How to avoid false claims

Related tags Licensed premises Pleading Complaint

Fraudulent claims against licensed premises are on the rise. Cases of people slipping, tripping and falling are becoming more common but an alarming...

Fraudulent claims against licensed premises are on the rise. Cases of people slipping, tripping and falling are becoming more common but an alarming new trend is emerging - claimants are becoming more creative. Licensees, be alert.

Compensation claims in Britain exceeded £10bn last year and this figure is expected to increase. While many cases involve a genuine accident one in 10 UK companies has been the target of fraudulent claims, costing UK businesses in excess of £550m a year.

On top of that it is estimated that only around 10 per cent of fraudulent claims against pubs are discovered.

The advent of "no win, no fee" deals with solicitors means claims can be brought with little risk of the claimant incurring costs and the licensed trade is clearly seen as a soft target. Longer opening hours only makes this worse.

Yet pubs are an easy target because pub operators often don't have appropriate risk management protocols in place, such as inspection records and housekeeping policies.

Fraudulent claims against pubs and licensed premises are becoming more sophisticated. Many recent claims relate to individuals who have been assaulted or had an accident and have then sought to claim for damages against the owners of properties that are seen as having defects.

This is increasingly common and difficult to defend without positive evidence to throw doubt on the circumstances of the accident or on the credibility of the claimant or their witnesses.

In a recent claim against Greene King, for instance, the claimant alleged he had fallen out of a first floor window while playing pool at a pub in Islington, north London. He suffered severe head and facial injuries.

He argued that the large French-style windows with low sills made it foreseeable that someone who had been drinking heavily could fall through them. Further, a missing decorative railing on this particular window meant there was nothing to stop someone falling from hitting the pavement below.

However, no one at the pub knew anything about this accident and neither the police nor an ambulance had attended. The first report of the accident was a letter from the claimant's solicitor some three weeks later.

A detailed investigation by Weightmans solicitors discovered that the main "independent witness" did not exist. Ambulance crews were interviewed and statements obtained from witnesses identified in the ambulance control log.

This evidence suggested that the accident had occurred further along the street where the claimant had attempted to stand on some railings and urinate into a basement. Surveillance evidence also showed he was working while saying he was unable to do so because of his injuries.

We have recently seen a number of claims, too, where injuries arise from an assault. False details are given at the hospital and claims are pursued for negligence against licensed premises where there is a known defect.

So what can you do to avoid such claims? There are a number of measures you can take. Complaints about your premises - torn carpets or missing stair-treads for example - must be taken seriously and the defects inspected at the time the complaint is made. If the area cannot be fixed with a temporary repair immediately it should be cordoned off and warning signs put up.

These complaints may be the prelude to a false claim being levelled against you at a later date. If you can show that the hazard was present and notified to the licensee some time before the accident occurred, there is little prospect of such a claim being successful.

If possible take photographs and relevant measurements as soon as possible after an accident has been reported to show the state of affairs at the time. In a claim against a bar in Coventry individuals were found pulling loose carpet from stair treads the day after an accident in which a claimant had fallen down the stairs while drunk.

Whether fraudulent or genuine, though, it is difficult to avoid claims completely and you should be prepared take immediate action (see box).

Some smaller claims can be managed by having effective risk reduction measures in place but suspect claims involving injury need specialist investigation. Specialist solicitors have access to various databases used in the prevention of fraud by insurance companies. These are valuable tools in dealing with fraudulent claims.

To sum up - be suspicious, carry out frequent inspections of your premises and document them. And where appropriate always put up clear warning signs.

Ivor Long is a partner at Weightmans solicitors specialising in workplace safety

Improve you chances of avoiding a claim by...

  • Maintaining written evidence of full weekly inspections or audits
  • Repairing defects immediately or putting the area put out of commission with barriers and signs
  • Putting warning signs on wet floors after cleaning
  • Considering using of CCTV or false cameras

Following a claim...

  • Late reports of an accident, or the lack of any report, should be treated with suspicion
  • Detailed statements should be taken from the injured party and all witnesses, including full names and addresses
  • Pass on claims and correspondence to your insurers or brokers immediately and tell them any suspicions you have
  • Never allow your staff to admit responsibility or mention previous complaints or accidents. These will be used against you to show you were aware of the possibility of an accident

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