Defendingclaims E
Injuries and claims still occur despite electrical contractors doing their best to limit risks. Ian Hollingworth, claims manager at the Electrical Contractors Insurance Company, explains how contractors can take precautions to protect their staff, the public – and their company’s reputation
ven the most careful companies see personal injury claims. The most rigorous of staff training routines will not eradicate personal risks from an environment where building materials, electricity and electrical equipment are part of everyday life. The majority of these personal injury claims are valid and
result in compensation payments to the injured employee, either by settlement or through a court order. However, a small proportion of such claims are spurious or speculative and the electrical contracting company has every right to defend itself.
Disputed claims Here is where the complexities begin. In disputed claims, there are often multiple grey areas where liability is in doubt. For example, if an injured employee has departed from training guidelines, then there is a possibility that the employee was the one at fault. However, it is only in the most exceptional cases that an employer is cleared from any, or all, of the blame. Organisations that are successful in defending against
claims – and therefore cutting claims costs – are usually those that have prepared their position in advance. In fact, we would always advise companies to build up
their ability to defend against questionable claims, and to do so in the same context as preventing injuries. This is because both of these aspects have positive effects for an electrical contractor’s business – an expensive claims history inevitably
66 ECA Today July 2011
has a ‘knock on’ effect upon renewable premiums. In addition, work-related accidents will often incur hidden
and uninsurable costs for employers, starting with the cost of post-accident investigations. Then there are labour and recruitment costs for replacing the injured employee and, in more serious cases, fi nes and prohibition notices imposed by the authorities. There are, however, some practical ways in which
organisations might improve their claims experiences and reduce the overall cost of claims. Fundamentally, the key to successful claims management
is twofold – namely, pre-incident risk management and post-incident control.
Pre-incident risk management Pre-incident risk management can be summed up in the old adage ‘prevention is better than cure’. A proactive safety and occupational health management system should include some, or all, of the following: Documentation – Where a task presents a risk of injury,
it should be the subject of a documented risk assessment, and safe working practices should be devised accordingly in order to identify risks and prescribe the safest means by which to reduce them; Distribution – Organisations should have procedures in
place to ensure that the results of risk assessments and safe working practices are effectively disseminated to those affected;
About the author
Ian Hollingworth Ian Hollingworth ACII is the claims manager at Electrical Contractors Insurance Company (ECIC). His work includes personal injury and commercial property insurance claims in employers’ liability, professional liability and construction all-risks policies. Additional material by Matthew Harrington, a partner at BLM, Cardiff.
Induction – Appropriate induction training should be
provided for new employees, supplemented by periodic refresher training, all of which should be recorded; Health checks – Pre-employment health checks/
occupational health questionnaires should be completed to identify any specifi c diffi culties of employees and to ensure that, where appropriate, relevant adjustments are made; Equipment – Where tasks require the wearing of PPE,
the relevant items of protective equipment should be available, with a mandatory policy as to use supported by proper enforcement procedures; and Regular audit – Health and safety procedures should be audited, independently if necessary, on a periodic basis and
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