Claims for accidents at work on the rise!

One of the UK's largest claims management companies has announced that they have seen a 12% rise in the number of accident at work claims over the past 12 months. Accidents Direct published the figures in their financial report for 2008/09 and indicated that there had been a rapid rise in the number of work related claims.

They say that increased public awareness through a flurry of television advertising campaigns and media awareness of the 'no win no fee' claims compensation market has had a direct affect on the number of people bringing claims for accidents at work. Along with many other claims specialists, Accidents Direct are citing a rise in the willingness of individuals to pursue claims in the knowledge that there is no initial financial cost to them to bring a claim.

They also believe that clients are now becoming far more aware of their rights and of company's duty of care obligations to employees to provide a safe working environment, no matter what industry they happen to work in. The realisation that every employer also has to have insurance and that making a claim doesn't affect the company as such but is offset against their insurance has also made many more people willing to pursue a claim.

Many people, particularly in the midst of a global recession where holding onto your job is seen as vitally important, have also been reluctant in the past to bring a claim against their employer. This was due to the worry that there would be ramifications as a result, whether that was a change in attitude towards them from their colleagues or employers or a direct, financial impact on the company itself. Now that the public has a much better understanding of how employer's obligations are covered by insurance, it is seen as far more acceptable to hold a company to account in the event of an accident.

It does affect the company's insurance premiums if an accident at work case is pursued successfully, but this is seen as a small price to pay if an employee has been injured in their working environment. The idea that it can also help to draw attention to health and safety issues that may need to be addressed to prevent others from suffering the same injury is also seen as a justification for bringing a claim. Work related injury claims are often some of the easiest to prove in a claims court - a trip or fall may be more difficult to prove but the advent of freely available health and safety guidelines make it much easier to prove negligence in the workplace. Work accidents are usually logged in an accident book, so there is almost always proof of the accident.

With the advent of modern technology such as CCTV being installed in many working environments, the evidence needed to bring an accident at work claim is now easier to access and consequently, easier to prove. The rise in public awareness of their rights through television advertising and media coverage, combined with a tightening of Health and Safety at Work legislation has all been attributed to the rise in the number of claims being brought.

Specialists fully expect that figure to go on rising as people become more comfortable about pursuing accident claims that result in any kind of injury. The largest number of claims still comes from the building industry, with falls from height making up a substantial proportion of those claims. But trips and falls are rapidly catching up and more are being brought by visitors to locations as well as employees. Is Britain turning into a 'where there's blame, there's a claim' society? Maybe, but if this rise in claims means that everyone has a safer working environment, then perhaps that's no bad thing.