The government must not hinder access to justice for personal injury victims as it takes forward Lord Young’s report on the so-called ‘compensation culture,’ lawyers’ groups have warned.

In his report released on Friday, Young (pictured) acknowledged that ‘the problem of the compensation culture prevalent in society today is one of perception rather than reality.’

The Law Society said that claims of a compensation culture in England and Wales are ‘simply not justified by the facts’, and ‘should not be used to make it more difficult for people who have been injured by the negligence of others to pursue claims.’

The Bar Council said the government should be ‘mindful to preserve other means of accessing the justice system’ if access to legal aid is reduced.

In his report, Young recommended no outright ban on personal injury advertising, but instead said there should be tighter controls on the volume and content of the adverts. He said the road traffic accident (RTA) personal injury process should be extended to include other personal injury cases, and the compensation limit under the existing RTA process should be upped from £10,000 to £25,000. Young also recommended that the operation of referral agencies should be constrained.

Young said it is his ‘firm belief’ that the government should implement fully Lord Justice Jackson’s recommendations on civil litigation costs. One of Jackson’s recommendations was that success fees from conditional fee agreements (CFAs) should no longer be recoverable from the losing party in litigation.

Prime minister David Cameron said that he and his cabinet have accepted all of Young’s recommendations.

Law Society president Linda Lee said: ‘Claims farmers may on occasion give people unrealistic expectations about their prospects for a successful claim. Solicitors weed out unjustified claims at an early stage.

‘Conditional [fee] arrangements ensure that only strong cases are brought. They are vital in securing access to justice amid continued reductions in legal aid spending. The Society will continue to lobby government against any attempt to reduce access to justice for victims who have sustained injury as a result of another’s negligence or breach of duty.’

Michael Todd QC, who led the Bar Council’s response to the Jackson review of civil litigation costs, said: ‘If availability of legal aid is to be reduced, then the government has to be mindful to preserve other means of accessing the justice system, whilst weeding out the potential for abuse. Whilst the consideration of a compensation or blame culture is timely, the real issues concern the provision and cost of access to justice; legal remedies for wrongs, conducted at proportionate cost.’

Muiris Lyons, president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers, said that Young had ‘missed a critical opportunity’ to ‘dispel the compensation culture myth’.

He said: ‘In a report littered with references to "fear" and "perception", [Young] has offered little by way of clarification and education, recommending instead the extension of a new road traffic accident scheme which, although underway, is still in its infancy and beset with technical teething problems.’

National Accident Helpline chief executive Sam Porteous questioned Young’s recommendation to restrict television advertising. ‘Such advertising is one of the only means of giving people awareness of their rights to justice if they have suffered a genuine injury,’ she said. ‘Our research shows that only 6% of people are aware of their rights in this area. Without television advertising and no public awareness campaign, how are disadvantaged people, who are the underdogs, supposed to know their rights?’