Call the British police and they sue YOU: WPC demands £50,000 from petrol station owner after tripping over a kerb while investigating a break-in

A policewoman who answered a midnight call to a suspected burglary is suing the man who dialled 999 – because she tripped over a kerbstone.

WPC Kelly Jones is seeking a potential five-figure payout after claiming the owner of a petrol [gasoline] station failed to keep her safe as she investigated the possible break-in.

Her claim that the 999 call exposed her to ‘an unnecessary risk of injury’ raises new questions about the extent of Britain’s compensation culture, and has wide-reaching implications for anyone who calls the emergency services to their property.

WPC Jones, 33, has hired a top firm of London solicitors specialising in personal injury lawsuits – but her health-and-safety claim has shocked MPs, who have branded the lawsuit ‘bizarre’.

Petrol station owner Steve Jones is enraged by the WPC’s action against him, saying: ‘I am incredulous that I am being sued by a police officer whose duty is to protect the public. ‘How can anyone feel safe calling the cops if they size you up for compensation while they’re fighting crime?

'Surely policing has elements of both public service and risk. Isn’t that what officers sign up for when they put on the uniform – chasing villains and keeping us safe?’

He said: ‘I thought nothing of it – other than she must have been a bit embarrassed – and I helped her up. Then we carried on with the search.’

Mr Jones, 50, had called 999 after the alarm went off at Nuns’ Bridges Service Station on August 25 last year. He had put the incident out of his mind – until he received a three-page letter from WPC Jones’s lawyers Pattinson Brewer last week.

The document made a total of 11 allegations against him – including that he failed to turn the lights on or warn her of the kerb.

She says she injured her left leg and her right wrist in the fall – although she was well enough to continue the search of the garage at the time.

Mr Jones is accused of ‘failing to ensure [WPC Jones] was reasonably safe in using the premises for which she was permitted/invited by you to be there’ and of a ‘failure to carry out any and/or adequate risk assessment’.

The letter concludes the 999 call-out ‘exposed our client to an unnecessary risk of injury’.

Keith Vaz, chairman of the powerful Home Affairs Committee, is now demanding urgent Home Office guidelines on the issue. He said: ‘This civil claim will have huge implications for every citizen if they call police out to their premises to help them in an emergency.

‘It is in the public interest to know where exactly people stand in circumstances like this. If there are going to be cases like this, then people will feel reluctant to call the police in case they are sued.

‘I do not think in such circumstances the public would feel they had a responsibility for health and safety issues, in the middle of the night while apparently facing danger. 'It’s a bizarre case and we need some urgent guidelines from the Home Office.’

Norfolk MP Norman Lamb added that any successful lawsuit would ‘set an extraordinary precedent’. He added: ‘I think most people would regard it as quite bizarre that an officer acting in the course of their duties would pursue a claim against a member of the public who has legitimately called them out.

'It is preposterous to imagine that it is appropriate; it is the police doing the job they are employed to do.’

His thoughts were, understandably, echoed by garage owner Mr Jones, whose business had previously been targeted by a professional gang of thieves. He said: ‘If an officer can now sue you because they’ve tripped over on your property what does that mean for the average homeowner?

‘If you hear a burglar downstairs, do you have to nail down your stair carpet, close the windows and put the lights on before you dial 999?

'This is the health and safety culture at work, the fallacy that someone is to blame for any and every accident and that compensation is free.’

When The Mail on Sunday traced WPC Jones to her semi-detached home in Thetford, she declined to answer questions about the case.

The mother of two appeared in good health, carrying bags of shopping from her 4x4 into her house and laughing and joking.

She took the legal action without the knowledge of her employers at Norfolk Constabulary, who knew nothing about it until alerted by this paper on Friday.

The force declined to say if WPC Jones had finished her shift on the night in question or if she had gone on sick leave and if so, whether she had returned to duty.

A spokeswoman said: ‘Norfolk Constabulary was unaware of this litigation and as it appears to be a private matter the officer has chosen to undertake, it would be inappropriate for us to comment further.’

The precise nature and extent of WPC’s Jones’s injuries are not known, although her claim states she went to West Suffolk Hospital in Bury St Edmunds for treatment. It does not specify if the treatment is ongoing.

Pattinson Brewer said the case was instigated by employees’ body, the Police Federation.

Spokesman Chris Theobald said: ‘In response to a recent request from the Police Federation we are representing their woman police officer member Kelly Jones.

‘The officer was attending a 999 call and she subsequently made certain allegations against the proprietors of a service station which have now been detailed to them in writing.

'The basis of any future claim will be determined by a court and a judge, who will make an independent determination of culpability and the award of any damages based solely on the evidence supplied by both parties.’

Pattinson Brewer’s website says compensation for a serious wrist injury can be as high as £30,500, with payouts for more minor injuries approaching £3,000.

Compensation for a leg injury could reach £16,000 for a bad fracture, with a simple break being valued at £5,000.

Paul Ridgway, chairman of the Norfolk Police Federation, told The Mail on Sunday last night: ‘If officers get injured in an incident, it’s going to be for a court to decide whether someone is at fault or not, whether it be a health and safety issue or otherwise.’

Original report here




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