Posted By Neal Robertson The following appeared on the BBC News website this morning - Food for thought! "NHS to reclaim victim care costs" The scheme could raise £120m for the NHS each year. The NHS is to reclaim the cost of treating seriously injured patients in cases where someone else is found responsible. Under government plans, officials will bill companies or individuals for the cost of treatment if they are found liable in personal injury claims. Ministers say the scheme, which builds on the current policy of reclaiming the costs of treating road traffic accident victims, will raise an extra £120m for the NHS each year. The cost will inevitably land on the policy holder. However, the insurance industry has warned that such a move would trigger a significant rise in the costs of public liability premiums. The hospital costs would be paid by the company or individual ordered to pay compensation. The sum would be in addition to any court award. It would mean employers would face medical bills if they are found guilty of failing to take steps to protect a worker from having an accident. Similarly, it could in theory see companies like ********* having to pay the costs of NHS care if it was found liable for a train crash for instance. In the vast majority of cases, such medical costs will be met by insurance companies. However, in cases where individuals did not have a public liability policy they could be forced to pay the NHS bill if they lost a personal injury claim. But the Association of British Insurers said the extra costs would simply be passed onto policy holders. (You can find the whole item on the BBC news site) Any comments please.

Posted By Jim Walker Seems reasonable to me - why should the rest of us have to fork out? Further my comments in another thread. If the insurance companies encouraged proper risk management via advice and discounts, this issue would hardly effect the premiums of well run businesses and at the same time promote H&S as a profession. Steve, how can an employee ever be the guilty party? Even worst case, it is down to in effective management.

Posted By David Brede Clearly the ramifications of this proposal are endless especially in view of the employers liability insurance issue. Also would it impact on the willingness or otherwise of employees to report accidents or occupational ill health? Or would employees be discouraged from summoning professional help in the event of an accident? I think IOSH should put this out to consultation and get a view on this.