{"id":16052,"date":"2018-09-03T16:17:06","date_gmt":"2018-09-03T15:17:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/unitelive.org\/?p=16052"},"modified":"2020-11-12T12:58:16","modified_gmt":"2020-11-12T12:58:16","slug":"access-justice-threat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/?p=16052","title":{"rendered":"Access to justice threat"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Workers up against unsafe employers will have little recourse to justice after being forced to pay their own legal fees if injured at work under new government plans.<\/p>\n

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The government is proposing to raise the small claims limit to \u00c2\u01412000, up from the \u00c2\u01411000 where it stands currently. The limit will be raised even higher \u00e2\u20ac\u201c to \u00c2\u01415000 \u00e2\u20ac\u201c for road traffic cases. If the plans go through, people who suffer injuries deemed to be worth less than \u00c2\u01412000 or less than \u00c2\u01415000 if injured on the road will not be able to recover the cost of legal fees from those who have done them harm as is the case now.<\/p>\n

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The government has defended the plans by arguing they are meant to deter people from making fraudulent whiplash claims but Unite has highlighted that people injured at work \u00e2\u20ac\u201c where there has not been any allegation of fraud \u00e2\u20ac\u201c will be hit hard by these plans.<\/p>\n

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HGV drivers, paramedics, bus drivers and other people who mostly drive during work will be doubly hit by government proposals since they will face a much higher small claims limit of \u00c2\u01415,000.<\/p>\n

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Common workplace injuries in vehicles that would fall under the \u00c2\u01415,000 limit include being instantly killed, some forms of post-traumatic stress disorder, minor eye injuries, toxic fumes and smoke inhalation leading to some lung damage, broken wrist and some facial disfigurement.<\/p>\n

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Injuries which are likely to fall below the proposed \u00c2\u01412,000 limit include minor brain damage, psychiatric damage, collapsed lung, food poisoning, broken nose and loss of some teeth.<\/p>\n

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Unite has said that under the increased limit, workers who cannot afford often hefty legal fees will be faced with the choice of either dropping the claim or representing themselves. Research has shown that people who represent themselves in personal injury claims are at a great disadvantage when up against employers who can afford expensive lawyers.<\/p>\n

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No debate<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

The government has also been criticised for seeking to hike the small claims limit without discussion \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the reform will be pushed through via statutory instrument, which does not require a vote or parliamentary debate.<\/p>\n

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Increasing small claims limits isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t formally part of the Civil Liability Bill, which will receive its second reading tomorrow (September 4), but it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s part of a package of measures the government is pushing through to reduce the legal costs of personal injuries.<\/p>\n

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Shadow minister for justice Gloria De Piero slammed the government proposals.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThese changes mean more workers will be faced with a choice: either pay for legal help out of your own compensation, continue unrepresented and face large insurers who will continue to be able to afford lawyers or simply drop the claim,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she said.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bDisgracefully, [the government] won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even be bringing these changes to the floor of the House of Commons where they would be fully scrutinised and debated by MPs,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 she added. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe Tories are trying to avoid the full scrutiny these changes desperately need.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Unite assistant general secretary Howard Beckett agreed.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe government is shielding dangerous bosses from justice,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he said. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bBad bosses who play fast and loose with workers lives will be able to escape paying compensation on the majority of workplace injuries.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bThe proposed changes will save the government\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s friends in the insurance industry millions in compensation claims, which is nice work if you can get it, while making workplaces more dangerous.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bDrivers and other road workers are facing a double whammy with their limit being set at \u00c2\u01415,000 meaning they could be killed and their loved ones denied any compensation,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 he added.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bTrade union personal injury cases are one small measure through which workers who are injured at work as a direct result of bosses\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 actions can achieve justice.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bIf workers can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t receive compensation for their injuries, they will also be denied claiming compensation for loss of earnings,\u00e2\u20ac\u0165 Beckett explained. \u00e2\u20ac\u015bBad bosses will know that even if they injure a worker they won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to pay them their wages while they recover.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bPreviously in cases such as asbestos diseases it was only the sheer weight of claims for lower levels of damage which finally forced the government to act to ban the substance.<\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u015bDeveloping areas of serious workplace dangers such as aerotoxic incidents and exposure to diesel fumes, are much less likely to be tackled if workers can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t claim compensation for damage to their health.\u00e2\u20ac\u0165<\/p>\n

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Find out more about the government’s proposals and how you can get involved in the campaign against them\u00c2\u00a0on Thompsons Solicitors’ #FeedingtheFatCats webpage here.\u00c2\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Workers up against unsafe employers will have little recourse to justice after being forced to pay their own legal fees if injured at work under new government plans.   The government is proposing to raise the small claims limit to \u00c2\u01412000, up from the \u00c2\u01411000 where it stands currently. The limit will be raised even […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":8115,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[17],"tags":[1005,316,495],"wps_subtitle":"Workers face bar on workplace injury claims under government proposals","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16052"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=16052"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16052\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25928,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16052\/revisions\/25928"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/8115"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=16052"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=16052"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/unitelive.test.igniteamt.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=16052"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}