Police personal injury claims

The Freedom of information Act is starting to throw up more and more fascinating information, as specialists in submitting requests become ever more adept at finding questions which may disclose interesting information. Many of these requests tend to indicate that, perhaps unsurprisingly, to a degree, those working in public service to an extent mirror societal trends. Somehow, we expect, for example, our police to be somehow different, somehow as paragons of society, whereas in fact, they are of course members of society just like us all.

The above tends to be borne out by the increasingly publicised issue of the so-called “compensation culture” which has become embedded in our society. In response to a recent FOI request, the following very interesting facts were disclosed :-

• Personal Injury claims made by police included 1 against Herts Constabulary resulting in an award of £550,000.00 for a broken elbow, which led to complications
• A total of more than £12million has been paid by a number of police forces for personal injury damages in the last 5 years
• Interestingly, the North West is the epicentre of personal injury lawyers and claims companies and the highest amount paid by a police authority was by greater Manchester not the  Met
• Strange claims resulting in damages payments include £14,000.00 paid to a policeman who claimed for tinnitus caused by buzzers on the doors of police station cells.