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Clarke makes his mark

Defendants never settle claims because of costs mounting up unless they think they will lose. Neither Ken Clarke nor Lord J Jackson have ever worked anywhere near industrial disease or clinical negligence cases which are furiously battled and the defendants have the huge advantage of vast resources at their disposal. People are actually being seriously injured and are dying because of negligence and many even with the current system are not receiving the compensation they deserve. Only 30% of those injured make claims - the compensation culture has been proven to be a myth and the number of claims being made is actually falling. Very sadly it is often young children, the elderly, or those without any legal access or understanding, that don't receive compensation and surely everything must be done by a just society to ensure justice especially for these most deserving and often tragic cases of negligence. Fixing fees, limiting success fees, and taking away ate insurance will basically mean that law firms are much less likely to take on cases unless they are very straight forward. Law firms and claims companies will also invest much less time and certainly less resources in trying to find claimants and obtain cases. Can anyone reading this actually say that L J Jacksons reforms would not reduce access to justice to at least some extent, and at worst could eventually lead to unqualified graduates replacing lawyers to process rather that argue claims, and/or law firms dropping out of personal injury litigation altogether and particularly these critical areas of industrial disease and clinical negligence? Surely society would end up being a less just and more dangerous place. Would you want to send your child in for an operation when there was no real chance of the hospital being brought to account for acts of negligence? Industrial disease and clinical negligence claims in are hard enough to win under the present system. With the reforms, they will not be taken on apart from in the most convenient and obvious situations.

27-Oct-2010

5:10 pm