On the compensation culture

There are many many news stories about the reality or myth of a compensation culture. As you can see from the selection of news reports below the debate as to the type and extent of compensation claims has been going on for years. Here are just a few examples:

Attitudes to claiming: the 'compensation culture', Daily Mirror, 10 February 2015
http://www.mirror.co.uk/features/attitudes-claiming-compensation-culture-5136576

Mark Wilson, 'We need to put the brakes on compensation culture' The Telegraph, 27 Sept 2014
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/insurance/11125753/We-need-to-put-the-brakes-on-compensation-culture.html

Claire Carter, ‘Judge refuses whiplash damages as he criticises Britain's 'compensation culture'’ The Telegraph, 26 March 2014
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/insurance/motorinsurance/10724490/Judge-refuses-whiplash-damages-as-he-criticises-Britains-compensation-culture.html

Memphis Barker, ‘From the military to the NHS - maybe a compensation culture is just what we need’ The Independent, 24 June 2013
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/from-the-military-to-the-nhs--maybe-a-compensation-culture-is-just-what-we-need-8671700.html

‘Compensation culture is damaging our children’ – ITV News & Daybreak, 10 June 2013
http://www.itv.com/news/2013-06-10/compensation-culture-in-schools-ruining-education/

Ministry of Justice press release, ‘Turning the tide on the compensation culture’, 1 May 2013
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/turning-the-tide-on-compensation-culture

BBC News, ‘Injury claim referral fees to be banned’ 9 September 2011
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-14846666

BBC News, ‘£570k compensation paid out to NI schoolchildren’ 24 August 2011
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-14649083

‘Compensation culture: a history of bizarre personal injury claims in Britain’ The Guardian, 14 July 2011
http://www.theguardian.com/money/blog/2011/jul/14/compensation-culture-personal-insurance-claims  

BBC News, ‘Royal wedding: Cameron urges street party celebrations’ 11 April 2011
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-13032370

Jaya Narain, ‘Ridiculous compensation culture claims and pay-outs burden on tourist attractions’ Daily Mail, 26 April 2010
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1268723/Ridiculous-compensation-culture-claims-pay-outs-burden-tourist-attractions.html

BBC News, 'Schools' £600k compensation bill', 3 December 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7761244.stm

BBC News, 'Caretaker wins paving slab pay-out', 5 December 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/dorset/7768038.stm

BBC News, 'How did no-win no-fee change things?', 7 May 2008
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7387796.stm

BBC News, 'Tory bid to boost adventure trips', 1 October 2007,
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7023013.stm

BBC News, ‘Olympic training lift for bin men’, 20 January, 2005
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_east/4192083.stm

BBC News, 'Schools 'shying away from trips', 28 September, 2004
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/3694556.stm

Watch this video link to discussion of compensation culture – which discusses proposals which eventually became the Compensation Act 2006 (discussed in chapter 8)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/player/nol/newsid_4400000/newsid_4403600/4403662.stm?bw=bb&mp=wm&news=1&bbcws=1

If you’re going to be looking at the compensation culture – here’s the injury lawyers 4U ad campaign featuring Billy Murray: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2jNLwg_C4Y or – for a bit of ‘comedy’ – here’s the one where the woman lawyer falls over: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHbNunk0xVY

If you’re wanting a bit of balance to the vast array of newspaper reports suggesting the NHS is paying out millions – the NHS Litigation Authority website is a good place to start. See here: http://www.nhsla.com/Claims/Pages/Home.aspx and http://www.nhsla.com/CurrentActivity/Pages/FOIFactSheets.aspx

Pupils wear goggles for conkers, 4 October 2004 – referenced in Chapter 1
A video clip of the Headmaster of the school explaining his decision.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cumbria/3712764.stm

The Truth About the McDonald's Coffee Lawsuit – a video 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9DXSCpcz9E&feature=youtu.be

Judicial and political speeches on the compensation culture

Lord Dyson

Compensation Culture: Fact or Fantasy? Lord Dyson MR, Holdsworth Club Lecture, 15 March 2013
http://www.judiciary.gov.uk/Resources/JCO/Documents/Speeches/mr-speech-compensation-culture.pdf

You can watch Lord Dyson deliver his Holdsworth Club Lecture where he comments on Woodroffe-Hedley and the criticism his judgment garnered in the press:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rbDDHd6vZEI

And read the Law Society Gazette report on Lord Dyson’s speech – ‘Compensation Culture is “media-created” myth’, 25 March 2013
http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/compensation-culture-media-created-myth-dyson

Magna Carta and Compensation – a lecture by Lord Dyson
https://www.law.ox.ac.uk/sites/files/oxlaw/magna_carta_and_compensation_culture.pdf

