Who are the real victims of today's claims culture society?

By Helen Shires, head of personal injury at Leeds law firm Nelson & Co.

It does not seem that long ago when accident victims would contact their family solicitor, or ask friends to recommend a local law firm in order to pursue a claim for compensation. Nowadays, in our claims culture society we are inundated with television adverts by large claims management companies and are stopped in the street by sales people, asking whether we have suffered an accident or injury in the last three years, as we may be entitled to a handsome amount of compensation. But what happened to create this situation?

I suspect that many people may take the view that solicitors are either too unapproachable or expensive and the idea of picking up a telephone to a call centre-based company seems like the most favourable option. This is rather surprising in light of the recent negative publicity concerning two of the largest players in the claims management industry, which does no favours for the legitimate claims handling companies that do follow correct procedures to ensure clients get a fair deal.

I do believe that solicitors must accept a degree of responsibility for allowing this situation to arise, and perhaps 50 years ago these criticisms were justified. Nowadays, though, clients can benefit from expert advice in the personal injury arena from a solicitor who can negotiate a fair deal for them at a competitive price. In fact, since the demise of Legal Aid for the vast majority of personal injury cases, many solicitors practice what is commonly termed as no win, no fee agreements. There are no hidden costs and if the client does not recover anything then neither does the law firm acting on their behalf.

The public's perception of the recent claims culture has done nothing to help the real victims, who have genuinely suffered injury and loss through no fault of their own. For my own part, I believe that my role is to help victims of accidents when help is needed the most. This is not purely to deal with the actual legalities of pursuing a case, but to provide a sympathetic and friendly support to someone who is not only physically injured, but who may also be suffering the psychological effects often associated with personal injury cases. Ultimately, if a client's quality of life is aided as a result of a successful claim, this can only be a good thing.