Pay extra for legal cover?

MyRealNameToo

gropinginthedark said:

MyRealNameToo mentioned the loss of earnings. That was an issue that pigged me off.  As a pensioner there is no loss of earnings so the several weeks of inability to perform the normal level of activities of daily living count for nothing, not even stautory living wage - we are considered worthless!. In reality as one ages and "the end-point" looms ever closer the value of your limited remaining time increases.  

You would still get the "pain suffering and loss of amenities" general damages. Loss of Earnings is a form of special damages and you dont get it because your pension is still paid in full. Similarly if you were an employee and your employer pays full sick pay for the time you were off you equally couldn't claim Loss of Earnings (for completeness the employer can't reclaim the sick pay either).

Different countries take different approaches, generally in the UK we believe the tortfeasor should pick up all the costs of what they've caused, in other countries settlements are lower because the State is expected to pick up more of the bill and in some places like New Zealand there is a dedicated fund for these types of matters and things get paid irrespective of fault and unsurprisingly settlements are tiny compared to the UK. At the other extreme you have the US that has punitive damages and hence we get $10bn claims about a TV show that wasnt even available in the place where the claimant is suing.