IT'S so tempting to see misfortune as a money spinner. Slipped on a grape at the supermarket? Sue! Stressed out by an overbearing boss? Claim!
Hurt your neck in a car accident? Collect!
But here's something to consider before you speed-dial a lawyer - a compensation payout may make life worse.
Mounting evidence suggests seeking, and pocketing, a fat payout adds to a victim's misery. Studies consistently show injured patients take longer to recover and have worse long-term mental and physical health if they get sucked into our compo culture.
Well, I hear you say, maybe some people are just malingerers. Or perhaps they're fabricating pain to milk the system.
But the research seems to show the effect exists whether a claim is frivolous or entirely worthy. Be it a woman who wants money for toppling over in her high heels at work or a grieving mum seeking a financial salve for the pain she feels after her child's death.
Even with an injury that can be studied objectively, such as a bone fracture,
studies show uncompensated patients get on with life faster.
The most satisfied patients, studies have found, are those who blame themselves for their misfortune and don't bother pursuing anyone for retribution.
Conversely, the most dissatisfied, regardless of injury severity, are those with an unsettled compensation claim.
Intuitively, it makes sense. The adversarial nature of the insurance or court process leaves many victims feeling powerless. And surely all that time preparing for medical tests to prove they're unwell must chew up mental energy that could be better directed toward a faster recovery?
But even when the compo scheme is no-fault, and the insurers agree to pick up the tab without need for an army of lawyers, a payout still seems to have a negative influence on recovery.
Melbourne trauma expert Prof Peter Cameron has written an editorial on the topic that will appear in the international journal Injury.
In it, he argues that at the very least we must conduct more research to find out why compensation schemes are such a barrier to recovery from injury.
I'm not suggesting we axe the schemes or prevent people pursuing justice through
the courts.
Clearly, victims are entitled to be compensated when things go wrong. And in many instances, forcing companies, employers or government departments to cough up when they've done wrong is the best way to hold them to account.
We need to frame the schemes better, though, so we're not harming the people we're trying to help.
Monash University last month formed a new Institute for Safety, Compensation and Recovery Research -- a joint initiative between WorkSafe and the TAC - to start the ball rolling on new approaches.
They might want to speed things up. It can only be a matter of time before someone sues because their compo payout made their life worse.
Source
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Wife left to bleed to death
A MAN who left his wife to bleed to death while he watched football has been jailed for five years.
David John Reid left his de facto wife, Nola Ritter, 62, lying bleeding on their bedroom floor after hitting her over the head with a coffee cup during an argument.
She died of complications caused by her head injury.
Supreme Court judge Simon Whelan yesterday said that although Reid, now 51, had told police he offered his live-in partner help several times he never attempted to bandage the wound or stop the flow of blood.
"You have, by your criminal neglect, caused a death," Justice Whelan told him.
"You had a responsibility to care for Ms Ritter and yet you chose to abandon her in her moment of need."
In a police record of interview, Reid told detectives there was "blood everywhere" after he hit Ms Ritter with a coffee cup on the night of May 20, 2006, during an argument.
"I said, 'Do you want to go to the doctor's?' She goes, 'No I'll be right', and then I'm thinking 'Thank Christ for that because I'd be too pissed to drive'," he said.
Justice Whelan said yesterday: "The bed clothes were drenched in blood. There were literally pools of blood throughout the house.
"You left her and spent the whole day drinking beer and watching football at your brother's without ever checking back on her and without even mentioning to your brother or his partner what had happened."
Reid was found guilty of manslaughter and recklessly causing injury.
His lawyer had told the trial he was guilty of nothing more than poor judgment by leaving a bleeding Ms Ritter.Justice Whelan said Ms Ritter's death had a devastating effect on her family. "(Her daughter) Lindy Ritter describes her as a loving mother and grandmother," he said.
"She says, 'I am not as lighthearted as before. This sadness and despair for mum is always in the background'."
Reid, of Cranbourne, will serve at least three years.
Source
David John Reid left his de facto wife, Nola Ritter, 62, lying bleeding on their bedroom floor after hitting her over the head with a coffee cup during an argument.
She died of complications caused by her head injury.
Supreme Court judge Simon Whelan yesterday said that although Reid, now 51, had told police he offered his live-in partner help several times he never attempted to bandage the wound or stop the flow of blood.
"You have, by your criminal neglect, caused a death," Justice Whelan told him.
"You had a responsibility to care for Ms Ritter and yet you chose to abandon her in her moment of need."
In a police record of interview, Reid told detectives there was "blood everywhere" after he hit Ms Ritter with a coffee cup on the night of May 20, 2006, during an argument.
"I said, 'Do you want to go to the doctor's?' She goes, 'No I'll be right', and then I'm thinking 'Thank Christ for that because I'd be too pissed to drive'," he said.
Justice Whelan said yesterday: "The bed clothes were drenched in blood. There were literally pools of blood throughout the house.
"You left her and spent the whole day drinking beer and watching football at your brother's without ever checking back on her and without even mentioning to your brother or his partner what had happened."
Reid was found guilty of manslaughter and recklessly causing injury.
His lawyer had told the trial he was guilty of nothing more than poor judgment by leaving a bleeding Ms Ritter.Justice Whelan said Ms Ritter's death had a devastating effect on her family. "(Her daughter) Lindy Ritter describes her as a loving mother and grandmother," he said.
"She says, 'I am not as lighthearted as before. This sadness and despair for mum is always in the background'."
Reid, of Cranbourne, will serve at least three years.
Source
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