Metropolitan Police Accident At Work Claims Guide

On this web page, you will find a guide to making a Metropolitan Police Service accident at work claim. It is expressly aimed at giving both current and former police officers the information they need to make informed, intelligent choices about their own claims.

Metropolitan Police Service accident at work

Metropolitan Police Service accident at work

We cover the issues of liability and eligibility, as well as many of the kinds of claims that we can assist with. You will also find sections that cover the legal and financial considerations of such a claim.

If you have any questions that this guide does not answer, or simply need some advice about your own case, please speak to one of our claims team on 0800 073 8801.

They will answer all of your questions and inform you of your legal options, as well as how best to move forward with your claim if applicable.

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What Are Metropolitan Police Service Accidents At Work?

In certain circumstances, it could be possible for police officers to claim compensation when injured on duty. In order for the police officer to be eligible to claim compensation, the police force itself, will need to have been either the direct or indirect, cause of the harm the officer suffered. Consider the following two examples:

  1. A police officer slips on an oil spillage, whilst disembarking a patrol vehicle in the garage of the police station, resulting in an injury
  2. A police officer slips on an oil spillage, whilst disembarking a patrol vehicle on a public street, resulting in an injury

In the first example, the police force is obliged to maintain a safe working environment, and the oil spillage should have been cleaned up, or signposted as a hazard. In this case, the police force could be liable. In the second example, the oil spillage was on a public road, for which the police force is not responsible for maintaining. Therefore, the police force would not be liable.

In some cases, the officer may have contributed to the cause of the accident. In this scenario, the police force still shoulders some of the blame. The legal teams representing the claimant and the defendant would then negotiate a reduced level of liability. Any settlement would be based on this lowered percentage of liability with regards to the amount of compensation offered.

How Are Police Service Accidents And Injuries Reported?

A prerequisite of making accident at work claims against the Metropolitan Police Service, is ensuring that the incident that caused harm has been reported, by following the correct process. Police regulations (Sub-clause 4 of Regulation 6) state that:

  • The officer’s line manager should be the first person the incident is reported to
  • All injuries, no matter how minor, must be reported using the correct reporting system
  • A relative or friend can report the incident if the officer is incapacitated
  • Injuries causing 7 days or more off work must be reported to HSE within 15 days of the event
  • The officer may optionally ask their direct manager to file a RIDDOR report

This is the basic framework for reporting workplace accidents for police officers.

Health And Safety Working For The Metropolitan Police Force

The Metropolitan Police Force is obliged to comply, at all times, will all Health & Safety regulations applicable. This includes the Police Health & Safety Act 1997 and the Health & Safety at Work Act 1974. A failure in compliance protocols could lead to injured parties to be able to make Metropolitan Police Service personal injury claims.

H&S checks are carried out regularly, with the intention of discovering and then mitigating any workplace health hazards. Compliance is not optional. If an officer is harmed in an incident caused by lax H&S compliance, then as long as they have followed the correct reporting procedure (outlined in the previous section), they could be eligible to make a claim for the harm they have suffered.

Time Limits To Make An Accident At Work Claim Against The Metropolitan Police Service?

The general personal injury claims time limit of three-years applies to police officers that have suffered harm at work. For currently serving officers, this will be three years from the date the incident that caused them harm took place. For officers who have left the force or retired, this would be three years from the date that a medical condition caused by an on the job health hazard is diagnosed.

However, in some special cases, this time limit can differ. We recommend you speak to one of our claim advisers, to check which time limit would be applicable in your own case.

Examples Of Injury Risks Police Employees May Face

Many police officers regularly face risks during their working day, especially those in a public facing role of some kind. These risks could, if not managed effectively, lead to injuries that are the seed of personal injury claims against the Metropolitan Police Service. Examples of these risks include:

  • Violence at the scene of an arrest
  • Physical assault
  • Workplace bullying
  • Slips, trips and falls
  • Faulty equipment
  • Firearm, knife and other weapon incidents
  • Training accidents
  • Road traffic accidents

We will cover several of these kinds of risks in more detail in the sections below.

