To be rather surprised at my parents with hindsight?

[ImaBridKid]

In 1990 I was 17 and was knocked off my bike by a motorist. It was low speed collision on a roundabout, I wasn't seriously injured not enough for a hospital appointment. However, I was shaken up with a painful bruised backside and had to have 2 days off work. The lady who knocked me over seemed a decent type, was also shaken up and had to have the day off work due to shock.
What surprises me is this - my parents were both university graduates with 'Top executive' level jobs. My mum was an abusive, alcoholic narcissist and my Dad her enabler.
I'm surprised that neither of them encouraged or helped me to put in a claim for compensation. After all, I was hurt although not really seriously and psychologically shaken up. I didn't know the first thing about claims when I was 17.
Maybe the claims culture wasn't so much a thing in 1990.Any opinions?

[October2020]

@ImaBridKid is this more to do with feeling like your parents didn't care for you when you got hurt? That they didn't react in a way that you hoped for? I just wondered as you mentioned your mother being narcissistic. It is okay to feel grief about this, if that is what this is. Ignore me if not! :)

[cornflakecritter]

I think your perspective is impacted perhaps by working in the claims industry, so meeting lots of people that way who do claim. Even now, I wouldn't think to claim if this happened to me, or a 17 year old who was my child. It doesn't mean it isn't a horrible thing to happen, mind you.

Sorry that your parents gave you such a difficult time growing up in other ways though.

[Looneytune253]

To be honest it sounds like an accident. A very minor one at that. Why would u want to go out of your way to punish someone for an accident. Esp if you say it was a nice lady etc. Not a very nice quality to have OP

[zscaler]

The level of compensation you would have been entitled to for a bruise and a bit of a fright would have been absolutely minimal, and imo completely dwarfed by the stress and expense of pursuing the claim. Your parents saved you a pointless hassle tbh.

[Mammyloveswine]

Even now I wouldn't claim for compensation!!!

[ImaBridKid]

I thinking your perspective is perhaps impacted by working in the claims industry

100% this

[ImaBridKid]

October2020 - thank you - and yes - a traumatic thing happened a few weeks before the accident when my mum was in one of her frequent drunken rages!

[user1493494961]

I think you should let it go now, move on.

[TARSCOUT]

The claim attitude is why were all paying such expensive insurance policies. You had 2 days off work, some bruises and you got a fright. I'm sure lots of people would claim nowadays.

[ImaBridKid]

I have moved on the sense that I'm not worried about this now -I'm glad tbh that you all feel it would have been wrong to claim makes me feel the right thing was done

[Carrie7469]

YABVVU

[October2020]

@ImaBridKid it is okay to grief the childhood you wanted. Sometimes, specific instances bring up a huge amount of unhealed pain, even if the actual incident itself wasn't as much of a drama as it feels/was actually sort of reasonable? If that makes sense.

[springiscoming12]

Wow, you win the most ridiculous thread of the week award

[Zilla1]

OP, sorry heaven't read the thread and I could be wrong but conditional (no win no fee) legal arrangements were, I think, introduced in the UK around 1995. This was linked to the compensation culture as prior to that, you and your family would have had to fund the claim and the possibility of paying the other parties' fees. From my recollection, as PPs have said, the culture prior to 1995 was fundamentally different.

[Sparklfairy]

The psychological part is what would be worth the money now, but wasn't as accepted (or quantifiable) back in 1990. A bruised bum and a couple of days off work would have been worth pursuing a claim. Now (and especially 10-15 years ago when comp claims peaked) it would be.

[Sparklfairy]

Wouldn't have been worth pursuing*

[ImaBridKid]

springiscoming12 - OK, but I'm glad I asked 'cos as a 17 yr old back then I genuinely didn't know that the right thing was done at the time.

[Thisismytimetoshine]

Jesus, what utter fucking nonsense . I'm almost embarrassed for you, op.

[Thisismytimetoshine]

'cos as a 17 yr old back then I genuinely didn't know
You're not 17 now?

[raspberryk]

I was only a preschooler in 1990 and even I know there wasn't this claims culture in the UK then. It started much later, probably when I was in my early teens and still even now 30 years later than your accident, very few would even contemplate claiming for what is essentially nothing. I believe they would have to exaggerate the effects to even get a chance of getting anything.

[ImaBridKid]

Thanks all for some of your useful/enlightening responses. For example Zilla1 - I hadn't realised that 1995 was the 'watershed' as it were

[ImaBridKid]

Thisismytimetoshine - yes I know but I've worked for several years in low level car accident claims !! - which may put a different take on it!

[cstaff]

I worked with a woman where an accident in her back garden caused a child to break his leg in 1995. His parents pursued the case and won big. This made the news because it was so unusual at the time. This was in Ireland.

[Itisbetter]

But you say you WORK in the “claims industry”???

[ImaBridKid]

raspberryk - yes - to be fair from memory it certainly wasn't common parlance back then....