The TUC’s ever helpful guide to health and safety is out for April and available here . The Bulletin covers numerous aspects of health and safety in the workplace. However one notable article relates to the “compensation myth”.
This shows that 6 out of 7 people injured in the workplace do not obtain compensation.
“TUC explodes the ‘compensation myth’
Workplace compensation cases have fallen by more than 50 per cent in the last decade, reveals a new joint report from the TUC and the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL). ‘The compensation myth’ – which tackles seven myths about compensation – smashes the misconception of a rise in risk aversion driven by a compensation culture. It reveals that there were 183,342 compensation claims in 2002/03 but only 91,115 in 2012/13, a fall of more than 50 per cent. The report notes more than six out of seven (85.7 per cent) workers who are injured or made ill at work get no compensation whatsoever. The government meanwhile is making it even harder for workers to pursue claims by taking the burden of proof away from the employer and increasing the costs workers have to pay to have their cases heard. TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “The government is forever trying to brainwash us into thinking the UK has a rampant compensation culture, but – as this new report shows – the facts tell a very different story. Even those dying from work-related diseases have precious little chance of getting a decent payout.” She added: “The true government motivation here is to weaken health and safety legislation and make it even harder for victims to pursue claims against their employers. Unfortunately the end result is likely to be a much higher rate of workplace accidents, injuries and illnesses in the future.””
PERSONAL INJURY: LIABILITY AND DAMAGES 