Criminal Injury Compensation Cuts [4th Dec 2012]
Changes related to the payment of compensation for minor injuries have come into effect over the last week. The new rules state that those people who suffer from relatively minor injuries such as minor burns, concussion or a broken nose will no longer be able to claim compensation even if the injury was due to a crime. The changes have been made because of a huge rise in the payments made under the criminal injuries compensation scheme to £450m in the last year. It is thought that these changes will result in a £50m drop in the cost of claims. Despite these benefits, the shop workers union USDAW has hit out at the new rules and said that it clearly shows that victims are not put first. They say that it could be putting retail staff at risk. It was thought that the new rules would be overturned earlier this year when the Justice Minister Helen Green agreed to look into the plans after a protest by Victim Support. However the new law was passed with a vote of 9 to 7. The Ministry of Justice has said that they feel that taxpayers money should be spent wisely and on those people who are most seriously hurt. Related Stories: Criminal compensation - claims for minor injuries cut - www.bbc.co.uk crime victims compensation changed - www.gazettelive.co.uk The energy company E.On has agreed to pay £1.7m in compensation to its customers after it was found to be overcharging 94,000 energy consumers. Each customer will receive an average of £14.83 from a proportion of the fine and the rest will be given as a lump sum to the charity Age UK. It was found that E.On had overcharged those customers who were affected by price rises between 2008 and 2011and incurred an exit fee when they decided to switch. Under Ofgem rules, customers affected by price rises should be able to switch without penalty within a 30 day window. E.On discovered the error themselves and chose to offer compensation rather than incur a large fine from Ofgem. Anyone who is due compensation will be contacted by E.On and will receive 8% in interest on the money owed. E.On's customer service director David Bird has expressed his regret at the situation and points out that the company has been very open with Ofgem about their failings. Related Stories: E.On to pay £1.7m in compensation over exit fees - www.bbc.co.uk E.On forced to hand back £1.7, after overcharging - www.independent.co.uk Lorraine Allen from Derbyshire has said that she will be taking her case for compensation to the European Court of Human Rights after she was wrongfully imprisoned for the manslaughter of her four month old baby. Allen was jailed in 2000 after a jury was told by an expert that her child had died of shaken baby syndrome. However fresh evidence quashed this conviction in the Court of Appeal, but not after Allen had already served 16 months in prison. Ms Allen has since been fighting for compensation for a miscarriage of justice. In the UK there is no automatic right to compensation for quashed convictions as new evidence does not always mean that the person is presumed innocent, just that a safe conviction cannot be made. Compensation will be offered where new evidence shows the conviction was wrong beyond reasonable doubt. Allen is claiming that her right to innocence should be restored and for this not to happen is a failure of her human rights. Related Stories: Lorraine Allen compensation battle heads to Europe - www.bbc.co.uk No right to compensation says lawyer acting for UK government - www.itv.com A UK student has agreed to pay compensation to avoid being extradited to the US on charges of Internet piracy. Richard O'Dwyer was accused of using his website TVShack to infringe copyright laws. The site was shut down in 2010, but it was thought that O'Dwyer had made thousands from it via online advertising revenue. A High Court judge, yesterday ruled that O'Dwyer could avoid extradition by signing a deferred prosecution agreement. This would mean that he will need to travel to America to hand over compensation and he will need to agree to stop infringing copyright laws. He will travel to the US sometime in the next two weeks to carry out his "sentence". Isabella Sankey from Liberty has stated that she is appalled that the courts took so long to decide what would happen. She points out that extradition rules need to be overhauled and that UK citizens need better laws. Related Stories: Student beats extradition to us by paying compensation - www.independent.co.uk Richard O'Dwyer strikes deal with US authorities - www.computeractive.co.uk  |
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