The West Midlands Police came under fire recently after it was revealed that one of its workers was given a £120,516 personal injury compensation award for what has been referred to as a ‘bruise.’
Accident claim experts say that the police force has been heavily criticised for the massive payout, especially in the face of the £126 million in cuts it faces. However, police bosses say the case’s details do not reflect the complex nature of the injuries suffered by the worker, and police representatives said that while an initial injury may be recorded as relatively minor, the long-term effects of the injury can include debilitating pain and serious damage to the injured individual.
According to the same Freedom of Information Act request that uncovered the personal injury claims from West Midlands Police, it has been revealed that £12 million in damages has been paid to police across England and Wales since 2006. Sadly, the £120,516 payment was nowhere near the most expensive one, as Hertfordshire Police paid £550,000 to one worker who broke their elbow after slipping on some ice and developed chronic pain syndrome as a result.
Catherine Hickman, spokesperson for West Midlands Police spokesman, said that the police force has liability insurance for instances such as the ones revealed by the Freedom of Information request. While she declined to reveal any detailed information regarding the case of the bruise, instead Ms Hickman stated that statistics do not always reveal how complex payments can actually be sometimes, though personal injury compensation payouts are only made to workers in the wake of medical evidence presented to its solicitors, insurers, and in-house legal team in order to make a determination.