Vibration white finger and the inability to play pool

Here, in our no win, no fee compensation company, we have some vibration white finger specialists, so we were cheering for a Nottinghamshire case that popped up in the press recently in which a man in his sixties received a £10,000 payout in a settlement for his Raynauds disease claim.

I was also entertained to discover that part of the case made by his personal injury solicitor on his behalf was that the industrial disease had interfered with his leisure activities, including darts and pool. It's one of those things that some elements of the press might consider frivolous, perhaps, but leisure is one of the central things to being alive in this world, and if a condition you've picked up at work interferes with your ability to enjoy your life outside it, I'd say that's a good reason to deserve some kind of compensation, particularly if the disease is picked up through a lack of training.

With this case having been settled out of court, it's not possible to say whether that was felt to be a reason in this claim, but we discussed the generalities around the case over lunch in a local bar and were generally in favour. And, of course, there was a pool table there, so we got distracted onto that.

Now, the sad fact is I'm appallingly bad at the game, and I can't even blame vibration white finger for that. I understand the geometry - I've got two a-levels in maths, for crying out loud - but for some reason the balls don't do what I imagine they're about to. Mental pool I'm a natural at, it's just the real world getting in the way.

So I didn't spend much time at the table. It makes me think that it ought to be loser stays on, as I clearly need the practice. But that might be entirely inappropriate for a no win, no fee firm; it's probably best that we think of the next game as the "fee" that I, not winning, do not get.

Does the metaphor stretch further? Our solicitors, when they win, manage to pass the fee on to the opponent. The trouble is, you put the pound into the pool table before playing, so it can't be settled then; maybe the loser should also be expected to pay for the next game? It might be logically sound but I'm not sure I like the idea...

I also have to wonder where the first pound would come from; I guess the last loser could hold theirs over to the next time we get to the bar, but the very first would need a volunteer. Someone who's likely to lose. Ah. Me again.

All of which means I'm most likely to want the idea of "no win, no fee" kept out of the whole pool table arena; let's keep it where it belongs, in the vibration white finger cases and suchlike that started this train of thought.

Can I claim?