Compensation Culture (Published 11/10/05)

We often hear nowadays that we are in the grip of what is sometimes called the "compensation culture". I don’t think this is true. It is still the case even now that there are lots more people who have accidents and don’t claim any compensation than who do. The law is in fact a lot less sympathetic to people who suffer injury than many people think, as a recent case illustrates.

The case involves a Mrs Smith (whose name I have changed for obvious reasons). Mrs Smith used to wash her husband’s overalls when he got home from work. Eventually as a result she contracted asbestosis whilst the lucky Mr Smith was completely unaffected, even though he’d been working in the middle of the stuff all day long for several years.

Legally, if Mr Smith had come down with asbestosis then he would have been entitled to compensation from his employer for not providing him with a safe workplace. However, Mrs Smith’s claim was rejected. She wasn’t a worker at the factory, and therefore it was nothing to do with her what went on in the factory and if she got some horrible disease well that was her problem, tough luck, etc. I was horrified to read this, and I think most people would agree with me.

As anybody can see, this is grossly unfair and whenever I see stories about a so-called compensation culture I always think that cases like that of Mrs Smith should be given equal prominence just to put the other side of the story.

The simple fact is that in my experience very few people indeed are interested in getting money. They may want justice or an apology or just recognition of a wrong done. Most of all, the cry I constantly hear is that ‘we just want to make sure it never happens to anyone else’. Further from a ‘compensation’ culture I cannot conceive that it would be possible to get.

That’s why I enjoy my job so much. It’s not about grubbing around for money. It’s about good old-fashioned English ideas like truth and justice. And that’s what Wilsons is all about too, seven days a week!