Is Britain Developing A Claims Culture?
The phrase “claims culture” has become part of our everyday vocabulary but is it a fair assessment of the state of Britain today? You cannot turn on the television or the radio without hearing or seeing an advert for a 'No Win No Fee' accident claims company. Even when walking down the street you can be approached by salespeople wanting to know if you’ve ever had a slip, trip or fall anywhere. So you wouldn’t be blamed for thinking that Britain is indeed becoming a culture of claimants.
However if you are to look at the statistics, you would see that claims for compensation have actually decreased since 2000 and that after Denmark Britain has the lowest level of claims of any developed country. It is rather that awareness of claims and the rights involved in claiming that have become heightened. And this is no bad thing. If you are unfortunate enough to become injured as the result of another person’s negligent behaviour then it is your right to claim compensation and the more information you are provided with, the more likely you are to make a successful claim.
Not all of us will be lucky enough to receive full sickness pay if our injuries stop us from going to work and this will result in financial loss. Therefore it can be crucial to make a claim. The press portrayal of claiming is often negative but there really should not be any stigma attached to making claim; it is your right. It is easy to see strangers making claims as people who are out for themselves, but if you found either yourself or a loved one in the same situation, who is to say that you wouldn’t do the same? You would want to protect yourself and the people you care about; this is simply a natural reaction.
As with any system there will be the odd few who will abuse it. This does not necessarily mean that everyone who makes a personal injury claim is out to make money on the back of a serious professional service that helps thousands of people each year. In addition, the people who provide a professional legal service are fully trained and there are checks put in place to stop people making false claims. Even in the event that a fraudster slips through the net then they will more than likely be caught and fined or sent to jail.
Today’s culture means that information is more readily available and more accessible than ever. Newspapers and magazines document accident claim stories and television and radio advertise accident claims companies as freely as if they were supermarkets. There is great competition between companies therefore advertising stunts have increased in order to gain more business. Advertising gimmicks may be seen to cheapen and trivialise the seriousness of personal injury claims.
As statistics have proven, claims in Britain are not on the increase and the majority of people are not abusing the system. Rather, they are using injury lawyers to get justice for an accident that is not their fault. Newspapers tend to focus on negative news and that is why when the odd story of a false claim surfaces it appears to outweigh the other justified cases that are not reported on.
If you have been injured you should not automatically assume that you will be able to gain compensation . But if you can prove that the accident was a result of negligent behaviour of the part of another, then you may have a case for a claim. Contact Accident Consult today for more information.
Tags: advert, claimants, money, nbsp, personal injury claim, phrase, radio, salespeople, statistics, stigma, television, walking down the street |
