THE GUARDIAN

No-win no-fee firms blamed for compensation culture that costs £10bn a year

The stories seem to crop up every day. In the last fortnight alone a healthy woman has attempted to sue the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme for the sore feet she suffered after a 50-mile trek and a former pupil has taken her school to court for a gym accident that happened more than 10 years ago.

These examples may be at the extreme end of the spectrum but the Actuarial Profession, an insurers' trade body, estimates that the compensation culture is costing Britain £10bn a year, equivalent to £500 for every household.

One factor behind the growth in claims, some critics believe, is the string of companies providing no-win no-fee legal representation. Advertisements for their services can be seen on the back of buses, on billboards and television, even in hospital casualty wards, offering the chance to obtain thousands of pounds for a broken bone, sprained ankle or torn ligament.

As judges, politicians and councils warn of the financial and social cost of the burgeoning compensation culture, the Guardian decided to put to the test just how easy it is to launch a claim.

The situation could not have been more outlandish. In letters to 19 claims companies, we wrote:

"Dear sir, I was recently walking down a road near to my home when I stepped aside to avoid a boisterous young puppy. In doing so I tripped over an unlaid paving stone. Unfortunately I then fell forward towards the road, instinctively putting my hand out to break my fall. Out of nowhere a cyclist appeared and rode straight over my hand, breaking my wrist in two places and incurring severe bruising to my fingers.

Can you help me, please?"

To our surprise many could. Despite the complication of several potential defendants, some firms were so interested in pursuing our claim they sent repeated text and answerphone messages and several letters marked urgent. Nine out of the 19 companies agreed to take the case on, five did not respond and five refused to take the case.

Despite the unusual nature of our mishap, Safeclaims Ltd, said they specialised in this type of accident and could help us secure financial compensation.

Accident Angels, wrote to assure us that we had a "strong case for compensation". Lawcall said they might be able to obtain compensation and guaranteed that we would receive 100% of the money. In most cases the first telephone contact with the claims companies was with call centre staff, who despite a lack of legal qualifications, displayed a remarkable ability to make swift and conclusive legal judgments.

Accidents Direct were sympathetic when they spoke to a Guardian reporter about her plight. "Hello, I understand you've had a bit of a trip and a slip," a member of staff said.

Pausing to listen to advice in the background, she added: "Now let me explain to you how personal injury works, ok? There's two elements that need to be satisfied, the first of which is liability and that is who is to blame and how we can prove that. The second element is quantum and that is the extent and severity of the injury. Ok?"

The conversation continued:

AD: "Have we got details of ...I mean ... have we got photographs of the actual paving ...

Guardian: "I didn't take any photographs because I didn't ...

AD: "Well is it still like that?"

Guardian: "I don't know. I haven't been back. I mean I can go and look."

AD: "Yes, if you could just take a look and see if the defect ... if it's still like that, that would be brilliant and also we need to know how long the defect had been there for. Now in order to make a claim the defect needs to have been there for at least six months or over.

Guardian: "Um, what do you mean the defect."

AD: "Um, the paving slab ... it needs to be like that for six months. Now the council, they do check, they do spot checks in all the roads and all the pavements twice a year and obviously if it's been like that for over six months it basically shows that they haven't done their job and we will be able to hold them responsible.

Guardian: "Ok

AD: "Do you see?

Guardian: Yes, um, are you actually lawyers yourselves?

Guardian: "Um, no, we are [long pause], we are specialists, we are personal injury specialists."

After telling our reporter she was likely to receive "at least £1,500", Accidents Direct told her to return to the scene, take photographs of the "defect" or if the slabs had been relaid, knock on the doors to find out how long the pavement had been in a state of disrepair. Should all of this fail, the "personal injury specialist" gave her considered opinion: "Unfortunately, then you won't have no evidence (sic)."

The specialist from Claims Simplicity, who also agreed to take the claim through to the next stage, laughed as she remarked: "It was quite an event, I can see."

She went on: "What we may be able to do then is we may be able to claim against the council. They were the people carrying out the roadworks, if they had the paving there ready to lay but they hadn't sort of fenced it off and there were no warning signs or anything at all, they have been negligent in doing that. I mean they really should put a sign to say ... sort of ... because it is uneven, isn't it?"

Advised that the victim had tripped over stacked paving stones, Claims Simplicity said: "That makes them even more liable to be honest because they shouldn't be left there without being fenced off."

A lawyer from Child and Child solicitors said: "If this is a direct result of the fall then there is a claim."

Reassured that the wrist was broken in the fall, rather than by the cyclist, he advised the reporter to get an orthopaedic specialist to say the injuries to the wrist were consistent with someone hitting a pavement, then make an appointment with him to go over the story and put in the claim. Asked whether the level of damages would be substantial, he replied: "Well, if you suffered a fracture or broken bones, yes you are talking about several thousand pounds."

While all these companies certainly went through the right legal hoops to satisfy the law, others took a less positive view. Russell Jones Walker solicitors refused to take the case after describing the complex law in relation to animals, the need to prove the dog owner knew her puppy had a "propensity to cause damage" and the problems with suing the local authority and the cyclist. They were sorry, but "given the whole unfortunate sequence of events that might actually be quite difficult".

Anderson's Litigation Solicitors, who also refused our case, had perhaps seen it all before. "We are sorry to hear about your accident," they wrote. "You do appear to have been extraordinarily unlucky."

Recent decisions suggest judges are attempting to rein back the compensation culture

· Ula Heywood, 21, sued the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme after suffering from sore feet following a 50-mile trek in the Lake District. District judge Peter Bullock, threw the claim out at Newcastle county court this week. "This was intended to be a test of physical strength," he said.

· A senior judge threw out a claim for damages by a girl who broke her arm at a primary school gym nearly 10 years ago. Despite recovering and continuing to succeed at women's football, Lauren Babbings, now 17, was given legal aid to sue her local authority.

Lord Justice Brooke said: "How boring it would be if there were no risk."

· A coroner last week refused to find fault with Sainsbury's after hearing how Alfred Neave, a retired architect, had died last August after tripping over a box left on the floor.

Dr Paul Knapman, sitting at Westminster coroner's court, said he did not wish to further restrict our "over-ordered" society. Recording a verdict of accidental death, he added: "Accidents happen. When all is said and done, it is up to each individual to keep a lookout."