It seems like consumers have had things all their own way for far too long now. But finally it seems beleaguered corporate Britain may be due a break.
In Big Dave’s Big Society, ordinary Brits get to sort out Broken Britain, leaving government in peace to keep its slimmed-down nose out of other people’s business.
By a token of very similar kind, why should the law go sticking its nose in where it isn’t wanted? And why should employers always carry the can when dull-witted employees sustain largely self-inflicted injuries?
Why should everyone else have to suffer each time some idiot harms themselves in the workplace? Why allow feckless chancers to drain the corporate coffers, make insurers put their premiums up, and basically impose a needless burden on society at large?
There’s every sign now, thankfully, that the common sense maxim of caveat artifex will soon be back in vogue.
“The notion that the claimant is the only ‘consumer’ whose interests should be considered is wrong,” claims FOIL president Oliver Plexus. “Individual defendants and society as a whole are parallel consumers of the civil justice process and deserve equal protection.”
Mr Plexus was speaking with specific reference to the simplified risk assessment process recently recommended by Lord Young. He said it was “pleasing” that Lord Young was looking at the big picture and taking sensible steps to ease the “fear of being sued for damages” and “disproportionate litigation costs” currently holding this nation to ransom.
He said health and safety regulations had “lost their credibility” and “been misinterpreted” to “divert funds away from the core functions of the business” and “inhibit business and economic recovery.”
Plexus also welcomed the (currently hypothetical) possibility of extending the MoJ’s RTA reforms to other personal injury claims.
Thank God someone’s standing up for ordinary decent commercial enterprises at last.
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