Compensation If Assaulted Working For The Police

Any officer on duty, civilian working with the force, or volunteer assisting the force, could be eligible for compensation if they are assaulted while carrying out their duties. However, it must be shown that the force was to blame in some way, for example:

  • Insufficient training was given
  • Unsuitable safety equipment was supplied
  • Cases of workplace bullying were left unresolved
  • Officers are sent into a problem situation without proper support
  • Officers were not warned of the threat of violence when sent to the scene of a crime

Accidents And Injuries Caused By Insufficient Training

The police force is required to provide all officers, volunteers and civilian staff with adequate training to carry out their duties safely. This is a legal obligation that is tied into the Health & Safety compliance process. Furthermore, no officer can be asked to undertake a task for which they have not been trained and received certification.

For example, an officer without the proper firearms training, cannot be sent out as part of an armed response unit. If an officer is exposed to risk due to insufficient training, or being given a task they have not been trained in, this could be seen as police negligence, and a reason to make a claim could exist.

Injuries Caused A Lack Of Personal Protective Equipment

The police force is, as part of the entire Health & Safety compliance issue, required, by law, to provide officers with personal protective equipment where appropriate. This equipment must be:

  • Suitable for the use intended
  • Kept maintained to functional standards
  • Equipment that the officer issued it has been trained to use
  • Passed regularly safety inspections

If the equipment does not fulfil all of these requirements, and this leads to an officer coming to harm, they could be able to claim police officer compensation.

Police Officer Road Traffic Accidents

All police officers who are expected, as part of their duties, to drive a patrol car or other vehicle, receive extensive training in advanced driving techniques. Yet despite this, due to the often-dangerous nature of the job, road traffic accidents involving a police vehicle can and do happen. They can be caused by risks such as:

  • High-speed pursuit of another vehicle
  • The police vehicle forming part of a roadblock
  • Being involved in operating a vehicle checkpoint
  • Having to perform other tasks, such as speaking on the radio whilst driving

No matter how the RTA happens, if it can be proven that the root cause of the accident lays with the police for itself, it could be possible for the injured parties to make personal injury claims.

Ways You Could Be Injured Working For The Metropolitan Police Service

In a prior section, we covered many of the risks that a police officer can face in the line of duty. This section looks at the kinds of injuries these risks could result in, that could lead to a claim for compensation for police officers injured on duty. These injuries could include:

  • Loss of a limb
  • Partial or full loss of sight
  • Traumatic head injuries and brain damage
  • Lacerations or cuts
  • Soft tissue injuries, such as sprain or strains
  • Paralysis of one or more limbs
  • Facial or bodily scarring
  • Fractured bones
  • Psychological injuries such as post-traumatic stress disorder
  • Back and neck injuries, such as whiplash

Metropolitan Police Service Accident At Work Compensation Claim Calculator

You could try to use an online injury claim calculator to get a rough idea of how much you could be able to claim. You can also use this table below, which has been created based upon the UK judicial guidelines for compensation.

