Workplace compensation cases have fallen by more than 50% in the last decade, according to a new joint report by the TUC and the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL).

It is common to hear stories that the UK is rife with a compensation culture and is becoming risk averse as a result of compensation claims. However, The Compensation Myth – which tackles seven myths about compensation – smashes this misconception and finds that there were 183,342 compensation claims in 2002/03 but only 91,115 in 2012/13, a fall of more than 50%.

Each year around 500,000 people are made ill as a result of their job and a further 110,000 are injured while carrying out their daily duties. The most common injuries include musculoskeletal disorders such as back problems or repetitive strain injury, injuries from slips and falls, skin diseases and hearing problems. However, only around 90,000 workers manage to gain any compensation from their employer following an injury or accident in their office or workplace.

Unlike in some other countries, compensation payouts in the UK are strictly based on what the claimant has lost. They are designed to compensate for actual loss, including pain and suffering, loss of earnings and future losses, all of which are very carefully calculated.

These damages are not a gift or a windfall for the injured individual, says the report, as every case is calculated to the penny with the sole aim of putting claimants back to the position they were in before being needlessly and avoidably injured.

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