Compensation for cops.

Syl wrote:See above.

Seems to me some coppers have found an easy way of boosting their income. Police forces throughout the country have all seen drastic cuts which result in the public suffering....yet some cops will bleed their own forces dry for trivial injury.

Pathetic.

Emergency Service Personnel do a dangerous job, if they are injured in the course of their duty through no fault of their own, or because of a third party, they should be adequately compensated.
In your link it states the Solicitors are Pattinson Brewer, these are the top Compensation Solicitors in this Country, they do not accept light hearted claims,
I totally disagree with the Chief Constables remarks, he should be thinking of the safety of his serving members not what the Government is telling him to say.

Maybe the Chief Constable is a bit more savy than you SB.

Syl wrote:Maybe the Chief Constable is a bit more savy than you SB.

He is being dictated to by his superiors and saying what they want him to say. He obviously has lost contact with his roots and does not respect the dangers that those under his command have to endure, to allow him to be Chief Constable

Snookerballs wrote:

Syl wrote:Maybe the Chief Constable is a bit more savy than you SB.

He is being dictated to by his superiors and saying what they want him to say. He obviously has lost contact with his roots and does not respect the dangers that those under his command have to endure, to allow him to be Chief Constable

Or more likely he just knows a scammer when he sees one.

Through out My Career I have known several Collegues that have sustained injuries on duty, several of which resulted in tragic circumstances which meant they were unable to work again, I myself have been there and got the Tee Shirt.
To say they were "scammers" is an insult to those that you would call on to help you out in an emergency

Who has said 'genuine' cases of people who have suffered tragic accidents whilst on duty are scammers?

Unless of course you call getting bitten by a flea ..or falling off a pushbake.. or cutting your thumb, or sustaining a bruise "tragic"....which going by your defence of these scammers you may do.

Syl wrote:Who has said 'genuine' cases of people who have suffered tragic accidents whilst on duty are scammers?

Unless of course you call getting bitten by a flea ..or falling off a pushbake.. or cutting your thumb, or sustaining a bruise "tragic"....which going by your defence of these scammers you may do.

The very fact that compensation was paid out in the circumstances mentioned in these news stories shows that there was some merit in the claims.

To claim compensation requires legal representation from both sides, the fact that compensation WAS paid out is an admittance of guilt. (Pattinson Brewer are one of the Best Legal representitves)

The news media have played down these claims as trivial for maximum impact, and that The Chief Constable goes along with the story shows he has no respect for his staff. He should have made "No Comment"
He should be concerned that the "Cut Backs" he is implementing upon his Force and Personnel is endangering their safety, he is just trying to protect his own interests

If anyone has to be "taken to task" over paying out unnecessary Compensation claims it should be the Chief Constable himself, either he is allowing his Force to waste Tax Payers money on frivilous claims or he is allowing his staff to work in dangerous conditions which should be rectified within the Health and Safety Laws.

Compensation claims by the police are reportedly rife across the country not just on one force.
Also police are making claims against the general public not only their own forces.

Should a member of the public who need help from the police have to weigh up the pros and cons before they ask for help? ...wondering when (or more likely if) a copper comes to investigate a crime it is they....the person in need of help who will end up being sued because some clumsy oaf bangs his toe on a piece of rogue furniture?

Get real SB.
And if you really think scam claims are not sometimes believed you are more gullible than I thought... psychological and emotional illness's are not so hard to profess to have either.

Its like a surgeon saying he is traumatised by the sight of blood....coppers see and hear things that are distressful, if they cant hack it they should leave.

Syl wrote:Compensation claims by the police are reportedly rife across the country not just on one force.
Also police are making claims against the general public not only their own forces.

Should a member of the public who need help from the police have to weigh up the pros and cons before they ask for help? ...wondering when (or more likely if) a copper comes to investigate a crime it is they....the person in need of help who will end up being sued because some clumsy oaf bangs his toe on a piece of rogue furniture?

Get real SB.
And if you really think scam claims are not sometimes believed you are more gullible than I thought... psychological and emotional illness's are not so hard to profess to have either.

Its like a surgeon saying he is traumatised by the sight of blood....coppers see and hear things that are distressful, if they cant hack it they should leave.

Quite right.

Syl wrote:Compensation claims by the police are reportedly rife across the country not just on one force.
Also police are making claims against the general public not only their own forces.

Should a member of the public who need help from the police have to weigh up the pros and cons before they ask for help? ...wondering when (or more likely if) a copper comes to investigate a crime it is they....the person in need of help who will end up being sued because some clumsy oaf bangs his toe on a piece of rogue furniture?

Get real SB.
And if you really think scam claims are not sometimes believed you are more gullible than I thought... psychological and emotional illness's are not so hard to profess to have either.

Its like a surgeon saying he is traumatised by the sight of blood....coppers see and hear things that are distressful, if they cant hack it they should leave.

Instead of believing in what the Mass News Media puts forward as a good story look behind the story for the Truth.

If an owner of a Property invites or requests a member of the Public, be it a Policeman, Plumber, Window Cleaner, Postman onto their Property, the Owner is responsible for their safety, if there is a known hazard (i.e. in the case of the Police Officer tripping over a high step in the dark) If the owner fails to inform of the hazard or rectify it, the Owner is liable for injury or damage to the third Party.