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Illness or Injury How Severe? Compensation Information
Psychiatric injury Severe £48,084 to £101,474 a long-term life-changing mental condition such as PTSD caused by exposure to a traumatic event, that will have a very significant effect on the life quality of the sufferer.
Psychiatric injury Moderate to severe £16,724 to £48,084 a long-term mental condition such as PTSD caused by exposure to a traumatic event, that will have an effect on the life quality of the sufferer.
Psychiatric injury Moderate £5,134 to £16,724 A medium term, or a less serious condition such as depression or anxiety, that can be treated over time.
Psychiatric injury Less severe £1,354 to £5,134 Short-term work-related stress and trauma.
Hand injury Minor to serious Up to £54,305 Ranging from skin damage, through all types of soft tissue injuries, and all kinds of fractures, to complete loss of a hand.
Wrist injury Minor to severe Up to £52,465 Ranging from damage to the skin caused by sharp or blunt trauma, through strains, sprains and other STI as well as fractures, to a loss of functionality of the wrist.
Arm injury Moderate to severe Up to £114,835 Ranging from injuries caused by sharp objects, puncturing or lacerating the skin, through sprains and strains, as well as all other forms of soft tissue injuries, as well dislocations and fractures, to paralysis of complete loss of the arm.
Finger injury Minor to severe Up to £21,945 Ranging from cuts, bruises, grazes, etc. of the skin of the finger, caused by sharp implements or blunt trauma of some kind, through dislocations and STI caused by stressing the finger, through to complete loss of one or more fingers.
Thumb injury Minor to severe Up to £48,045 Ranging from cuts, bruises, grazes, etc. of the skin of the thumb, caused by sharp implements or blunt trauma of some kind, through dislocations and STI caused by stressing the thumb, through to complete loss of one or both thumbs.
Back injury Minor to severe Up to £141,175 Ranging from injuries to the skin of the back caused by sharp objects (cuts, scrapes, etc.) and blunt trauma (bruising, etc.) through all soft tissue injuries to tendons, muscles and ligaments (sprains, strains, etc.) to some level of paralysis of the back.
Neck injury Minor to severe Up to £130,085 Ranging from injuries to the skin of the neck caused by sharp objects (cuts, scrapes, etc.) and blunt trauma (bruising, etc.) through all soft tissue injuries to tendons, muscles and ligaments (sprains, strains, etc.) to some level of paralysis of the neck.
Toe injury Moderate to severe Up to £49,145 Ranging from cuts, bruises, grazes, etc. of the skin of the toe, caused by sharp implements or blunt trauma of some kind, through dislocations and STI caused by stressing the toe, through to complete loss of one or more toes.
Ankle injury Minor to severe Up to £61,145 Ranging from damage to the skin caused by sharp or blunt trauma, through strains, sprains and other STI as well as fractures, to a loss of functionality of the ankle.
Foot injury Minor to very severe Up to £96,145 Ranging from skin damage, through all types of soft tissue injuries, and all kinds of fractures, to complete loss of a foot.
Leg injury Minor to severe Up to £119,245 Ranging from injuries caused by sharp objects, puncturing or lacerating the skin, through sprains and strains, as well as all other forms of soft tissue injuries, as well dislocations and fractures, to paralysis of complete loss of the leg.

However, what a personal injury claims calculator won’t tell you, is that in some cases, compensation for retired police officers is calculated differently. Under the Police Injury Benefit Regulations 2006, when an officer is forced to retire due to ill health caused by their job, after 30 to 45 years of service, they can be awarded an annual gratuity on top of their pension. This gratuity can be as much as £16,000 per year.

Financial Losses You Could Claim Compensation For

When a personal injury lawyer succeeds in processing your claim, the settlement that you are offered will be made up with different kind of damages, such as:

  • Special damages (financial and other losses):
    • Lowered work prospects
    • Cost of care
    • Loss of income
    • Medical fees
    • Travel costs
  • General damages (for pain and suffering):
    • Long-term and permanent disablement
    • Psychological damage
    • Lowered life quality
    • Shock and trauma
    • Pain and suffering

If you would like to know what kinds of damages might apply in your own case, please speak to one of our claim advisers.

No Win No Fee Workplace Accident Claims Against The Metropolitan Police Service

There is no financial risk at all when you use our No Win No Fee claims service to have your claim processed. We don’t charge to take on a new claim, and we don’t charge as we are processing a claim. We also don’t charge if we fail to get you any compensation at all. You do pay a fee if your claim is successful known as a ‘success fee’, and we will deduct our fee from the money we have received on your behalf, before sending you the rest.

How Our Team Could Help You

If you are a police officer who has suffered an injury on duty, we could be able to help you to make a claim. We always try and get you the most compensation we can, and do everything possible to ensure that your claim is a success. We are always available to answer any questions you may have, or to update you on the status of your claim.

How To Contact Our Expert Team

Have you been injured while working for the Metropolitan Police Force? Do you believe that you have a valid reason to make a personal injury claim against the force? If so, speak to one of our claim advisers on 0800 073 8801 today. They will be able to give you some free legal advice on how to get your claim started, once they know a little about your case.

Related Accident At Work Resources

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