The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) are running a campaign with the theme of rebuilding shattered lives. It focuses on the real reasons why injured people make compensation claims, how accidents can shatter the lives not just of the victim but their families too, and how compensation is designed to help them piece their lives back together again.
APIL president Mike Benner writes, "The myths and misconceptions enshrouding personal injury have made people feel that if they try to seek redress they are doing something wrong, something deceitful or even something criminal. It is remarkable that in an advanced society such damaging perceptions have thrived to a point where public sympathy for needlessly injured people has been adversely affected leading to misguided government intervention focused, not on the needs of injured people, but on the need to reduce fraud and legal costs, often on a promise of lower insurance premiums for consumers. The reality is that only 8%, a tiny fraction, of people who are injured make a claim for compensation and consumers have not generally benefitted from lower insurance premiums."
APIL has also produced an excellent guide to injury claims, including several stories from people who have been injured and gone through the process of making a compensation claim, entitled "Reality Check - The real stories of injured people" For anyone with an interest in personal injury claims, or who might be considering starting a claim for compensation, it is well worth reading.
Finally, APIL has produced a video to go with the campaign, available here.