Compensation culture run riot among pansy British cops

A policeman was paid £8,000 compensation after being bitten by fleas while at work. The extraordinary injury claim was made after colleagues complained that their police station in Birmingham had become infested with the insects.

It was one of a number of workplace injury claims paid by West Midlands Police which, over the past three years, has spent £900,000 settling cases made by more than 50 policemen.
West Midlands police have come under attack for their compensation payouts.

West Midlands police have come under attack for their compensation payouts.The highest single payout was £22,000.

This week Home Secretary Theresa May ordered an investigation into such payouts, amid nationwide concern that routine injury claims are damaging the reputation of the police.

Just weeks ago, WPC Kelly Jones triggered public outrage and criticism from her own chief constable for suing a burglary victim for £50,000 after tripping over a kerb.

In total, just under 2,000 officers received payouts worth £19.8million last year and 6,600 officers shared £47.3million in the previous three years, Police Federation figures show.

A freedom of information request revealed West Midlands Police has been sued by 51 serving officers and 16 civilian staff in the past three years. The policeman who lodged the flea bites claim follows a £1,000 payout by the same force in 2011 over ‘insect bites’.

In other claims, a worker received £14,000 after falling from a pushbike. Another claimed £600 after being exposed to a loud noise.

The largest payout was £50,000, to an employee who sued over a data protection breach.

The majority of the cases relate to officers and workers tripping over or being bitten by dogs.

Former West Midlands police officer Ray Egan, who served on the force from 1967 to 1993, said: ‘To claim for a flea bite is just too embarrassing for words.’

West Midlands Police said: ‘Details of injuries and payments are often more complex than statistics or brief detail suggest.’

Original report here




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