Greed, envy and other unmentionables lurk within most of us, just waiting to be released, but most of us didn’t release them until some time after 1999 when fat-fingered lawyers craftily imported into Britain, by way of The Access to Justice Act, an outrageous compensation scam that had been plaguing the USA for years. It was presented as a respectable instrument for justice by the establishment but was, as anticipated, quickly seized by ambulance-chasing representatives of the legal profession to offer no-win no-fee arrangements to anybody with half a chance of receiving a generous out of court compensation settlement for damages, real or imagined.
Unfortunately, the easy money to be gained by making claims for compensation hasn’t just made the day for work-shy liars, thieves, cheats and lawyers, it’s polluted the tiny little minds of the British public. Hardly surprising. If those we expect to set the standard and level of society’s morality and conduct, such as the doyens of respectability in the legal profession, can be seen blatantly exploiting the law for their own pecuniary gain it must surely be OK for the rest of us to emulate them. Mustn’t it?

Either way, the compensation culture has finally forced the Genie out of the bottle. Greed and envy are now in the public domain and humanity’s disgusting unmentionables are hung on the line for all to see. And what an ugly depressing sight they all are. What chance respect, for ourselves or for others, now everybody can see what pathetic, lying, thieving, cheating, selfish, hypocritical, money-grubbing little shits and shitesses we all are.

No problem. Immediately after having seized power the Grumpies will repeal the 1999 Access to Justice Act. We’ll substantially reduce the fees charged by lawyers and the length of time taken to resolve compensations claims.  We’ll also instruct judges to substantially reduce the amount of money awarded to claimants. Claimants (and their lawyers) who make spurious claims for compensation will be invited to take centre stage at a Grumpy Whack a Wanker Week.

Note – There was a time when those who truly experienced grief would quietly nurse their pain and rely upon personal friends, family and the passage of time to gradually heal deeply felt personal wounds. Not any more. Large numbers of ‘grieving’ spouses and dependants can now be seen in the halls of justice, heads bowed, speaking in hushed tones with their legal representatives about their continuing grief and anguish – and their compensation. How many of those who demand, in the name of truth and justice, that ever-more gruesome facts and footage about their ‘loved ones’ be revealed to the public are merely hoping to squeeze a few extra sympathy £££’s out of the situation? How many are merely heartless bloodsuckers attempting to line their own pockets by capitalising on the natural sympathy of a caring but litigation-gone-mad society? Nobody knows.

As a consequence, genuine people seeking justice are tarred with the same shameful money-grubbing brush as those who are only in it for the money. Factor in the amount of money paid to fat-fingered lawyers and the over-generous payouts received by liars, thieves and cheats who have made outrageous and/or spurious claims for compensation and we have a sick and sickening society.