Compensation myths – Compensation is paid for any old accident

2 minute read  |  November 7, 2017

In last week’s article, we were left undecided when revisiting the myth that compensation payments are too high. This was due to the clear lack of tangible evidence one way or the other.

This week, we take a closer look at the fourth of the seven myths;

Compensation is paid for any old accident

Many individuals become instant ‘experts’ when it comes to advising on the amount of compensation for an accident or injury that may have been caused through the negligence of another.

The problem is that such ‘advice’ is neither accurate or helpful when it comes to making a claim for compensation. Both claimant and defendant lawyers are more determined than ever to weed out spurious claims, and while insurer claims about the level of fraud are impossible to prove and thus hard to take as fact, there is broad agreement that fraud can be beaten if we all work together

The launch of MedCo has seen a greater control over medical reports to help pre-determine exaggerated or faked injuries before the process goes too far.

Cold callers

The backlash against cold callers, following an outcry from the public and action by the regulator, has driven a fall in the numbers of claims management companies operating today.

The Claims Management Regulator’s 2017 annual report showed that turnover for the personal injury sector fell 15% between 2016 and 2017 to £182m, while authorised CMCs have also fallen from 979 in 2014/15 to 752 in 2016/17*.

Burden of proof

In the original compensation myth document in 2014, the Government’s decision to place the burden of proof on the employee and not the employer, in the event of an accident in the workplace, saw a decrease in the number of successful employer liability claims.

The number of cases registered to the Compensation Recovery Unit (CRU) against employers has fallen by more than 31,000 since 2013/14 from 105,291 to 73,355.

Conclusion 

The statement that compensation is paid for any old accident is simply untrue and assumes solicitors are gullible, medical reporting agents are careless and insurance companies are dupes. In reality, by working together they are better able to identify fraudsters and instead able to help those who need it most.

Compensation is paid for any old accident – myth.

*Correct at time of writing.

Back to resources