"Compensation Culture" Myth.

A study for the TUC by health journal Hazards calls into question the existence of a “compensation culture”. Commenting on the results of the study, the TUC said that the number of people receiving awards for work related industrial diseases have fallen by 60% over the past decade to fewer than 90,000 cases. The report revealed that more than 4,000 workers die every year of work related chronic  bronchitis and emphysema but compensation was paid out in just 59 cases in the past year.

TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said “The Government is trying to brain wash people into thinking the UK has a rife compensation culture. However the facts tell a very different story. Even those dying from work related diseases have precious little chance of getting a pay out”. 

Rory O’Neill, editor of Hazards, who is a Professor of Occupational Health at Stirling University and author of the report said that the Government are promoting the myth of a a compensation culture  but that "this means many workers who are dying in pain are also dying in poverty”.

Speaking of the report Richard Wood from the CNCI team said “Health & Safety Legislation has over the years reduced the number of people who are killed or seriously injured during the course of their daily work. Sadly occupational accidents and diseases have not been eliminated. We act for many individuals who have suffered catastrophic injuries at work. Those individuals only recover compensation if they can show that their employer has been negligent or has breached the law. Cases are often contested by insurers. For many of our clients who suffer long term disability and who may never be able to return to work, any award of compensation simply helps to provide some security and comfort at a difficult and unsettling time in their lives. It is grossly unfair to consider that these individuals are part of a “compensation culture”. They are exercising their legal rights and in many cases are simply pursuing employers who were all too willing to cut corners and save money and to risk the lives of their employees”.