A person who injured their hand on a light bulb is to be paid compensation by Cambridge City Council. And so is a Cambridge Folk Festival reveller who slipped.
These are two compensation claims highlighted in today’s Cambridge Evening News, they were obtained by the paper from Cambridge City Council using the Freedom of Information Act.
It says dozens of people are demanding cash payouts for injuries in the last two years, but asked the paper not to publish the sums involved in individual cases to prevent copycat claims, they range from between £1,500 and £25,000.
I’m surprised this kind of information has to be obtained via the FOI Act, I’m pretty sure it used to be on council agendas when I reported at council meetings. But we clearly live in a “hush culture”, as well as a “compensation culture”. This kind of info should be in the public domain, it should not be kept secret.
What has happened to the “common sense culture” which Tony Blair promised to replace it? Common sense would have kept our schools open when it snowed last week instead of closing them in case a child slipped over or was pelted by a snowball.
It makes me wonder how some people get through the day having to cope with so many risk assessments. What are your views on today’s compensation culture, where should we draw the lines? I’m just going to make a coffee, a very risky business as it involves the use of electricity and boiling water – both potentially fatal elements – but I like to live dangerously!
The World has gone mad when it comes to Compensation , so many things are now ruled by health and safty just because of those people that claim compensation for such stupid accicidents…..But who is the stupid person them that claim or them that pay…..
or those that make the laws that back these claims up…
Or the making of children wear goggles when playing conkers. Or when my foot went down a crack in the pavement due to much rain undermining the path.
By the way, Lady Ellee, ‘A person who injured his hand [or her hand] on a light bulb.’
Cambridge City Council is a loony-left Fib Dum Council, so what do you expect?
James, I deliberated over that point for a few minutes as it sounded odd to me too, then just stuck to the exact phrasing used in the newspaper report. I’ve just added the link now, btw.
Why are people so willing to pay compensation on things which are just a result of their clumsiness or deliberately done.
I do so hope you survived your hazardous encounter with the coffeepot.
Curmudgeon, It reminded me of your story about the toy oven that was withdrawn because its light bulb could cause burning:
http://secondeffort.blogspot.com/2007/02/who-needs-comedy-with-real-news-stories.html
It’s gone crazy. Teachers are afraid to take school trips any more, in case of being sued if the slightest thing goes wrong. When I was in Britain, I was out clearing my garden path of snow one morning when a neighbour came out and advised me to stop: apparently if I made a good job of it and cleared every tiny bit away, that was OK, but if I missed a bit and the postman slipped on it next morning, I could have landed up in court! It seems it was better to just leave it all there. Now, how mad is that?
Well, I must hold my hand up here – I have been a successful claimant of compensation (it was a road traffic incident) and I had to go on oath in Preston court.
If you suffer injury through someone else’s negligence, you are entitled to be compensated. Do you know the circumstances of the light bulb claim? Without knowing the background it is hard to comment of the case seems to be justified (or not).
There are lots of lawyers in both houses of parliament. They have enacted laws to keep more lawyers 9ie their mates and spouses) in clover.
That’s very cynical, Cityunslicker! I presume you’re being facetious?
This ‘it’s someone else’s fault; I should be compensated’ mentality is ridiculous and making us all scared to do perfectly normal things.
My husband used to run a boys’ football team and if one of them was injured, my husband would help him up and give him an encouraging hug; he’d be afraid to do that these days! Which I know is a slightly different point but I’m trying to reflect the way things are heading.
I work for a church and we are having to bring in policies to cover wiping our noses in case I blow too hard, make it bleed and sue the church for stress-related injury.
This is an apt topic. I’ve just spent all day doing COSHH, drawing up a Statutory Safety Policy, and preparing fire risk and manual handling assessments.
So from my new enlightened and informed perspective I can confidently announce it’s all a load of b*******.
Still, better safe than sorry.
of course not. The biggest benefactor from Humanr Rights laws in the legal sense is Cherie Blair and Matrix Chambers.
Coincidence?