Is there a “Compensation Culture” in the UK?

The idea that Britain has become a “compensation claim culture” is a widely held view across the UK. With the onset of advertising for legal services and the high levels of accident compensation claims that are reported in the media, it is easy to understand why the compensation culture view is a common one.

 
According to a report published in 2006 by Richard Lewis, Annette Morris and Ken Oliphant in the “Torts Law Journal” there is no evidence that the accident compensation claims system has seen a substantial rise in the number of cases over the past few years. Although since the 1970’s the number of cases has increased overall, since the end of the 1990’s the figure has been relatively constant and holding steady. The reason for the three fold increase in the number of cases since the 1970’s is most likely due to a substantial under-reporting of them previously. There is no indication whatsoever to support the idea that accident compensation claims are for the most part fraudulent or exaggerated.

 
Instead the increased frequency and number of compensation claims made in the UK since the 1970’s can be attributed to such factors as a greater social understanding of injuries and what causes them. Whiplash is an example of this - now well known to be a result of a road traffic accident. There have also been changes in the law during this time which has extended the number of people who are eligible for compensation. Service personnel are now able to make a claim against the Ministry of Defense when they were unable to in the 1970’s for example.

The total number of compensation claims made in the UK between 2000 and 2005 were as follows:
 

Year              Number
2000/2001     735,931
2001/2002     688,315
2002/2003     706,697
2003/2004     770,243
2004/2005     755,875
(source: Cardiff Law School)
 
The figures outlined above do show a 3% rise overall in the total number of compensation claims made during those 5 years, however again, that is by no means proof that Britain has developed a “compensation culture”. The total number of accident compensation claims during this same period actually decreased overall. The reason that an increase is shown however on paper is because during these 5 years there was mass litigation by Coal Health for vibration white finger and respiratory disease which drastically skewed the results.
 
There is a common misconception in the UK that the introduction of the conditional fee agreements (CFAs) and advertising of compensation claims on a no-win-no-fee basis has attributed to the increased number of claims being made each year, but the research and analysis carried out shows this to be completely false. Therefore it is conclusive that there is no such thing as a compensation culture existing in Britain today.
 
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