You will no doubt have heard the phrase "Compensation Culture" bandied about lately by various politicians and high level executives in the insurance industry. From the context in which the phrase has been used, it is clear that the intention of the phrase is to cast a negative or even derogative view of the tendency for a person who has suffered an injury as a result of someone else's negligence so seek compensation against that negligent party. So, do we live in a "Compensation Culture"?

A good place to start is with the fact that apart from procedurally, the area of law which governs personal injury claims, i.e. the tort of negligence, has not suddenly changed. The principle of someone being held accountable for breaching their duty of care owed to another person can be traced most significantly back to 1932 in the case of Donoghue v Stevenson.

In this case Miss Donoghue bought a bottle of fizzy drink which had been manufactured by Mr Stevenson, an aerated water manufacturer in Paisley. As Miss Donoghue, who had been drinking the fizzy drink, got to the end of the bottle it became apparent that the decomposing remains of a dea...

As you may have heard, change is coming to the world of personal injury compensation.

Earlier this year an in depth report was published by Lord Justice Jackson providing a review of the level of civil litigation costs, which has prompted much consultation and debate involving the Ministry of Justice and members the legal profession. It has been widely reported that there is a new process coming into place involving claims arising out of road traffic accidents where the likely compensation for personal injury is between £1000 and £10000. Many of the claims that we deal with at Lamb & Co fall within this category. Therefore, we are busy getting ready for the introduction of this new claims process which is due to take effect from 30th April 2010.

The majority of reports in the media have concentrated on the costs implications to solicitors and their practices and the logistics of incorporating the new process into our current system of working. Whilst we, as a firm, are of course making sure that we are ready to start using the new system, we feel it is important that you, our current and potential clients, are aware of how th...

A recent report on legal costs has been drafted and handed to the Home Secretary, Jack Straw following a review of legal costs in relation to personal injury claims. I have to say that i did find the report a somewhat disturbing read. I have spent my whole career fighting hard for the benefit of injured people to ensure that they receive the access to justice that is so rightly deserved. The report appears to have lost all sight of the fact that there is an innocent and vulnerable party involved and instead, has focused on the legal costs involved in obtaining justice for innocent victims of accidents. If these proposals are to be enacted, then it will be a sorry day for the disadvantaged victim of negligence who is merely seeking redress for injuries wrongly inflicted upon them. The report suggests that a person who retains the help of a solicitor such as myself  to bring a claim for compensation should be burdened with having to pay a proportion of their compensation to their solicitor towards their legal costs when it is he/she who are seeking to be compensated for pain and suffering wrongly inflicted upon them. If this were to happen th...