Projects across the country run by local councils to crackdown on bogus compensation claims have proved to work, saving the council thousands in payouts.
Knowsley Council in Merseyside previously faced an average of 1,700 personal injury claims a year. Three years later and the number is now fewer than 400 a year. The council brought in a policy to stop claim cheats getting undeserved payouts. The authority said its policy of fast pavement repairs and rigorous checking of claims saved it £1.8 million in 2005.
Council cabinet member, Councillor Norman Keats, said the authority was committed to stamping out fraud. “Our consistent efforts to crack down on fraud have resulted in successful prosecutions and a significant increase in the number of tripping claims successfully defended. Being tough sends a strong message – that those who attempt to defraud the council will be caught and punished.”
Slough Borough Council has also successfully cracked down on false claimants. They tightened up their investigations into claims after officers realised pay-outs were increasing every year. The new approach has seen the council, which once paid out £210,000 in one year, pay nothing last year. The council also improved its system of maintaining roads and pavements to back up its defence against claims for compensation after people tripped or slipped.
Andrew Rooke, insurance officer at the council said: “This meant that alarm bells started ringing if, for example, one person had made a claim with several authorities, or one witness was used in several different cases.”
Insurance companies are now calling for all councils to follow the example set by Slough and Knowsley and try to reduce the number of compensation claims.
Justin Jacobs, of the Association of British Insurers, said other councils should follow suit. He told the Liverpool Law Society, “The council is sending out a clear message that it is not a soft touch for cheats. This is good news for honest taxpayers who end up footing the bill, and it helps the council deal with genuine claimants more quickly.”
Nick Mack of Macks Solicitors “Cracking down on people who make fraudulent claims will be welcomed by honest taxpayers and genuine claimants alike but these two councils have made the biggest saving, not as a result of successfully defending bogus claims but by speeding up necessary repairs to roads and pavements.
“If other councils were to make similar improvements to the system of maintenance and repair they too would see a reduction in the number of claims and save thousands of pounds in settlements as well as preventing injury to innocent pedestrians”.
