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Article: Mouth burnt on a pie? Join the rush to sue
- Article from:
- The Independent (London, England)
- Article date:
- July 2, 1996
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 1996 The Independent - London. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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Whether it's claiming damages for a burnt mouth from eating an
apple pie, or a burglar suing his victim, more Britons are
resorting to the law to settle disputes.
Although we may be a long way behind the United States, where
writs are fired off "like six shooters in the Wild West", the
headlong rush to the courts has the lawyers rubbing their hands
with glee.
The decision by Cyril Smith, the 59-year-old cancer patient from
Portsmouth who is suing his health authority because it - wrongly -
diagnosed that he had only three months to live, came as no great
surprise to many litigation experts. Some claim that the number of
such medical negligence cases is increasing by 15 per cent a year.
Mark ...