Compensation madness

What is going on in our society. We seem to be living in a parallel universe.

Universe 1 - A woman was awarded £200,000 today because her firm sexually discriminated against her when she became pregnant. She was told she was "useless", would "never be the same again", and that instead of the BMW company car she was due to receive she would get a "runaround". Then while she was on maternity leave she was demoted twice.

Universe 2 - Aged just 18, Rifleman Jamie Cooper became the youngest British soldier to be injured in Iraq when he was hit by shrapnel in Basra last November, during his first tour with the Green Jackets. Suffering from extensive nerve damage to his leg, a broken pelvis and a shattered right hand, his heart stopped twice as medics fought to save him. He later developed the superbug MRSA after a series of operations in the UK. He has been paid compensation of £57,00.

How can any self respecting society with a democratically elected government let this happen?

I am not saying that the woman in my first example should not be protected from an asshole employer, but it is just so obvious that the balance of our legal compensation system has become focused on political correctness and is not actually looking after those that really need society's help.