Re; litigious societies - When I coached football in the States a 14 year old went down with ruptured ankle ligaments in a tournament in a great deal of pain (anyone who's done it will know!). The tournament doctor went to treat him and the boy's dad stopped him and called his family doctor, who arrived 30 minutes later and treated the boy. The dad was saying he'd sue the on-site doc if he touched his boy, who was crying in absolute agony. The UK's gone the same way, for whatever reason.
Blame who you like for that - most likely legislative change that allowed solicitors to tout and barter for business (hence the TV, media ads, etc.). The point is, just because it's not the same as when we kids, doesn't mean that isn't for the better. I work with a guy who's a respected national court witness in his professional field - namely risk assessment for schools and sports clubs. His favourite phrase at conferences when he keynotes is "your explanation doesn't sound any more convincing with 'Your Honour' after it." Some of the stories he's told me around neglect of safety and responsibility, mainly because of the 'we do what we've always done' attitude, are shocking and have led to criminal convictions. Camera phones, social media and bygone attitudes can be a very dangerous combination.
These safeguarding policies came about for a reason - it's not all conspiracy. Do we feel the same about changes and improvements to first aid? They've improved hand in hand with child protection policies and I don't see many people calling for the return of the magic sponge...