GOVERNMENT ATTACKS COMPENSATION RIGHTS

RMT helpline 0800 376 3706 :: may 2011 :: RMTnews 25 A Labour MP famously warned in the 1980s that under Margaret Thatcher’s government people should not be ordinary, young, fall ill or get old. We can now add, under this ConDem government, or be injured at work. For not only is the coalition looking at ways to tear up many of the health and safety laws that protect workers in order to reduce so-called “burdens” on the Tories’ mates in big business, it plans to introduce a new system for claiming compensation for workplace injuries that will rob many of the ability to seek justice for the negligence of their employer. This isn’t about the cuts to legal aid that have dominated the headlines recently. This is about attacking the ability of unions to offer injured members and their families free legal representation by expert lawyers with no deductions from their damages. The reforms announced by the Tory Justice Secretary Ken Clarke in March to the way that personal injury claims will be funded are complicated. But what it means is that those injured at work and elsewhere who are not in unions will struggle to find a lawyer prepared to take on their case unless it has at least a 75 per cent prospect of success. At Thompsons we estimate that up to 25 per cent of people injured at work through no fault of their own and who would get a lawyer under the current legal system will be unable to if the government’s planned reforms of the civil justice system go ahead. Clarke ignored the overwhelming opposition of RMT, other unions and victim support groups to the proposals. He plans to end the system of the losing defendant in a personal injury claim – usually an employer – having to pay towards a fund to cover the costs of things such as medical reports in cases which do not succeed and the costs of investigating those claims. Lawyers will instead be expected to deduct a proportion of those costs - up to 25 per cent - from claimant’s compensation for the injury and things such as loss of wages. Injury victims will supposedly be paid slightly more damages (much less than 25 per cent) to provide for this. It’s far more likely though that anyone not in a union with a less than certain claim, or at least one that will need investigation before it is possible to decide if the claim has a good prospect of success, will be turned away because solicitors will be unable to risk the case losing. This is, of course, unless the individual is able to pay up front for the costs of running the claim. Take some of the successful injury claims for RMT members reported in the March edition of this magazine. One member received £1,500 compensation after suffering noise-induced deafness as a result of excessive exposure to noise throughout his employment. Another got £3,877 for back and neck injuries caused by pulling a stiff lever to move points. And a welder member won £20,000 for a back injury suffered as he moved a grinder from a van to trackside. These cases, like many more, required detailed investigations, court fees, medical reports and other outlays in order to proceed and to prove that the employer was liable for the injuries. The employer’s insurers often refused to admit liability or to enter into settlement negotiations until court proceedings were issued. And so the costs of running the claim crept ever higher. The new regime attacks the ability of unions to pursue similar cases. Perhaps the most tragic example of how the government’s plans will deny access to justice for injured people would be that of RMT member Charles Stockwell (see opposite page). RMT lawyers pressed on in spite of the complexities of the case and the need to obtain several expert reports. Network Rail continued to deny responsibility and so Mr Stockwell’s widow was forced to bring court proceedings, which ultimately were successful. The government expects victims or unions to make up for the shortfall their proposals will create. This is a straight smash and grab - taking from victims in order to hand money to big business, employers and insurance companies in the City. Little wonder that insurance companies are so keen on the changes and will be laughing all the way to the bank if they are implemented. RMT will be working with its Parliamentary group and campaigning with other unions and injury victim support groups to fight these reactionary proposals. Know your rights Government attacks compensation rights RMT PERSONAL INJURY HELPLINE 0800 376 3706 Thompsons solicitor Andrew Hutson explains how the Con Dem government intends to attack compensation rights by taking money from the victims and handing it to big business instead