Now that theBritish summer has drawn to a close for definate and winter starts to set in, new evidence from National Accident Helplinesuggests that Britons took extra care not to put themselves in danger duringsunny pursuits.
, the UK?sleading personal injury claim firm, surveyed more than 100 of its customers to gauge theirattitudes to activities which in the past have prompted people to takeunnecessary risks.
The resultswere happily reassuring ? for example few people resorted to using lighterfluid or petrol to try and give their barbecue an added boost.
Of thosesurveyed, 89 per cent said that they would never do so.
Beachlovers were also mindful of safety lessons. Almost everyone surveyed ? 99 percent ? said they would not set foot in the sea for a swim if they had consumedany alcohol at all.
And driversknew that they should also be careful when the sun comes out ? 96 per cent ofthose surveyed maintained that they would change out of their summer flip-flopsand into sensible shoes before they got behind the wheel of a car.
National Accident Helpline Legal Director John Campbell said: ?Most Britons, as our research shows, are carefuland sensible with what they do ? and they deserve their employers, governmentand private firms to take the same care.?
The firmsaid that the evidence suggests that much of the hysteria regarding Britain?s'compensation culture? is unfounded. The majority of Britons shy away frommaking spurious compensation claims.
However, ifsomeone is injured in an incident which is not their fault, and they wish toreceive advice as to whether their claim is legitimate, they can call NationalAccident Helpline's trained staff.
They couldthen be referred to a solicitor in their area, who can take forward the .
No winno fee means that if you do not win your accident claim, you do not have to pay your solicitor a fee. Insurance willcover you against the other side's costs and expenses. If you win your case youshould receive your compensation free of any deductions, as your solicitor'scosts should be paid by the other side. There are very few exceptions to this.
Britain?s sensible attitude to compensationstands in sharp contrast to some of the crazier claims heard in America ? wherefor example Roy L Pearson Jr filed asked for $67m in compensation from a drycleaner he claimed lost his trousers.
He later reduced his demand to $54m ? but was accused of ?frivolouslitigation?.
Mr Campbell said: ?If Mr Pearson had called National Accident Helpline,we could have advised him at no cost to the taxpayer that his did not stand a chance.
?Many of the myths of ?compensation culture? come from this kind ofstory crossing the Atlantic and finding theirway into British folklore.
?Like everyone else, we have a laugh at the sheer absurdity of some ofthe claims ? but we don't feel this should prevent people genuinely hurt in anaccident that was not their fault from receiving appropriate compensation.?
