The Master of Rolls attacked the UK record on looking after accident victims in a speech at the Forum of Insurance Lawyers (Foil) annual conference.
He made a plea for the government to back the rehabilitation of accident victims in its plans to deal with the spiralling cost of employer's liability insurance. He said the government stood to make well over £1bn in savings on benefit payments if it did so.
"Rehabilitation is the most important element in the response to any serious personal injury," said Lord Phillips of Worth Matravers. "Statistics demonstrate this and they are statistics of which we should be ashamed."
Paraplegics in Scandinavia have a 50% of chance of returning to full employment, and in the US the figure is 42%, said Lord Phillips. The figure in the UK was "a mere 14%," he said.
"The amount of money in this country we pay to support the victims of accidents is per capita, approximately twice as much as is spent in the US," continued Lord Phillips. "And the difference is explained largely by rehabilitation."
"If the ABI's consultants have got their sums right, the government can look forward to a saving to the Exchequer in benefit payments of up to £1.3bn.
"This must surely merit some serious consideration, and this must surely merit serious investment."
