Although Lord Young's review is welcome, I think we will be kidding ourselves, and raising our expectations of a return to sanity if we think that H&S legislation is the problem.
Although there has been a major increase in regulation and bureaucracy under the last government, the big problem for everyone is not the regulations which we need to adhere to, but rather the fear of doing something "unsafe" and then getting sued by an injured person under some no-win, no-fee claim
Despite the numerous regulations, then chances of a breach being even discovered, or company taken to court by the HSE or council for H&S breaches are very low. The chances of a no-win no fee claim are better than average
When the company/council/individual cancels an event, or requires disproportionate safeguards, or does whatever in the name of "H&S" then it is in 9/10 cases, not because they need to conform to any regulation, but purely because they want to cover all angles so that nothing can go wrong which then leads to a hefty lawsuit from some predatory Solicitor
The no-win, no-fee culture is draining public bodies and companies as they are an easy target and incur ever higher insurance premiums, and incur more and more costs in making things "safe". Changing H&S regs wont make a bit of difference, as all the claims which have gone to court are based on, or create new precedents which binds the court in future claims of a similar nature
Consider a scenario. Little Johnny slips on a leaf on the path, and blames the council for not cleaning the leaf up. No change of H&S law will stop a Solicitor taking the claim to court and trying to prove the council negligent. If he wins, then that opens the gates for more claims due to slipping on leaves. So the council then has to either close the path, sweep the streets 24/7 or chop down all the trees. Either way, there is a financial cost or a detrimental effect on everyone else ... and all because someone was after a quick buck for personal gain.
Even if the claim is tenuous, then there is a cost in dealing with it (or settling it) and a cost in terms of how to prevent future tenuous time wasting claims .... ie remove the possible cause even if there is nothing actually wrong with it
I regularly see these claims. And I regularly see insurers making commercial decisions to pay out claimants purely because of the costs in trying to defend them. A claimant may get say £500 for some bruising where they tripped or got injured in an incident where normal people would shrug off their own carelessness for not looking where they were going or not paying attention. Now along with this £500 for the claimant, their Solicitors will get between £4000 and £5000 for their fees
In our local post offices, next to were all the out-of-work claimants are queuing, are specific shelves with "Had an accident? Make a claim, you have got nothing to loose" type posters. And there is certainly a lot of interest in them.
It is the predatory Solicitors who need dealing with, not the H&S regulations
Although there has been a major increase in regulation and bureaucracy under the last government, the big problem for everyone is not the regulations which we need to adhere to, but rather the fear of doing something "unsafe" and then getting sued by an injured person under some no-win, no-fee claim
Despite the numerous regulations, then chances of a breach being even discovered, or company taken to court by the HSE or council for H&S breaches are very low. The chances of a no-win no fee claim are better than average
When the company/council/individual cancels an event, or requires disproportionate safeguards, or does whatever in the name of "H&S" then it is in 9/10 cases, not because they need to conform to any regulation, but purely because they want to cover all angles so that nothing can go wrong which then leads to a hefty lawsuit from some predatory Solicitor
The no-win, no-fee culture is draining public bodies and companies as they are an easy target and incur ever higher insurance premiums, and incur more and more costs in making things "safe". Changing H&S regs wont make a bit of difference, as all the claims which have gone to court are based on, or create new precedents which binds the court in future claims of a similar nature
Consider a scenario. Little Johnny slips on a leaf on the path, and blames the council for not cleaning the leaf up. No change of H&S law will stop a Solicitor taking the claim to court and trying to prove the council negligent. If he wins, then that opens the gates for more claims due to slipping on leaves. So the council then has to either close the path, sweep the streets 24/7 or chop down all the trees. Either way, there is a financial cost or a detrimental effect on everyone else ... and all because someone was after a quick buck for personal gain.
Even if the claim is tenuous, then there is a cost in dealing with it (or settling it) and a cost in terms of how to prevent future tenuous time wasting claims .... ie remove the possible cause even if there is nothing actually wrong with it
I regularly see these claims. And I regularly see insurers making commercial decisions to pay out claimants purely because of the costs in trying to defend them. A claimant may get say £500 for some bruising where they tripped or got injured in an incident where normal people would shrug off their own carelessness for not looking where they were going or not paying attention. Now along with this £500 for the claimant, their Solicitors will get between £4000 and £5000 for their fees
In our local post offices, next to were all the out-of-work claimants are queuing, are specific shelves with "Had an accident? Make a claim, you have got nothing to loose" type posters. And there is certainly a lot of interest in them.
It is the predatory Solicitors who need dealing with, not the H&S regulations
