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10 February 2012 / Patrick Allen
Issue: 7500 / Categories: Features , Personal injury
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Accidents do happen

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Patrick Allen joins the debate over whiplash claims

The stream of prejudice against those who bring personal injury claims has continued unabated over the last few months. The Lofstedt report on health and safety regulations was published in November 2011. Professor Lofstedt made many sensible suggestions such as exempting from health and safety law those self-employed whose work activities pose no potential risk of harm to others, simplifying the disclosure requirement for pre-action protocols and reviewing the requirement for strict liability in some regulations.

Crucially he said in his introduction: “I have concluded…there is no case for radically altering current health and safety legislation…There is a view across the board that the existing regulatory requirements are broadly right, and that regulation has a role to play in preventing injury and ill health in the workplace. Indeed, there is evidence to suggest that proportionate risk management can make good business sense.”

Government spin

However, that did not fit in with the government pro-conker spin and they were clearly reading a different report. “The coalition is determined to tackle the pervasive compensation culture that

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NEWS
A series of recent decisions has clarified important principles across property law, from perpetuities to lease renewals and public rights over land
Employers cannot rely on wellbeing services alone to defend workplace stress claims after a High Court decision awarding almost £1m to an overworked employee
Andy Burnham's brand of 'Manchesterism' could offer fresh thinking on legal aid and access to justice if it reaches Westminster, according to Roger Smith, NLJ columnist and former director of JUSTICE
The constitutional fallout from a change of prime minister, rather than the politics, is under scrutiny as questions arise over the limits of executive authority in a leadership transition
The legal profession is undergoing a fundamental shift from selling services to creating technology-enabled products, according to Professor Luke Mason, Head of School of Law at Regent's University London
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