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4 Legal Issues J. 55 (2016)
Suing Public Authorities: Who Wins

handle is hein.journals/uklwetrew4 and id is 59 raw text is: Suing Public Authorities: Who Wins? Tom Stafford' This article argues that Civil Law is fundamentally unsuitable to dealing either with i) grievances against the way a Public Authority has handled a particular situation; or ii) loss that one has suffered at the hands of a public authority acting negligently. The rationale behind this conclusion is based on the belief that suing public bodies for negligence is problematic as it is an inordinately expensive process for the taxpayer and, being a fault- based system of liability, often leaves deserving individuals who have simply been the victims of bad luck with no compensation for their loss. Moreover, the state of the case law is doctrinally incoherent and unstable, and thus in need of re-examination. Keywords: liability of public authorities, negligence, duty of care, public bodies, fault-based compensation, law reform, public liability, omissions liability. 1. INTRODUCTION Many are familiar with the term 'litigation culture', a platitude so often bandied about by the tabloid press that seems determined to present a caricature of greedy, ambulance-chasing lawyers. In many cases this is an unfair portrayal; if someone has had their leg crushed in a warehouse accident because their employer neglected to follow basic health and safety legislation, then of course they should be compensated. As between individuals it is only right that wrongs should be remedied and any competent (or honest) lawyer will not advise his client to issue proceedings if there is little chance of success. What is, on the other hand, rather disturbing, is the amount public authorities are spending on defending claims. Public money is supposed to be t Paralegal at Clyde & Co LLP; Law BA, University of Cambridge.

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