Paying up in claim game

BRITAIN, it would appear, has gone suing bonkers.

It was recently revealed that personal injury claims have now reached a staggering £7billion a year.

Now experts are saying this country has leapfrogged even the Amer-icans when it comes to this form of litigation.

As we go about our daily lives, we're no longer taking disappointments on the chin and, as a result, the compensation culture is growing at a rate of knots.

In fact, after monitoring the level of claims in Britain for the past 15 years, Professor Frank Ferudi reckons we've become world leaders.

"I think litigation has become a fact of life in Britain and in many respects we are far ahead of the United States.

"For example, people have gone to court to claim money for a bad haircut, because they didn't like the fact it made them look unattractive. That doesn't happen in the United States."

Southampton solicitor Michael Vincent says his personal injury claim workload has risen by 500 per cent in the last two years. He now handles up to 300 personal injury claims a month.

Recent statistics estimate nearly one in six people who suffer an injury requiring medical treatment consult a lawyer.

Yet a lot of the complaints that drive us to our solicitors are breaking down the established boundaries of what you can and can't sue for.

Take Dorset's Madeline McDonald. She received nearly £3,000 from her hairdresser when she was horrified with the results of her highlights.

Then there's Isle of Wight former teacher Elaine McComb, who was given an undisclosed sum when she successfully claimed woodwork lessons had given her asthma.

And Andover's Darren Miles, who became the first man in the south to win compensation from a burger chain when he was burned by the filling of a McDonald's apple pie.

Even criminals are making claims.

In 1970 James Kay raped and murdered 12-year-old Susan Young - a crime for which he received a life sentence.

Sent to Broadmoor high security hospital in Berkshire, the killer hurt his ankle on the cricket field and managed to claim £26,000 for the injury.

The family of his victim (who received a payment of £180 criminal compensation for their daughter's death) were furious, not only at the sum he received, but the fact that he was playing cricket in the first place.

And what's more, Kay has just put in another claim, saying he's been attacked by other inmates at Broadmoor. This time he's setting his sights much, much higher and wants £3m.

But are these cases filling the coffers of the claimants? Not necessarily, is the answer.

According to the The Claim Game, set to be screened as part of the Meridian Focus series tonight, some have come away feeling distinctly hard-done-by under the "no-win no-fee" method of claiming.

Jason Pointing, from Arundel in Sussex, contacted personal injury firm Claims Direct after an accident at the hotel where he worked, in which he was scalded by boiling water.

Claims Direct got to work and two years later there was an out-of-court settlement of £1,525 compensation.

However, once solicitors, barristers, doctors, a claims manager and an insurance policy had had their share of the spoils, Jason was left with £63.

Friends campaigned on his behalf and he was eventually given a more suitable pay-out.

Jason, however, is by no means the only victim of the "no-win no-fee" system.

The current affairs programme will tell the story of Claire Pritchard, who also contacted Claims Direct after seeing their advert on television.

She was enjoying a night out at the Walkabout Pub in Southampton when a fire bucket fell off the wall and crashed on to her head. When she found she was covered with blood, Claire blacked out.

She said: "Two bouncers from the pub came in and got me because I'd lost it. They took me into a room and bandaged my head up.

"It was shock more than anything. Of course there were people rushing over to see if I was all right. I just couldn't believe it."

The pub admitted it was to blame and offered her £1,300 plus legal fees in settlement.

Claire says Claims Direct assured her they could get her more but suggested she take out an insurance policy just in case.

When the final settlement came through she still had £1,300 compensation but she also now had an insurance policy which had cost her £1,312.50. It only takes some simple maths to work out that Claire had ended up owing Claims Direct £12.50. She was incredulous.

After repeated phone calls and letters, the company backed down, offering Claire a new deal.

Once the market leader, Claims Direct has has now gone into liquidation.

However, there are plenty of other companies using the no-win no-fee system.

And the government is being lobbied to bring in legislation to protect injury victims - and stop others ending up in the same position as Claire.

She said: "You sue somewhere because something's happened to you and you end up owing the people who are trying to help you."

Programme-makers Meridian said they had approached Claims Direct about the cases but every request for comment was rejected. The Echo also tried to contact the company but no-one was available for comment.

THE CLAIM GAME, HOSTED BY DEBBIE THROWER, WILL BE BROADCAST ON MERIDIAN AT 11PM AUGUST 27.

SURVEY RESULTS:

The results of a Meridian survey of 1,000 viewers:

94 per cent said an American-style culture has developed or is developing in this country

94 per cent would not consider suing their hair salon if they were not

satisfied with the result

85 per cent would not sue if they slipped on a grape in the supermarket

100 per cent would not sue their child's school if they weren't satisfied with their grades

62 per cent would sue their employer if they suffered an injury at work

38 per cent would sue their child's school if they suffered an injury

52 per cent would sue their doctor or hospital if they suffered a personal injury

The average amount people think their solicitors would get in a no-win no-fee case is 24 per cent

88 per cent think there are too many no-win no-fee adverts.