header-logo header-logo

22 March 2013 / Jennifer James
Issue: 7553 / Categories: Blogs
printer mail-detail

The bottom line

Jennifer James fails to find justice at the check-out queue

The Insider has watched the compensation culture burgeon over the years since I was admitted to practise law in 1992. The introduction of conditional fee agreements saw massive increases in slip and trip and whiplash injury claims, the latter allegedly pushing insurance premiums for all drivers up by some £90 each per annum.

You would, therefore, think that it would be a piece of cake to sue a large corporation in tort, but I can tell you from personal experience that this is not necessarily correct.

A wake-up call

A few months ago, I was in my local (unidentifiable from anything in this article) superstore, packing my trolley, when I felt and heard a forceful whack across my right gluteus maximus; I had been smacked, hard, on the backside. My initial reaction was to look round—I thought perhaps it was someone I knew although I had not seen anyone I knew in there and would not have been impressed by such a greeting anyway.

It

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Carey Olsen—Patrick Ormond

Partner joinscorporate and finance practice in British Virgin Islands

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Dawson Cornwell—Naomi Angell

Firm strengthens children department with adoption and surrogacy expert

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Penningtons Manches Cooper—Graham Green

Media and technology expert joins employment team as partner in Cambridge

NEWS
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
The winners of the LexisNexis Legal Awards 2026 have now been announced, marking another outstanding celebration of excellence, innovation, and impact across the legal profession
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
back-to-top-scroll