Are we too much of a compensation culture?

Yesterday I heard an email being read out on the BBC in reply to a question about why so many schools were quick to close due to the snow that has hit a lot of the UK. The email in question came from a head teacher who said that part of the reason why they are so quick to close their school was due to fears of parents taking the school to court if their child hurt themselves when playing in the snow.

This morning I was then stopped by a sales agent for a lawyer that deals in claiming compensation for accidents and apart from the fact that they are a real pain it was the guy insisting that I must have had some kind of accident at some point that I could claim for no matter how minor it may seem.

The question therefore is are we too much of a compensation culture? Do you know of anybody that has sued somebody for something stupid and won? Where are we heading with all of this?