Posted By IanD Hi Julie I think you have answered your own question there Write a letter to your solicitors stating that there is no BS510 accident book entry relating to that alleged accident. However there is an entry in the treatment book- explain the purpose of the treatment book, i.e. to record treatment given by first aiders but not necessary relating to workplace accidents - this could be redressing of old wound, first aid for home injuries etc If possible get the person who administrated the treatment to give a statement recalling the events to the best of his/ her knowledge. i.e. the injured party stated that ............he had done this at work / home / appeared to be a new injury /the wound looked old etc Hope this helps Regards Ian

Posted By Julie Watson Thanks for your replies a point I forgot to mention is that the treatment record is on a different day to what the employee is claiming he had his accident.

Posted By lewes I wouldnt have thought that you are with holding any information. The treatment received may or may not be related to the accident which the employee is claiming and without the initial listing in the Accident Book I cannot see how you can make that judgement. I fully agree that there may be areas that need to addressed to ensure you dont get a repeat accident and there may be a breakdown in communication as employees may not be aware they have to record accidents in the Accident Book.

Posted By bigwhistle So here we all are in the High Court where Messrs ACME inc are disputing the accident ever happened. When all of a sudden there is proof of a non disclosure of fact ie first aid treatment. Looks real good doesnt it or there again maybe it doesnt as now they are going to pay punitive damages aswell!

Posted By Robert Paterson Hi Julie I was in the same situation a few years ago. What I did was send them what information was to hand and a letter explaining my position and the new system in place to record accidents in the future.Company ended up accepting liability. Regards Robert Paterson

Posted By IanD I think the decision not to disclose all the facts will weaken, when the individual has to sign a statement of facts that is going to be presented to the court – then reality hits home and you will have to really think about what you are confident in stating.

Posted By Barry Cooper Julie, Our procedure just requires us to forward the letter of claim to the insurers. There is a time requirement for them to reply. The insurers then contact us for information regarding the claim. This is then the time to send what we have and inform them of the facts as we know them. In your case give them the facts and leave it to the insurers

Posted By sonshine just a quick one - i think it might be the woolfe report that was done to speed up court procedures etc.... in order to reduce court time and costs in general for all concerned i believe it is now practice that both sides must exchange information before claims go too far, so the idea of trying to withhold info in the early days will come out in court and may end up in your company losing part of their argument etc and could even end up upseting the court which wouldn't aid matters at all. try speaking to your company soliciotrs or insurers solicitors or whichever the case may be.

Posted By Bill Parkinson I worked for a company where a similar claim arose some 18 years after the incident. Things to note from the case (which did go to court). Civil law works on the balance of probabilities - if there is evidence that they were treated (and you must disclose this evidence)then you are likely to be unable to prove they were not affected. Failure to complete an incident report does not absolve the organisation of liability and the organisation should check treatment records against incident reports on a regular basis to ensure that they are reported. You are likely to be drawn into mitigating circumstances should you go to court and if you have little evidence to mount a reasonable defence you will end up with the greater part of any contributory negligence settlement. You should discuss the case with your insurance loss adjuster as they will decide or recommend whether to offer to settle admitting partial liability only or defend (if the latter you may also have to contend with vicarious liability issues as well). In short if you have no evidence to mount a reasonable defence forget it as you will only line the solicitors pockets !!

Posted By John Webster Julie Quite simply, stop worrying. Do NOT reply to solicitors' letters. Just acknowledge receipt and advise them that this has been passed to your insurers. Let them deal with it, that's what you pay all the premiums for. Respond to your own insurers/lawyers questions openly and honestly. They will decide what the other party should and should not be told from the information you give them. I have dealt with several claims regarding incidents which occurred before I joined the organisation. I was asked a lot of questions by our lawyers (the NHS does not use external employers liability insurance being a branch of the government) and had to carry out retrospective investigations. But at no time did I correspond with the pursuer or their lawyers.

Posted By John Webster IMO, dead right. You should sleep soundly!