Robert Wright left the audience in no doubt about the Government's intentions. "Solicitors have told us that claimants will have to think very hard before bringing claims," he said. "That's a change the Government wants to see".
Article by the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) http://www.apil.org.uk/
