England 24/06/2013 – Over the past few years, personal injury lawyers have seen negative news stories about their industry increase.
They have been accused, by some, of creating an over litigious society. This is largely because they have made it easier for people to sue individuals, companies and organisations when they suffer an injury. Detractors of the personal injury claim system believe that the fact it is so easy to bring a claim is leading to more of them.
A recent report by Datamonitor does indeed show that the number of personal injury claims bought in the UK has been steadily rising for decades. Leading some to argue that there are too many personal injury claims. However, the same report highlights that 88% of road traffic claims and 69% of employer cases are settled in favour of the claimant. PI lawyers know that the cases they deal with are genuine, a fact that is not understood by many outside of the industry.
Personal Injury lawyers believe that the problem lies not with the fact the claims are made, rather with the fact that the injuries were inflicted in the first place. They point out that if there was less negligence, the number of injuries would fall, and there would be less claims.
Understanding the true cost of negligence
The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) raise awareness of the true cost of negligence for society as well as provide support for their members. They regularly write about this issue on their site. A recent blog entry pointed out that the NHS has to cover the cost of dealing with the injury. It also highlighted that the injured person’s employer also suffers financially, having to pay sick pay, and employ someone to cover. In addition, long-term disabilities often result in other costs for society when a person and their families become reliant on the state rather than being able to provide for themselves. On the jefferies-solicitors.com site there is lots of information about the costs associated with personal injuries as well as details of how to fight for compensation. The team at Jefferies Solicitors have specialised in personal injury cases for over 18 years, so provide a wealth of detailed information on their website.