An Overview of Some Unexpected Consequences of Compensation Law

Abstract

This is the introductory Chapter 1 of Prue Vines & Arno Akkermans (Eds.) Unexpected Consequences of Compensation Law, Oxford, Hart Publishing, 2020 (preprint). This book explores the performance of compensation law in addressing the needs of the injured. Compensation procedure can be dangerous to your health and may fail to compensate without aggravation/creating other problems. This book takes a refreshing and insightful approach to the law of compensation considering, from an interdisciplinary perspective, the actual effect of compensation law on people seeking compensation. Tort law, workers' compensation, medical law, industrial injury law and other schemes are examined and unintended consequences for injured people are considered. These include ongoing physical and mental illness, failure to rehabilitate, the impact on social security entitlements, medical care as well as the impact on those who serve – the lawyers, administrators, medical practitioners etc. All are explored in this timely and fascinating book. The contributors include lawyers, psychologists, and medical practitioners from multiple jurisdictions including Australia, the Netherlands, Canada, Italy and the UK. This introductory Chapter provides an introduction and an overview of the content of the book.

Keywords: Tort, Personal Injury, Compensation, Workers Compensation, Health, Claims Resolution, Therapeutic Jurisprudence, Lump Sum Dissipation, Victim Recovery, Just Culture, Secondary Victimization, Perceived Injustice, Apologies, Remedies