Years ago it was almost unheard of for a member of the public or an employee to sue a charity. Sadly those days are gone and as such charities need to ensure that their recording of incidents arising from Health & Safety matters is water tight and transparent. This action will help the charity to defend claims and protect it from increases to its future insurance premiums.

At least one person in each location should be responsible for recording incidents either in a log or more usually these days online (a service which Oval can offer to charities).

Information that should be recorded includes:

• the date, time and place of the incident;
• the name and job of the injured or ill person;
• details of the injury/illness and what first aid was given;
• details about what happened to the person immediately afterwards (e.g. went back to work, went home, went to hospital); and
• the name and signature of the first-aider.

This is the first line of defence and providing that there is a culture of reporting losses, this can help insurers to define the severity of the incident.

Your insurer must file a defence within 14 days of receiving a claim form - or 28 days if an ‘acknowledgment of service’ is filed. State in detail why the claim is being disputed; it is up to the claimant to prove their case.

• Only respond to allegations which have been included in the claim.
• Put forward your own version of what happened, in full.
• Include documentary evidence, such as copies of correspondence, witness statements and  expert opinions.

Claim costs can be reduced if:

• You can prove the claimant is partly liable.
• The claim is issued in the county court, rather than the High Court, as the court fees are lower.
• As much evidence as possible is agreed with the claimant before the trial starts.

Failure to exchange information and documentation before the trial, may lead to penalisation later, by having to pay a greater share of the costs. The law is complex. Insurers will involve legal representation and advice that may need further discussion with you to successfully defend a claim.

Whilst we do not advocate you passing the claim to insurers and forgetting about it (after all the claim will sit on your claims experience with the insurance market) we do suggest that you cooperate fully with insurers and work together to defend losses where you are certain that you have a case to defend.

Do bear in mind that simple precautions can minimise the risk of being sued in the first place:

• Use appropriately qualified and skilled employees and professional advisers to develop your Health & Safety policy.
• Keep your risk assessments up-to-date and relative to your activities.
• Make sure you have comprehensive records for training, PPE issue, healthscreening etc  that have been acknowledged and counter-signed by employees.

Oval has a team of Risk Consultants and Claims Professionals that can work on this area further with you.

For more information contact Alyson Pepperill on
07824 492665 or email alyson.pepperill@theovalgroup.com