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Are these compansation payouts out of proportion?

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anotheoldgit | 10:33 Thu 22nd Nov 2012 | News
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2236412/Huge-800-000-payout-hurting-finger-school-Teaching-assistants-award-tripping-wheelchair.html

It would seem from these huge payouts, that slight injuries to teachers are worth more in compensation than the more severe injuries that some of our armed forces endure.
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It's not an issue about the teaching profession.
Compensation settlements calculated by the courts on a fairly consistently basis where there is litigation, or there is some sort of agreed basis of calculation that is used in out of court settlements. It will happen wherever there is liability for injury.
The comparison with the stabbed schoolgirl is a sad one but there the victim presumably didn't have the resources to make suing worthwhile and so the victim received damages on the set scale from the criminal injuries and compensation board.
The case of soldiers different too if they are injured in the course of their duties, so who should be liable- an Afghan gunman probably can't be found and sued
Well let's not start with the assumption that teachers are scheming selfish pinkos and the Daily Mail is a crusading beacon of light.

Lets start with the assumption that the Mail is a disingenuous bunch of rabid lunatics hell bent on misleading the public and see where that gets us...



reflex sympathetic dystrophy - which the Mail tells us means "hurt finger".

A slightly more knowledgable opinion tells us:

The key symptom is pain that:

Is intense and burning, and is much stronger than would be expected for the type of injury that occurred

Gets worse, rather than better over time

Begins at the point of injury, but often spreads to the whole limb, or to the arm or leg on the opposite side of the body


More details but the end result

Stage 3 (irreversible changes can be seen)

Limited movement in limb because of tightened muscles and tendons (contracture)

Muscle wasting

Pain in the entire limb

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0004456/

"Hurt finger" - yeah right



Am I cleverer than the Mail journalists do you think?

Am I able to check facts better?

Do I have access to better information then them?

I don't think I do - I wonder why they're running the story like this then


Hmmmmm
JTP, if AOG told you it was Thursday,today, you'd come out with some interminable twaddle to prove him wrong. Imo.
I'm sure that if it was just a 'sore finger' the local education authority (who know their resources are stretched) would have made a significantly lower offer and would have been prepared to go to court if their offer was rejected knowing that a judge would never decide on a big settlement for a minor injury.
It's all just clever wordplay by the Mail- for example 'slipped on a grape' could mean a broken neck/confinement to a wheelchair for all we know
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factor30

/// The comparison with the stabbed schoolgirl is a sad one but there the victim presumably didn't have the resources to make suing worthwhile ///

Foreign nationals who we want to send back to their own countries have no difficulty in getting the very best legal aid, benefit of the British taxpayer.

/// The case of soldiers different too if they are injured in the course of their duties, so who should be liable- an Afghan gunman probably can't be found and sued ///

As in all civil employment cases their employers, in the soldier's cases the Ministry of Defence.
thetaliesin

I've just reread JTP's post twice. What is it that you can see that appears to be 'twaddle'? Do you think JTP has looked up the conditionl, or has simply made stuff up in order to prove a point?

What is your take on reflex sympathetic dystrophy? Have you heard of it before?
-- answer removed --
>The comparison with the stabbed schoolgirl is a sad one but there the victim presumably didn't have the resources to make suing worthwhile

Sorry, that was a typing error by me which confused the issue. I meant that the assailant not the victim. If the person who commits an assault has no money there is little point in suing them.

On what basis can a soldieror his/her family sue the MOD when a soldier is injured /killed in action?
Sp. No I haven't but I know what a bloody sore finger is.
I can't believe that you lollywinkers believe half the twaddle you spout when arguing with the eminently sensible & stoic AOG.
Thank god she didn't have a 'squeaky new chair' or they'd have doubled her pay-out.
I read Jake's answer and thought that's really the end of this thread.
The basis for these payouts is, I would guess, either under negligence or the Occupier's Liability Act. The payments made to local authority staff will have been made by the insurance company and not by the LA directly. Jake and Factor are right on how they are calculated. There will have been medical reports detailing condition and prognosis and once the experts had agreed on a prognosis, damages would have been assessed in accordance with the Judicial Studies Board guidelines.

The young lady who was stabbed received money from the CICB - this is NOT an insurance company but a public fund which goes some way to compensating victims. Had the assailant been rich, no doubt she could have sued him and won significant damages.

A similar situation occurs with soldiers - unless there is negligence on behalf of the MoD there is no cause of action against the MoD. Although I do agree that the payments are paltry.
-- answer removed --
Jake, whilst I have sympathy with your post, doing some basic research it rather looks as if you have done the opposite of the DM, the truth probably lies in between.

This sort of sum is ridiculous, the teacher assistant should also have a duty of care and not trip over a wheelchair.

Perhaps a subscription to spec savers would have been more appropriate.
thetaliesin

Have you subsequently read up about reflex sympathetic dystrophy?

Do you really think that this teaching assistant genuinely has a sore finger? Do you disagree with the diagnosis of the doctors who treated her?
JTP and barmaid seem to have provided quite reasonable answers to the OP.

Or am I misreading?
SP, having worked on building sites all my life, I've got RSD in every bone in my body, and my brain, and my soul. Can I have some Compo, please.
Triggerhippy, when the liberatti are in Tally-ho mode with the scent of blood in their nostrils they preface every post with a 'lol' and end with a 'wink'. Hence Lollywinkers.
thetaliesin

Not up to me. If you can prove that your employers were neglible, then fill yer boots.

If however, you do manage to get a ton of cash out of them, I would appreciate a 20% cut. I work on a no win, no fee basis.

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