No Fault Compensation for Victims of Road Accidents: Can It Be Justified?

Journal of Social Policy, Vol. 10, Issue 2, April 1981, pp. 161-18

18 Pages Posted: 8 Mar 2014

Date Written: March 4, 2014

Abstract

This article considers the reasons given for the creation of a no-fault compensation scheme for victims of road accidents. In particular the article examines the work of the Royal Commission on Civil Liability and Compensation for Personal Injury and evaluates its proposals by reference to its analysis of whether preferential treatment for road accidents can be justified. The policy options for the future development of welfare provision for the disabled are thereby thrown into sharp relief: each justification given is of relevance to other accident victims; the political nature of the reform is exposed when considering why one particular group is to be preferred to another; and the rationale supporting the existence of the many regimes of compensation in tort and social security is called into question. The role of Commissions in policy making and the structural limitations upon their deliberations are also discussed. In sum the article provides a case study of what has been called ‘the strain of seeking to justify the different treatment for various categories of misfortune’.

Suggested Citation

Lewis, Richard, No Fault Compensation for Victims of Road Accidents: Can It Be Justified? (March 4, 2014). Journal of Social Policy, Vol. 10, Issue 2, April 1981, pp. 161-18, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2404287

Richard Lewis (Contact Author)

Cardiff University ( email )

Cardiff Law School
Museum Avenue
Cardiff, Wales CF10 3AX
United Kingdom
+44(0)2920874341 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://www.cardiff.ac.uk/people/view/478882-lewis-richard

Do you have negative results from your research you’d like to share?

Paper statistics

Downloads
33
Abstract Views
338
PlumX Metrics