Despite the accusations surrounding the compensation culture in the UK, British workers are still reluctant to submit a claim if they suffer a personal injury at work.
The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers surveyed 1,151 UK adults and discovered that 25% of them would not submit a personal injury claim if they sustained a serious injury whilst operating equipment in the workplace. Last year, 120,000 personal injuries at work were reported and in many cases the accident was caused by faulty or unsuitable equipment.
Muiris Lyons, the president of the APIL, explained that the majority of employees have a rapport with their employer and feel embarrassed to lodge a personal injury claim for employer negligence. Some people fear that their career will be put at risk if they make a claim and others are concerned that they would be branded a troublemaker.
However, employees are fully within their rights to make a claim for personal injury compensation if their employer has been negligent. It is the responsibility of the employer to make sure employees remain safe whilst at work, she added.
Meanwhile, 408 people who suffered skin problems after sitting on toxic sofas have shared a compensation pot of £750,000. The sofas had been purchased from a wholesaler in China that had impregnated them with dimethyl fumarate, a chemical to stop the sofas during mouldy during storage and transit. However, this chemical caused chemical burns when it came into contact with skin. Earlier this year, the 1,650 victims who had been worst affected received a share of £20 million.