If you read the newspapers, you could be forgiven for thinking that making claims is a 21st Century phenomenon, but some research by Aviva Insurance shows that our ancestors were not afraid of making claims when they were injured.
Just look at some of these examples of claims from times gone by:
- A grocer from Lancashire slipped while playing Blind Man’s Buff – £15 paid in 1878 (modern equivalent: £724).
- A travelling salesman from Belfast hit his head on a pole while watching an accident from the top of a tram – £7 paid in 1904 (modern equivalent: £401).
- A merchant from Essex injured his eye while throwing rice at a wedding – £50 paid in 1892 (modern equivalent: £2,994).
- A shipbuilder from Great Yarmouth swallowed a fish bone – £1,000 paid in 1900 (modern equivalent: £57,000).
- An artist from Swansea blown down by gale of wind – £30 paid in 1886 (modern equivalent: £1,796).
- A pharmacist from Dublin slipped on marble steps in a Turkish bath – £33 paid in 1885 (modern equivalent: £1,594).
- A merchant from Glasgow injured while jumping out of bed to catch his wife who had fainted – £42 paid in 1895 (modern equivalent: £2,575).
Even slipping over in a supermarket is not a new development: in 1900 a bank clerk slipped on orange peel and was paid £156 in compensation – equivalent to £8,901 today.
Of course, most of these would not lead to a successful claim today, but suffering injury when someone else is at fault is not pleasant, and can lead to lots of out of pocket expenses, such as loss of earnings, medication, travel and treatment costs, together with claims for those who care for us after injury.
At Russell Worth, we deal with claims every day, so can help get deserved compensation – if you think we can help, just complete the online form so we can discuss your claim with you.
