A recent report commissioned by the National Accident Helpline but completed by the independent body Populus goes some way to highlighting the impact a personal injury can have on people’s lives.
The Risk of Personal Injury Is Prevalent
Personal Injury is a REAL thing that affects tens of thousands of people per year. It is easier to understand the dangers people face if we think about the volume of people there are in the country all trying to do their thing; driving to work, walking to the shops or taking a holiday. When the population mix together like they do every day there is a real and actual risk that the actions of one person or organisation may adversely affect another. Far too often these things are swept under the carpet but real people like you and I are left with the sometimes life long mental or physical injury to show for it.
The report below has been independently commissioned to give people insight into what personal injury means to those that have gone through it on both a physical, emotional and financial level. It is nothing but factual.
Some interesting points from the report:
- 44% of personal injury sufferers never made a claim – This is a staggering amount of people who have suffered in silence with financial loss, physical and emotional damage.
- 62% or the British public believe compensation is deserved after a non–fault accident – This seems a little low. If your car is damaged because of another person then this should be fixed. If your leg is broken, this should be fixed and the loss of earnings of that person should be covered in any compensation payout. Of those people surveyed that did not believe compensation should be awarded, it would be interesting to see how they felt if they had actually suffered an injury or financial loss because of a third party.
- 63% of personal injury claims arise from a road traffic accident. This makes sense with the amount of people driving and the forces at play when an accident does happen.
- 37% or personal injury victims were worried about legal fees – With the amount of solicitors offering ‘No Win No Fee’ agreements or conditional fee agreements, there is little need to worry about these costs.
Conclusion
The amount of people not claiming for their personal injury is high. If one suffers because of another it is only fair that the person suffering receives some sort of compensation / private rehabilitation or other recompense. It is a worry that these people stay quiet as they do not wish to be fuelling the supposed compensation culture. These sufferings are real and should not be dismissed because of a false and inflated social perception. Sure, there are a small minority who will orchestrate accidents for compensation but these are a minority and besides, the culprits are often found out. Those in desperate need should not suffer in silence because of this small group of people.
Source: National Accident Helpline
