Recently, a six year old boy playing in a park had an unfortunate accident. He gashed his chest open on a dangerous, exposed fence bolt that could easily have been concealed and made safe. The question is; who was responsible for this horrendous accident and is it fair to point the finger of blame? In modern British society, more people are making claims against councils and many see this as a sign of the development of a 'claims culture' similar to that of the US. Should people make claims to make their life easier after an avoidable accident or is it just grabbing for a payout?



In the UK there are two organisations responsible for safety in public places. These are the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) and the local Councils. The HSE is responsible for safety in such places as factories, building sites, railways and fairgrounds. Local councils are responsible place such as shops, hotels, streets and municipal parks. Clearly in reference to the accident mentioned above, it was the local council's responsibility to ensure that the fence bolt was covered and safe.

The local council and the HSE are supposed to abide by certain rules and guidelines. These include carrying out Health and Safety inspections and the undertaking of Risk Assessments. In the case of the park a thorough inspection should have been carried out and the fence bolt indentified as a health and safety risk. This means that the family of the child involved is fully within their rights to make a claim against the local council. This money will certainly help compensate for the child's injury and also help the parents with any medical fees, loss of earnings and all the other financial difficulties faced in these terrible circumstances.

Not only is it important to establish responsibility for an incident like this from the point of view of the child and parents involved, but it should also be considered from the point of view of others using the park. If no claim was made then the accident and cause of the accident could easily go unnoticed. This could lead to further accidents in the future. It is important to report this accident and make a claim in such circumstances to ensure that the same thing does not happen to someone else. It is also important to make sure that the local council involved is more stringent with its Health and Safety practises, make sure that they are held accountable for what has happened, that they take that responsibility seriously and that such a thing doesn't happen again.

Certainly making a claim does make life more bearable after an accident. There are instances where people make claims for petty accidents, but on the whole most claims are genuine. There is no evident to suggest the growth of a 'claims culture' and in the case of genuine accidents that could be avoided if simple Health and Safety procedures are adhered too, a claim should be made without any guilt on the behalf of the claimant. Too often accidents like this go unpunished and companies, councils and other organisation are not held accountable for their actions or responsibilities. For the safety of everyone accidents like this should be reported and, if serious injury is cause, a claim made by a specialist claims lawyer.