The Real Cost of Accidents at Work
A record number of compensation payouts by Birmingham City Council have raised concerns about the development of a ‘compensation-culture’ developing in the UK. It was revealed that, over the last five years, the city council has authorised payments for claims that total around £2.5 million. Amongst those payments are one for £300,000 for post traumatic stress disorder for an undisclosed event and a collective claim from two employees who contracted mesothelioma as a result of exposure to asbestos.
Birmingham is the biggest local authority in Europe, employing some 57,000 people. However, since these payouts were made there has been a proposal to streamline the workforce by 2,000 in order to be able to reach financial targets. This has obviously caused some concern, especially when there are those who feel that some of the claims made seem to have been questionable or possibly excessive in their remuneration. Of the £25 million paid out, £64,200 was allocated to an employee who fractured his hand in a faulty door, while another £17,500 was paid to another employee who claimed that their asthma was aggravated by a lack of “personal protective equipment”.
Just the beginning
It should be remembered that the payouts are only one part of the process. Once a claim has been submitted, it then initiates a very costly set of procedures. Initially, the claim has to be processed before it is passed on to a claims adjuster. The claims adjuster takes charge of the claim once it has been filed. This involves setting up the necessary files and gathering information related to the claim such as statements from witnesses, police reports, photographs and any reports from professionals such as physicians. The adjuster may interview the claimant, either by telephone or in person. Depending on the size of the claim, the adjuster visits the related property, such as a place of work. Sometimes the claim involves the services of another party, such as an Appraiser or Investigator.
Councillor Ian Ward believes that prevention is better than cure. He said that, “I’m sure more could be done to reduce accidents at work to get those figures down. Given the city council’s budgetary difficulties - when you’re being cut to the tune of £69 million and facing significant job losses - to be spending £2.5 million because of accidents occurring at work really doesn’t help.”
A situation affecting all authorities
Perhaps Mr. Ward’s concerns are the most sensible route to take; in an environment where insurers are raising premiums to cope with the number of payouts diminishing their profits, surely it is better to plough resources into accident prevention? While there are those that would question the legitimacy of many of the claims made, is it right that those few should prevent the innocent majority from being able to pursue litigation if they have suffered an injury at the hands of someone else’s negligence? It is easy to pass judgement on someone else’s misfortune without knowing the full facts, but many injuries can have a devastating effect on a person’s professional and personal life.
As economic belts remain tightened, the amount paid out in compensation claims for injuries at work by local authorities has to be a concern, as it redirects monies that could be used for what are seen as more pressing needs into compensating injured workers. But those who are injured at work also have the right to compensation, and no amount of budgetary concerns should take away the ability for people genuinely injured whilst at work to receive the compensation that they deserve. Perhaps it is time that local authorities considered putting as much effort into preventing these injuries in the first place, rather than having to ‘fire-fight’ their way out of a financial problem.
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