Payouts: Have We All Gone Mad…

The nation’s insurance liability crisis has reached breaking point following a million-dollar payout over a schoolyard brawl.

The civil action against the NSW Education Department comes as skyrocketing insurance premiums continue to strangle organizations and charities across the country.

The insane inequity of the compensation system is evident in the massive payout for former student David Griffin’s “migraines and mood swings” compared with the plight of seriously injured victims of crime who struggle to secure paltry payouts in the NSW Victims Compensation Tribunal.

The $1 million payout left Donna Carson furious. She was permanently disfigured after her former boy friend set her on fire and received only $50,000, and yet has lost $750,000 in income. “The lawyer told me that the injury to my face alone is worth millions. But because it happened in my own home and by a man who’s got nothing, the most I would get was a maximum of $50,000,” she said last night.

Premier Bob Carr yesterday weighed into the debate, describing the million-dollar damages figure as “ridiculous” and ordering the Department of Education to appeal against the decision. Mr Carr blamed “Santa Claus judges” and “ambulance-chasing lawyers” for such cases, which have led to the blow-out in insurance costs. He said, “We can’t unravel the past and settle all injustices with cash payments.”

The Insurance Council of Australia yesterday said that the problem of public liability had to be tackled in co-operation with the issue of medical indemnity.

Category:     Social Issues
Sources:       Adapted from: The Daily Telegraph, May 3, 2003
Words:         250

参考译文：

赔偿费：我们全都疯了吗……
继一起校园斗殴事件获赔一百万元之后，全国的保险责任危机已经到了紧要关头。
由于猛涨的保险费持续压制全国各组织和慈善团体，新南威尔士州教育部被提起了民事诉讼。
如果我们对比以下两种情况，就可以证明这种赔偿制度是荒唐的、不公正的：一方面，曾就读该校的大卫•格里芬（David Griffin）同“患有偏头痛而且情绪不稳定”;另一方面，在新南威尔士州受害者赔偿仲裁庭（NSW Victims Compensation Tribunal）上，受到严重刑事伤害的受害者们为了得到微不足道的赔偿额而陷入困境。
这一百万元赔偿额使多娜•卡森（Donna Carson）非常愤怒。他被其前任男友纵火焚身后造成了永久性损毁，却只得到五万元赔偿，然而失去了七十五万元的收入。昨晚她说，“律师告诉我，仅我面部的伤害一项就可索赔数百万元。但是，因为事件是在我家发生的，而且案犯本人一无所有，所以我最多只能得到五万元的赔偿。“
昨天鲍勃•卡尔（Bob Carr）州长参加了此事的辩论。他形容这一百万元伤害赔偿是“荒唐可笑的”，并指令教育部对该裁决提出上诉。卡尔先生指责是“圣诞老人式的法官”和“怂恿事故受伤者起诉的律师”造成了此类情况的发生并导致保险费一再超限。他说，“我们不能用支付现金的方法来解决过去所发生的一切不公正行为。”
昨天澳大利亚保险协会（the Insurance Council of Australia）指出，公共责任问题需要与医疗赔偿问题结合起来才能得到解决。

顶一下

好好学习，累

sssssssssssssssss

up

谢谢～

ddd

多谢你