Protect your Business against Liability Claims

Good health and safety can be a vital tool to help your organisation comply with legislation and reduce accidents and incidents which could cost you valuable time and money, particularly where liability allegations may lead to claims of perceived negligence on the part of your organisation. Andrew Dix (pictured), Corporate Client Director at UK insurance broker Gallagher, based in Metro House in Chichester, discusses the key components of a robust risk management strategy which could protect your business against liability claims.  

Claims can occur in a number of ways, from loose flooring or carpet leading to a fall, or a potential back injury due to lifting a heavy object incorrectly where no manual handling training has been provided. With such a broad spectrum of potential claims scenarios to protect your organisation against, it is important to take practical steps to reduce your risk. These can often be relatively simple to put in place but will make a significant difference if you have to defend your organisation against a claim.  

Ideally, a robust health and safety plan should incorporate some of the following elements:  

• Risk assessments – to be performed wherever a situation could potentially result in injury, with full written records following every assessment and each risk addressed based on its seriousness.  
• Adequate training – in place for all new employees and refresher training regularly provided to existing employees. It is important that all participants sign a document to confirm they have attended and fully understood the training.  
• Occupational health schemes – to help you keep track of your employees’ fitness and identify work processes which may cause physical strain to your employees, in order to put systems in place to prevent injury. 
• Post-incident investigations – to understand what happened and how the incident could be prevented in the future, with supporting interviews and photographic evidence. 
• Documentation gathering – it is important to have a process in place which includes collating notes from investigations, risk assessments, training records and equipment maintenance logs.  

It is important to keep records of all the processes you have in place and details of all training provided, so if a claim does occur you’ll be able provide your insurer with the evidence they need to defend your claim. This evidence can include, but is not restricted to: 

• Accident report forms 
• Witness statements 
• Post incident investigation reports/notes 
• Risk assessments (Pre and Post Incident) 

• CCTV recording 
• Employees files (including training records) 
• Wage details (13 weeks pre and post absence) 
• Inspection/maintenance logs 
• Cleaning logs 
• Details of any visits/correspondence 
• Post incident forms 
• Environment Health Officer/ Health & Safety Executive documents 

Claims can breed more claims, so if you fail to properly investigate a claim the first time, you may end up dealing with the same type of claim over and over again. This in turn, can lead to higher pay outs, increased legal costs and even reputational damage. However, if an allegation is successfully defended and you reduce the risk of similar claims occurring in the future, it could have a positive effect on your premium over time. 

It may not always be possible to prevent claims occurring however, there are steps you can take to reduce the likelihood of a successful claim being made against you. By implementing the correct training processes, teamed with meticulous record keeping and regular risk assessments, these can all make a significant difference to the number and value of claims you receive, as well as insuring you have the relevant evidence in place you need to successfully defend a claim.  

For more information about defending claims or risk management, please get in touch. 

 WOULD YOU LIKE TO TALK? 

For more information contact us: 

T: 0800 612 3760   

E: Andrew_Dix@ajg.com 

W: http://www.ajg.com/uk