The Social Construction of Bodily Injury

This paper looks at how changing social attitudes have influenced both the courts and lawmakers in relation to liability claims for bodily injury. It has a strong U.K. bias. The paper considers the impact on underwriters of various court rulings and the extent to which a compensation culture may exist in the U.K. It goes on to give examples of recent claims examples, particularly in the area of psychiatric illness and how U.K. courts have allowed a number of types of claim to succeed that at one time would have been unimaginable. Further examples demonstrate the extent to which claimants are now testing the boundaries of what courts will accept. The paper also looks at the growing problem with fraudulent claims and concludes with some ideas for how liability underwriters can combat these trends. The Geneva Papers (2006) 31, 340–356. doi:10.1057/palgrave.gpp.2510077