Senators may be aware of an accident involving a former employee of the Labour Party who cut his hand when a glass door shattered at the entrance to LH 2000 a few years ago. The door was out of action for some time afterwards. The person concerned did not bring a claim against the Office of Public Works, although I believe he would have had a very good case, but he was approached for weeks afterwards by people telling him how foolish he was not to do so. In his view, the question of taking a case for general damages simply did not arise as he was not out of pocket and there was no big deal. Not everybody takes that view – the opposite approach is probably more commonplace. The number who urged my friend to make a claim illustrates just how ingrained in people's minds is the notion of what lawyers refer to as general damages.