FOLLOWERS of the column by our doctor correspondent, James Fleming, will know his disillusionment at the compensation culture.

For Dr Fleming a large part of his time working in a busy accident and emergency department at a Lancashire hospital is fending off the demands of accident victimes pursuing an insurance claim.

News this week that the compensation industry is worth £10 billion (in figures that's £10,000,000,000, an awful lot of noughts) is shocking but not surprising.

Clumsy twerps who don't watch where they are going suddenly see their accident as a passport to riches. The genuine cases are being drowned by at best exaggerated, at worst grossly fraudulent claims.

It's not entirely a new generation to blame. Some time ago a gentleman, well into his 70s, was crestfallen when the Herald returned a photograph to him.

"Oh!" he whined. "I was hoping you'd lost it so I could get some compensation from you".