Did you see the programme on Channel 4, claims and blames

[adrian29uk]

Unbelievable that parents would take the school and council to court because their child stubbed their toe playing football, all because the curb was too high. And the parents where awarded over 2k in damages.

And that women that took the school to court because she fell over running claiming that the field was uneven.

What an absolute disgrace and joke this all is. And we wonder why council taxes are high, and some schools don't have enough money for equipment.

 

[bhaexpress]

Unbelievable that parents would take the school and council to court because their child stubbed their toe playing football, all because the curb was too high. And the parents where awarded over 2k in damages.

And that women that took the school to court because she fell over running claiming that the field was uneven.

What an absolute disgrace and joke this all is. And we wonder why council taxes are high, and some schools don't have enough money for equipment.

Should have gone to Specsavers.

 

[El Turi]

I watched it for about 5 minutes but it made me too angry!

 

[beorhthelm]

I watched it for about 5 minutes but it made me too angry!

i managed to survive to the end. there was the other side, a chap employed by Lambeth to assess the claims and he highlighted that each claim is coming out of everyone elses pocket.

near the end, there was a case of a woman sitting in clapham common that had a branch fall on her. now the council will have to inspect and assess the trees routinely to ensure they are not liable. more money down a non-front line service drain.

i was also appaled that the NHS, who suffer a great deal of compensation claims, had advertising in the A&E for a no win no fee solicitor

i think theres the answer, that line of business must be outlawed. if you make a claim you have to accept the risk of it being found against you. if you want an apology or to ensure someone takes responsibility, there should be a mechanism for the authorities to admit liability without facing a claim after.

 

[spunkmonkey]

I manage a leisure facility and I have lost count of how many claims we have against us for minor incidents. My favourite is the boy that accessed (he didn't pay)our astro pitch via a broken fence as it was locked and there were no bookings on it and cut his head on the fence that he had climbed through. Our solicitor is basically saying it's cheaper to pay out than contest. And this is what happens with nearly all the claims against our organisation!

 

[Peteinblack]

Sadly, this knee-jerk response to any accident or misfortune reflects the fact that people no longer take responsibility for their own actions. Doesn't matter how badly or stupidly you, or your kid(s), are behaving, if something happens, suing for damages and compensation is the automatic response, egged on by solicitors touting for business.

I know of a case where at my local sports centre, a woman's brat was running about in the foyer area, in spite of repeatedly being told not to, yet when he slipped and fractured his leg, the parents' immediate response, before taking him to hospital, was to say to the reception staff 'You'll be hearing from our solicitor'. Total s

 

[Hatterlovesbrighton]

i managed to survive to the end. there was the other side, a chap employed by Lambeth to assess the claims and he highlighted that each claim is coming out of everyone elses pocket.

near the end, there was a case of a woman sitting in clapham common that had a branch fall on her. now the council will have to inspect and assess the trees routinely to ensure they are not liable. more money down a non-front line service drain.

i was also appaled that the NHS, who suffer a great deal of compensation claims, had advertising in the A&E for a no win no fee solicitor

i think theres the answer, that line of business must be outlawed. if you make a claim you have to accept the risk of it being found against you. if you want an apology or to ensure someone takes responsibility, there should be a mechanism for the authorities to admit liability without facing a claim after.

I don't think outlawing is the answer. They would just face a different way of doing things and no win no fee does give the opportunity for those without great resources to get justice.

What it needs is for judges to either start throwing these cases out or award paltry or token amounts of damages and not awarding costs.

Know this wasn't really a political dicussion but the Tories have been talking up this personal responosbility thing a lot more than Labour has.

 

[Rookie]

The problem is that a large amount of cases never get to court because the council or whoever is so scared of losing and the added costs that they settle.

 

[seagullsovergrimsby]

I found it hilarious that a bloke who had a vertical scar on his cheek due to a razor blade cut got £6k because he was scarred for life even though he had a horrendous scar on his chin from a childhood accident which you couldn't help noticing.

 

[The Large One]

The problem is that a large amount of cases never get to court because the council or whoever is so scared of losing and the added costs that they settle.

Principally because they have to take the line of least resistance.

I thought those solicitors were nothing more than avaricious, morally-bankrupt vultures. The way one of them was pumping himself up because he won a case. It had nothing to do with the concept of right and wrong, or the knock-on effect of what these cases can bring to others - he won, and that's what made him and him alone feel good.

He's someone I'd happily cross the street to avoid.

That said, what the blazes ever happened to the concept of personal responsibility?

 

[The Large One]

I found it hilarious that a bloke who had a vertical scar on his cheek due to a razor blade cut got £6k because he was scarred for life even though he had a horrendous scar on his chin from a childhood accident which you couldn't help noticing.

When he saw the specialist, he wasn't even that bothered about it.

As for the trees one - f*** me sideways. Talk about putting yourself in harm's way.

 

[beorhthelm]

I don't think outlawing is the answer. They would just face a different way of doing things and no win no fee does give the opportunity for those without great resources to get justice.

What it needs is for judges to either start throwing these cases out or award paltry or token amounts of damages and not awarding costs.

not awarding costs amounts to the same thing as outlawing no win no fee. i dont think no win no fee does give anyone any extra opportunity at justice, the solicitors pick up the case and run it as far as they think it will go and drop it as soon as they think the costs wont be worth it. their aim is an out of court settlement too, not justice. if people had to engage and pay (albeit on legal aid, but theres hoops there) to instruct a solicitor and it was nearly certain to go to court, with all the time taken up there, people would think twice about is it really worth it. if they've broken a leg and off work for 4 months, they will go ahead. if they've subbed a toe they will forget about it and move on like people would have 20-30 years ago.

 

[Questions]

I painted some bitumen based anti-vandal paint on a schools downpipes a few years ago to stop the kids scaling them and getting on the roofs. It was all at least 8 ft high so if you got it on you it was because you were climbing them and not just brushing past them. The school had 2 complaints from parents whose children had come home covered in the stuff with all their clothes ruined. The school have never re-done the paint as it wears away because of the hassle they got. ?

 

[beorhthelm]

The school have never re-done the paint as it wears away because of the hassle they got.

and when it wears off and some kid climbs up and falls off the roof.... cant win can you.

 

[spunkmonkey]

Another Leisure related true story was the guy who broke into the leisure centre overnight by dropping through a roof panel into the pool. Unfortunately the pool was closed for maintenance and had been drained! Staff found the guy on the bottom of the empty pool floor with broken legs the next day. He claimed against the council for injury because they had failed to effectively advertise that the pool was closed for maintanence and his injuries were a result of their failures.

 

[Acker79]

It's people like this that lead to all those Health and Safety laws we despise.

I would probably include the seating laws at football grounds in there. The fear of these cases being brought against clubs and the FA is one of the reasons why they made stadiums all seater.

 

[Gwylan]

Know this wasn't really a political dicussion but the Tories have been talking up this personal responosbility thing a lot more than Labour has.

Except that the personal compensation injury has really come about since the Thatcher government allowed lawyers to advertise their services.

I know it's been made worse by a health and safety obsession since then but I think both parties should share blame for this.

(great post for me, I hate Tories, Labour and lawyers with equal passion, if I could have found a way to bring Man U in it, my life would be complete )

 

[Peteinblack]

I hate Tories, Labour and lawyers with equal passion)

I second that emotion.