Regarding the Flea Bite Saga, it was known that this particular Police Station was infested with fleas which under Health and safety at work act is a health hazard to anybody employed there.
Someone in Authority "Cocked up" by not getting the Police Station Fumigated, I am sure a top Pest Control Company would have charged far less than the £8.K compensation claim that was paid out in the end. It is the person in Authority who did not organise fumigation that needs to be taken to task for allowing the situation to happen, and wasting the Tax Payers money, ( but that would be a boring news item)

You appear to have absolutely no knowledge of Psychological/Emotional stress, (PTSD) or how it can manifest itself at any time without warning and the after affects it can have on a person.
Again under H&S, As far as I am aware, most Emergency Services are now obliged to have Counselling Services who can be called in at any time for their personnel that have been confronted with a traumatic incident. (something that took a long time in coming and most needed, thanks to H&S )

I am well aware that emotional stress can happen suddenly, it's part of life, for everyone.
It's the fact that people expect to be compensated in monetary terms that I find hard to digest.

Believing what the "mass media" put forward, and actually listening to police spokes people talking about and giving interviews concerning the rise in compensation claims is two entirely different things.

You can deny facts and figures all you like.... it just makes you wrong.
And do you not think claiming compensation is wasting 'tax payers money' SB? Who ultimately pays for the police force in this country?

You can hardly compare a policeman entering your property to a postman or a plumber. If a crime has been commited in a house, often times people are told not to touch anything......or are you suggesting they should flit around before the police arrive to "tidy up"?

Syl wrote:I am well aware that emotional stress can happen suddenly, it's part of life, for everyone.
It's the fact that people expect to be compensated in monetary terms that I find hard to digest.

Believing what the "mass media" put forward, and actually listening to police spokes people talking about and giving interviews concerning the rise in compensation claims is two entirely different things.

You can deny facts and figures all you like.... it just makes you wrong.
And do you not think claiming compensation is wasting 'tax payers money' SB? Who ultimately pays for the police force in this country?

You can hardly compare a policeman entering your property to a postman or a plumber. If a crime has been commited in a house, often times people are told not to touch anything......or are you suggesting they should flit around before the police arrive to "tidy up"?

So you believe that an emergency worker who worked for 15 years or so, with an outstanding mortgage, two children, encounters a traumatic incident and suffers PTSD, and is unable to work should be denied any compensation, albeit the money would come from Employers Liability Insurance.
Assistant Chief Constable Marcus Beale, West Midland Police,
stated - " Compensation Payouts are only made following the assessment of appropriate Medical evidence by the In-house legal team, Insurers, and Solicitors,
who then make recommendation to the Force as to what payment should be made, based on expert knowledge and Published Case Law".

It depends entirely on what the 'traumatic incident' was...and how it genuinly affected their lives. If they need time off they get paid sick leave, why persue compensation?

Some jobs by there very nature expose people to emotional trauma, my friends son is a paramedic, he sees stuff daily that would give me nightmares......so I chose a different "career". It makes sense really, if you cant cope with the job dont do it.

Assistant chief constable Marcus Beale from the West Midland force can say what he chooses.... the facts are compensation claims within the police force are at an all time high, and people ...not least the police forces themselves are getting sick of pathetic claims for trivial injuries.

Police get a very good pay and many perks not available to others. Free prescriptions, free public transport travel, early retirement ...... They should take the odd minor injury in their stride.

Reliantrobin wrote:Police get a very good pay and many perks not available to others. Free prescriptions, free public transport travel, early retirement ...... They should take the odd minor injury in their stride.

They also pay into the Police Federation which is their Insurance Policy,
Why pay Insurance and when the time comes to make a claim do not bother, it would make no sense.

The so called perks that you mention are being phased out thanks to Government cut backs and privatisation of parts of the Police Force ( Welcome to the world of G4S)
These claims are met by the Police Force Insurance, the same sort of Insurance that pays out when an Elderly person trips over a defective paving slab, injures themselves because the Council ignores the repairs, and those pot holes in the road that smash up Car Suspensions,

Claiming for laughably trivial injuries or bogus emotional trauma is taking the money away from genuine claimants.
No one is denying that sometimes real and serious injuries happen in the line of duty, no one is saying that when this happens the person involved should be denied monetary compensation.
In fact the only person who seems to support police scammers is you SB.

I dont often hear/read of many elderly people claiming succesfully after they have tripped over a defective paving slab.
Most probably they sit waiting in an A&E ward for hours before being seen by a rushed off her feet nurse ..then either have to make their own way home alone (no hospital beds) or wait for hospital transport which often never arrives.

Syl wrote:Claiming for laughably trivial injuries or bogus emotional trauma is taking the money away from genuine claimants.
No one is denying that sometimes real and serious injuries happen in the line of duty, no one is saying that when this happens the person involved should be denied monetary compensation.
In fact the only person who seems to support police scammers is you SB.

I dont often hear/read of many elderly people claiming succesfully after they have tripped over a defective paving slab.
Most probably they sit waiting in an A&E ward for hours before being seen by a rushed off her feet nurse ..then either have to make their own way home alone (no hospital beds) or wait for hospital transport which often never arrives.

The reason one does hear about Pavement Claims is because Councils will not divulge the information
It is estimated over the last five years Pavement Claims have cost Councils around £ 300 Million.
Pothole claims last year cost over £32 Million (Which is considerably more than Police Claims)

http://www.guidedogs.org.uk/fileadmin/gdmain/user/News/Documents/CUP_report_combined1.pdf

I cant open that link SB.