More than £45,000 has been paid out in accident compensation claims against North East Lincolnshire Council (NELC) for incidents in schools around the borough.
According to reports from the Grimsby Telegraph, the past three years saw the council pay £46,901 for a total of 12 accident compensation claims lodged by pupils, school employees and third parties.
Around half of these were the result of somebody slipping or tripping, while the remaining claims were accounted for by people who had been struck by a falling object, fallen over a static object, trapped their thumb, fallen from a height or become caught on a static object.
A spokesman for the NELC told the paper: “Compensation claims against the council are also taken seriously and analysed in detail. If it is decided that the council has a responsibility to pay compensation, the payment is taken from a dedicated insurance budget – although a small charge is made to the school or department in question in order to promote future risk management.”
However, the number of claims that are being paid has fallen, with eight recorded in 2008, three in 2009 and just one in 2010. There were a further 13 unsuccessful compensation claims made by nine pupils and four employees during the same three year period.