THE LEGAL SINS A tongue-in-cheek look at what possible legal claims the characters would have if current UK legislation was in place in the fantasy world. COMPILED BY MICHAEL LEWIN SOLICITORS WWW.MICHAELLEWIN.CO.UK 0844 499 9302
NOTICE It goes without saying that what follows is a fun look at the legal aspects of the hit TV series Game of Thrones might encounter if it was placed in the current UK legislation environment. No infringements on anyone's copyrights or trademark rights are intended by this document, especially if you live in Westeros or Essos.
Given the huge popularity of the TV series Game of Thrones ( GoT ), we here at Michael Lewin Solicitors thought we would take a tongue-in-cheek look at the GoT world and what possible legal claims the characters would have if the GoT fantasy world was governed by UK legislation. Below we detail the types of claims characters could have and examples from the series. Michael Lewin Solicitors would have been able to assist any of the inhabitants of the GoT world as we specialise in providing legal advice on each of the types of claim detailed below. Employment Claims Leaving aside the issue of employment status, and whether servants and slaves within the GoT world would qualify as workers or employees, there would be several potential employment claims the citizens could bring such as; breach of working time regulations, breach of the national minimum wage and breach of health and safety regulations due to the long hours and less than perfect living conditions many are subjected to. There would also be potential claims for discrimination on the basis of various protected characteristics, for example Brienne of Tarth would have a clear claim for sex discrimination on the basis of the many negative and sarcastic comments she receives about being a female knight. The potential for victimisation claims, where citizens have suffered less favourable treatment after raising concerns of discrimination, or claims for detriment suffered having whistle blown (raised concerns regarding health and safety or failures to comply with legal obligations) is huge within the GoT world, but unfortunately few complainants live to see another day let alone to bring a claim. If a claim had been made before the untimely death of a claimant then any executor of their estate would be able to continue the claim on their behalf. Often we have seen the services that slaves offer within the world of GoT transfer from one slave master to another. Again, leaving aside whether this would constitute a relevant transfer for the purposes of the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations, any said slave would likely have a claim for failure to inform and consult as they often find out about such transfer at very little notice and have little or no say in it. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that any of the above citizens would be successful in any redundancy related claims; it would appear as though when a workforce needs to be reduced murder is favoured over searching for alternative employment.
RTA Claims If someone is involved in a car accident they may be entitled to compensation, the level of which is dependent on the severity of the injuries sustained. Ignoring the potential issue of whether or not insurance was in place for carts and/or horses in the GoT world, there are many of examples of hit and runs and pedestrian incidents throughout GoT that could give rise to a claim for the injured party. Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) Claims The CICA scheme allows those who have suffered personal injury as a consequence of a violent crime to make a claim for compensation. Most of the citizens of Westeros, who are not part of the nobility, could probably claim as they find themselves direct and blameless victims of a crime of violence when they are caught in the middle of numerous wars and ransackings. If Oberyn Martell s end result had not been so... final, then he too would have been eligible to claim, having sustained an injury when taking an exceptional and justified risk, trying to remedy or prevent crime when he defended Tyrion Lannister in a trial by combat. Arya Stark could be eligible as she may have suffered a mental injury as a consequence of witnessing or being involved in the immediate aftermath of a violent incident that caused the injury or death of a loved one, when she was present at her father s execution. Poor Sansa Stark would be eligible as she is a relative of a victim who has died from injuries that were sustained as a direct result of a crime of violence she has lost most of her family this way. Stress at Work Personal Injury Claims Michael Lewin Solicitors are experts in this difficult area of law and have a high degree of success in recovering damages for clients who have suffered long term psychiatric injury as a result of their employment. The men of the Wall could certainly be vulnerable to stress at work claims due to an excessive workload, there never seems to be a break from defending and fighting the wildlings and white walkers. If Theon Greyjoy could be classed as an employee then he could also claim, following the unbearable amount of bullying and harassment he regularly experiences from Ramsey Bolton.
Animal Bite Claims Citizens of the GoT world could make a claim if they are bitten or harmed by an animal. The major example of this in the real world would be dog bite claims, bearing in mind there are approximately 200,000 dog attacks each year in the UK. Two obvious examples in the GoT world would be the victims of the attacks by the Stark s wolves and Daenerys Dragons. Military Claims Soldiers often find themselves in dangerous situations. Under UK law if a soldier suffers an injury whilst performing their duties they may be able to claim compensation. Throughout the series there have been plenty of examples of soldiers suffering horrific injuries for which they could potentially claim compensation. However it should be noted that under UK legislation soldiers do not acquire certain employment law rights such as the right to protection from unfair dismissal. Industrial Disease Claims Under UK law if you have been put in an unsafe environment by your employer and can prove the negligence of your employer then you may be able to claim compensation for any injuries or conditions that you have suffered as a result. Examples in the GoT world might include claims brought by blacksmiths creating the weaponry for the various armies. Due to the incessant banging of steel they may have damaged their hearing potentially giving them a noise induced hearing loss claim. Due to the repetitive nature of their work they may be able to also bring claims for vibration white finger or repetitive strain injury.