For those new to CabbieBlog or readers who are slightly forgetful, on Saturdays I’m republishing posts, many going back over a decade. Some will still be very relevant while others have become dated over time. Just think of this post as your weekend paper supplement.
A no win situation (05.04.11)
When it landed with a thump on my doormat I thought the heavy manila envelope was the Census. I was soon to discover that its contents were not so benign, it was a court documents relating to a traffic accident occurring a few months previously, claiming personal injury.
Stopping late one night at traffic lights I inadvertently pulled up my handbrake insufficiently, and while distracted the automatic cab inched forward to touch the car in front. We got out, exchanged details; I took photographs of what appeared to be two undamaged vehicles and we went on our way. The next day the third party informed me that he was claiming on his insurance, although independent engineer’s report later contradicted the assertion of damage to either vehicle.
I don’t want to elaborate on my case as, at the time of writing, the case is sub judice, but I did notice that the plaintiff’s solicitors were a company well known for their remorseless “no win – no fee” advertising on local radio.
So we now have a situation that the plaintiff knows he’s not injured, his solicitor knows his client knows his claim is spurious and my solicitor knows that the other solicitor knows his client’s claim is based on a tissue of lies.
Since Legal Aid has all but been denied to anyone who has a job, leaving only convicted foreign criminals who are trying to evade deportation access to free legal representation, a whole sub-culture has built up in the legal profession, with all those involved knowing many cases on their books are works of fiction.
In most cases insurers just pay out nominal out of court settlements, as they know it’s cheaper that way, and the claimant will settle for a few thousand pounds, knowing that their claim is groundless and could not stand up to sustained interrogation in court.
The result of all this is that if you really do have a valid claim and will not be bought off for a small sum, settlement can take years. My neighbour’s daughter has suffered from an industrial injury, having waited over two years; she has no idea how long will be the wait for compensation for an injury that in later years will have a profound effect on her mobility.
I always thought that when studying to join the legal profession, apart from wanting to receive a reasonable income, the student hoped when qualified they could improve people’s lives with their learned and impartial advice. What must it be like on graduating with a law degree to find yourself processing – and that is what it is – claims, many of which you know are invalid? The newly qualified solicitor must suspect that previous generations in the legal profession wouldn’t have touched many of these cases for fear of being accused of malpractice.
If the plaintiff in my case does receive compensation he will probably put it towards his insurance premiums, for the irony of all this is that we are all paying on average 25 per cent more for motor insurance to cover these unreasonable claims, and as young inexperienced drivers claims are rising more steeply than other more experience motorists so are their premiums – as a result we all lose out.
On 28 April 1994 the Tate Gallery announced the taking possession of Bankside Power Station to convert into a museum of modern art
The Marquess of Queensberry sought permission with a Act of Parliament to shoot motorists whom he thought presented a danger to himself
When renovating Queen Victoria Memorial a workman knocked off her nose, with the bright white replacement she appeared to have snorted cocaine. Alas, it’s now repaired in time for the 2012 Olympics
Playwright Ben Johnson couldn’t afford a normal burial in Westminster Abbey determined by plot size was buried upright standing for eternity
From the reigns of King Charles II to George IV Chelsea’s King’s Road was a private thoroughfare which only the royal family could use
The lions of Trafalgar Square were sculpted from life, artist Landseer used a dead lion supplied by London Zoo until the neighbours complained of the smell. A cat was the replacement
When Regent Street was built windows on its eastern side were larger than opposite to encourage Mayfair residents to cross the road
On 28 April 1923 King George V cut the first turf at the newly built Wembley Stadium,it’s not recorded whether he came back to paint the lines
The name of Blue Post public houses take their title from the markers which denoted the start of a rank for sedan chairs in Georgian London
The drop out rate for ‘The Knowledge’, the stringent test to qualify as a London cab driver is over 70 per cent
House numbers in London always have the lowest numbers starting at the end of the street closest to Charing Cross
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