David Cameron

Business boosting measures announced, Downing Street Press Release, 5 January 2012
https://www.gov.uk/government/news/business-boosting-measures-announced

Laura Roberts, ‘David Cameron pledges to curb compensation culture’ The Telegraph, 15 October 2010
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/politics/8065772/David-Cameron-pledges-to-curb-compensation-culture.html

Geoffrey Bindman ‘Safety First? The critical perils of Cameron's "compensation culture", Opendemocracy, 18 April 2012
http://www.opendemocracy.net/ourkingdom/geoffrey-bindman/safety-first-critical-perils-of-camerons-compensation-culture

Tony Blair

This is the news report of Tony Blair's speech on the compensation culture in 2005
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4584009.stm. You can read full text of the speech here http://www.theguardian.com/politics/2005/may/26/speeches.media

Blair’s speech was widely reported in the press – here are just a few examples.

Johann Hari 'If only we did have a compensation culture' The Independent 1 June 2005
www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/johann-hari-if-only-we-did-have-a-compensation-culture-492738.html

Matthew Tempest 'Blair attacks 'compensation culture'' The Guardian 26 May 2005
www.guardian.co.uk/society/2005/may/26/health.politics

A related article by Jennie Bristow explores the dangers of a risk-adverse culture: 'Unwrapping the cotton wool kids'
www.spiked-online.com/index.php?/site/article/1076/

Reports on the compensation culture

Furedi and Bristow’s Report

Frank Furedi and Jennie Bristow, The Social Cost of Litigation, Centre for Policy Studies, 2012
http://www.cps.org.uk/files/reports/original/120905122753-thesocialcostoflitigation.pdf

Frank Furedi talks to Tim Black about his new report on how the compo frenzy is fuelling a climate of suspicion across the public sector here: The immorality of compensation culture
http://www.frankfuredi.com/index.php/site/article/581/

And you can read some of the media coverage here:
http://www.cps.org.uk/publications/reports/the-social-cost-of-litigation/

Löfstedt Independent Report for the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions - 2011
Ragnar E Löfstedt ‘Reclaiming health and Safety for all: An independent review of health and safety legislation’ November 2011:
http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/cm82/8219/8219.pdf

Ragnar E Löfstedt ‘Reclaiming Health and Safety for all: a review of progress one year on’ January 2013:
https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/79107/lofstedt-report-one-year-on.pdf

Health and Safety Executive - 2011

Health and Safety Executive ‘School trips and outdoor learning activities: Tackling the health and safety myths’ 6 June 2011:
http://www.hse.gov.uk/services/education/school-trips.pdf

Lord Young’s Common Sense, Common Safety Report 2010

This webpage includes clips of Lord Young discussing the report
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11546919

You can read Lord Young’s report here
http://www.hse.gov.uk/aboutus/commonsense/index.htm

And read and listen to the Daily Mail’s take on Young’s Report here
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1320853/Lord-Youngs-health-saftey-review-calls-crackdown-ambulance-chasing-lawyers.html

Better Regulation Task Force Report

The Better Regulation Task Force report on tackling the compensation culture Better Routes to Redress can be accessed here
http://archive.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/brc/upload/assets/www.brc.gov.uk/betterroutes.pdf

This is the Government's response to the report
www.dca.gov.uk/majrep/bettertaskforce/better-task-force.pdf

You can read the Association of British Insurers’ take on the compensation culture here – ‘Tackling the Compensation Culture: The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill – Improving the System for All
https://www.abi.org.uk/Insurance-and-savings/Topics-and-issues/~/media/A1DCD3A1AE944458BC8ACBEAF3FB95DA.ashx

Woodroffe-Hedley v Cuthbertson

There are a few interesting newspaper articles on the practical issues raised by this case:

“How the law of the land fares on the highest peaks”, Alex Wade, The Times, 21 September 2004
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/public_law/article484155.ece [now behind pay wall - but should be available via LexisNexis]

See also, “Go Tell it on the Mountain” The Guardian, 21 June 1997 [via LexisNexis – or similar]

The case is also discussed by Julian Fulbrook in his book “Outdoor Activities, Negligence and the Law” (Ashgate, 2005) beginning on pg 132.

On the Omagh bombing

Omagh bombing: European court dismisses Real IRA men's claim BBC News 29 September 2016
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-37504674

In its decision in the case of McKevitt and Campbell v. the United Kingdom (application no. 61474/12 and no.62780/12) the European Court of Human Rights unanimously declared the applications inadmissible. See further here: http://www.humanrightseurope.org/2016/09/united-kingdom-court-rejects-human-rights-complaint-from-alleged-omagh-bombers/

BBC News, Omagh bombing: Timeline of legal cases, 1 March 2016
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-35698873

Further reading

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