Are You For Justice? Join the fight to save Legal Aid
“There will be abuses of power and miscarriages of justice if people do not have access to legal advice and representation. That is already happening.” – Shami Chakrabarti (on the video).
The video by Justice Alliance UK (above), featuring Stephen Fry, Jo Brand, Tamsin Greig and the aforementioned Shami Chakrabarti discusses the real effect of Chris Grayling’s restriction of Legal Aid. Vox Political has published articles on this matter and you are strongly urged to read them, if you don’t understand why this is important.
Start here.
Then here.
Then here.
Especially here.
And here.
Here.
This one is important as it shows the contempt in which the current government holds attempts to protest against its plan to deny justice to the many.
Finally, this article shows how the Conservatives have rewarded the attorney general who tried to introduce sanity to their plan.
That is why it is so important for you to join Stephen Fry, Jo Brand and all the others in the fight to save Legal Aid. Sign the petition to fight for your right to justice: http://www.change.org/p/david-cameron-uk-government-save-legal-aid-to-protect-access-to-justice-for-all
Find out more: http://www.justiceallianceuk.wordpress.com
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I take no notice of so called “personalities” giving their opinions. However any regular user of the magistrates` courts will be well aware of the chaos; interpreters some of dubious quality failing to appear, overlisted courts, overworked and harassed legal advisors, CPS approaching being unfit for purpose and unrepresented defendants struggling to make their case. Unlike the NHS where most of the population has a personal experience a majority is still and will continue to be unaware of the failings in the justice system. A state can argue the merits of a free or paid for health service but a justice system can only be operated by the state. To attempt to make the system pay for itself (civil courts) or be reduced to a rump is an irresponsibility which is having enormous effects on our democracy.
Shami Chakrabarti – LSE, lawyer i believe – one of them.
Feeble
One of us, in this instance.
Mike, as you know my partner Jean, who regularly commented on your blogs, died last December after being subjected to her ESA assessment. The experience terrified her to such an extent, that she sufferred a bleed on the brain the first of which she survived. She was then left waiting two and half weeks for a CT scan at her hospital, which would have found the bleed, and after surgery her life would have been saved. Her GP put in two URGENT requests for the scan, both of which were ignored and downgraded to routine by a Consultant. They gave her an appointment not for the scan, but for examination, but sadly she sufferred a second fatal bleed the day before this.
Having lodged an NHS Complaint I am getting nowhere with the hospital, so far. They are trying to blame her GP for the delay in her treatment.
You would think that I and her family would be able to take them to Court, as my NHS advocate and all solicitors I’ve spoken to tell me we have them banged to rights. But oh no!! Because of the changes made by this Government to the critria one has to meet to bring a clinical negligence case and the changes made to Legal Aid the situation is as follows. The three critria you have to meet to bring action are these..
1) Was there lack of duty of care? Yes that can be proved
2) Would she have survived had she had her treatment? Yes that can be proved
3) You have to show a substantial financial loss because of her death? Please tell me what the hell this has to do with anything? Because I can’t prove this third critirian I can’t bring any action. So the loss of a loved ones life has no value whatsoever!
4) Although I would normally qualify for Legal Aid I can’t get it, because we didn’t cohabit and I can’t prove any kind of dependancy, and the same applies to her family.
5) Because all solicitors now have to be “No win No Fee” types, who take 25% of any award as their Fee, and given that the maximun statutory payout if clinical negligence is proven is only £17,500, no law firm can take the case on, because it costs tens of thousands to bring action, and therefore there is no money in it for them to take the case! And no opportunity to put right what is wrong to prevent this happening to others!
6) I can go to the Parliamentary Health Ombudsman (which I will), but with no guarantee of a sucessful outcome.
7) I can also go public with it, but can I handle the stress that comes with it?
Can you understand the frustration and distress this causes me and Jean’s family. Is this British Justice in action? No it isn’t!! There no longer appears to be any such thing unless you have the money to take action yourself. This I regard as criminal!
I will not give up the fight to get justice for Jean and prevent others from sufferring the same fate, becasue this could happen to any one of us tomorrow!
So I wholeheartedly support this Petiton!!
Phil, my heart goes out to you and Jean’s family as well. I hope that you can get this settled as there is no way that Jean should not have had an urgent scan, and no need for her to die. Its utterly disgraceful and all people guilty should be shown the error of their ways and should be awarded a sum of money for the loss of a beautiful person and the stress and anxiety that all have suffered.
We lived in Wales when my husband had his brain bleed and were lucky enough to be seen promptly and given a scan quickly.
We live in Scotland now, have done for nearly 8 years and I’m in the middle of suing my local health authority. I was lucky to get legal aid but that’s because the justice system is not run by Westminster and was one of the things first written into the declaration.
I wish you and Jean’s family all the very best and really do hope that their is a proper closure to her untimely and unnecessary death.
Dear Jaypot 2012, thank you for your very kind words, understanding and support. I’m pleased to hear your husband had his life saving treatment in time. Had Jean had hers I know she would still be walking this earth. I don’t want her death to have been in vain, so I will continue to do all I can. Maybe I should start a “Justice for Jean” campaign to raise the money to fight. I have a local solicitor, who is convinced we have a case, but at £120 an hour and potentially years of work involved it’s hopeless. Someone, or some organisation should pick up the sword and fight for the underdog in these situations.
I wish you both well and hope you are sucessful in suing your local health authority.