While the UK’s alleged claims and compensation culture receives a lot of negative publicity, Oxley & Coward Solicitors LLP says that cases where the courts do not support such claims can be overlooked.
A recent case where a motor mechanic failed to win damages from his insurers having lost a finger in his own workshop is a good example. As the sole company director, Peter Brumder tried to win damages for his own negligence after his finger was severed by a hydraulic ramp in his company’s workshop. The basis for his claim was the company was in breach of their statutory duty to maintain the hydraulic ramp in efficient working order. The company had breached their statutory obligation to maintain equipment in working order but the claim was unsuccessful. As sole director and shareholder of the Company, the court ruled that Mr Brumder was in breach of his obligation to exercise reasonable care to enable the company to fulfil its obligations.
“The statutory obligation to maintain work equipment is an absolute duty,” said Oxley Coward’s Company Commercial Solicitor Abigail Watson. “If you are running a business on your own, it’s no good thinking, it’s only me, I’ll be careful. Sole directors and sole traders must take steps to ensure that they are fulfilling their statutory obligations, keeping up to date with legislation and ensuring equipment is properly maintained. The courts will clearly brook no excuses here.”
The case of Brumder v Motornet went all the way to the Court of Appeal. The claim was again dismissed, on the grounds that as a director of the company, Mr Brumder should have been aware of his health and safety duties and by failing in those, he had breached his duty as a director under the Companies Act 2006. This case is a reminder that claims of this sort do not always support the ‘compensation culture’ theory and that all of us and company directors in particular, do have responsibilities. This is something the government has also been keen to make clear in a recent report:
“The Government is determined to scotch any suggestion of a developing compensation culture where people believe that they can seek compensation for any misfortune that befalls them, even if no-one else is to blame. This misperception undermines personal responsibility and respect for the law and creates unnecessary burdens through an exaggerated fear of litigation. The notion of a compensation culture is something of an urban myth, perpetuated by coverage of a very small number of cases and ignores cases like this one that give the other side of the story,” added Abby. “If such a culture exists, this case shows it is not a culture supported by the courts. By explicitly failing in his health and safety duties, Mr Brumder was a wrongdoer and he could not expect to gain advantage or compensation from his own wrongdoing.”
