Police in £20million injury claims bonanza as backlash grows over WPC demanding £50K from burglary victim for tripping over kerb

The Police Federation are encouraging officers to make the claims

Much of the £42million paid out over the past two years is taxpayer-funded



WPC Kelly Jones is suing burglary victim Steve Jones



She is seeking five-figure sum for tripping over kerb at his garage



Keith Vaz has demanded urgent Home Office guidelines on the issue

Police officers are pocketing more than £20million a year in personal injury claims.

They are instructing ‘ambulance-chasing’ lawyers to sue over mishaps on duty such as slips, trips and animal attacks.

Officers are being encouraged to make the claims by a hotline run by the Police Federation. Much of the £42million paid out over the past two years is taxpayer-funded.

WPC Kelly Jones, left, is suing burglary victim Steve Jones, right, after she tripped on a 6in kerb at his garage, pictured, while investigating a break-in



Solicitor's letter

In a case that has caused uproar, a policewoman is suing the man who dialled 999 to report a burglary because she tripped over a kerbstone at his property.

Kelly Jones, 33, is seeking a five-figure sum for injuries to her leg and wrist last August. She was well enough however to carry on the search for the suspected intruder.

Steve Jones, the garage owner who made the 999 call, said: ‘How can anyone feel safe calling the cops if they size you up for compensation while they’re fighting crime?



‘Surely policing has elements of both public service and risk. Isn’t that what officers sign up for when they put on the uniform – chasing villains and keeping us safe?’

Recalling the incident, the 50-year-old businessman said: ‘I thought nothing of it – other than she must have been a bit embarrassed – and I helped her up. Then we carried on with the search.’

Keith Vaz, chairman of the Commons home affairs committee, demanded urgent Home Office guidelines on the issue.

‘This civil claim will have huge implications for every citizen if they call police out to their premises to help them in an emergency,’ said the Labour MP.



‘It is in the public interest to know where exactly people stand in circumstances like this. If there are going to be cases like this, then people will feel reluctant to call the police in case they are sued.

‘I do not think in such circumstances the public would feel they had a responsibility for health and safety issues, in the middle of the night while apparently facing danger.

‘It’s a bizarre case and we need some urgent guidelines from the Home Office.’

WPC Jones has hired a London firm to sue Mr Jones, claiming he failed to keep her safe as she investigated the suspected break-in at the Nuns’ Bridges service station in Thetford, Norfolk.

She was in hiding at her parents’ home in Thetford yesterday.



The mother-of-two, who is divorced from a police officer, declined to comment and suggested that reporters dial 101, the police non-emergency number.

She took the legal action without informing her employers at Norfolk Constabulary and is now on sick leave over an unrelated medical condition which requires an operation.

Her claim makes 11 allegations against Mr Jones including that he failed to turn the lights on or warn her of the kerb.

The officer said she injured her left leg and her right wrist in the fall, although she was well enough to continue the search at the time.

Mr Jones is accused of failing to ensure the officer was ‘reasonably safe’ and of failing to ‘carry out an adequate risk assessment’.



WPC Jones tripped while investigating the break in at the Nuns' Bridges Service Station in Thetford, Norfolk. Owner Steve Jones said it is example of the 'fallacy that someone is to blame for every accident'

The legal letter, from Pattinson Brewer solicitors, concluded that the 999 call-out exposed the officer to an ‘unnecessary risk of injury’.

But the garage owner said: ‘If an officer can now sue you because they’ve tripped over on your property what does that mean for the average homeowner?



‘If you hear a burglar downstairs, do you have to nail down your stair carpet, close the windows and put the lights on before you dial 999?



‘This is the health and safety culture at work, the fallacy that someone is to blame for any and every accident and that compensation is free.’

The Police Federation, which represents 131,000 frontline officers, said the safety of its members came second to public service.

However it actively promotes the claims hotline on its website, which links its members to personal injury lawyers.

The service is open to officers and their families to claim for injuries on or off duty at no cost to themselves.



Applicants can choose from a ‘menu’ of claims including accidents at work, animal attacks, professional negligence, public liability and slipping and tripping.

Keith Vaz, left, chairman of the Commons home affairs committee, has demanded urgent Home Office guidelines while Norfolk MP Norman Lamb, right, said the Thetford case was unacceptable



These are passed to a specialist personal injury lawyer who fights their case at no cost to the officer whatsoever.

Many potential claims appear to be aimed at officers suing their employer over issues such as defective equipment or training accidents.

The firm behind the scheme says it aims to ‘maximise compensation’ for officers.

Norfolk MP Norman Lamb said the Thetford case was unacceptable, adding: ‘I think most people would regard it as quite bizarre that an officer acting in the course of their duties would pursue a claim against a member of the public who has legitimately called them out.

‘It is preposterous to imagine that it is appropriate; it is the police doing the job they are employed to do.’

Paul Ridgway, of Norfolk Police Federation, said WPC Jones’s claim was forwarded to lawyers, regardless of the organisation’s views.

He said: ‘All members of the public, regardless of what profession, can claim litigation against people and against private firms - that’s why everyone has insurance.

‘It’s not common, I appreciate that, but the claim has come in and we’ve honoured the officer’s wishes by putting it through to the solicitor.’



The national Police Federation said the vast majority of claims made through its helpline would be for road accidents and are not necessarily linked to police work.



A spokesman said: ‘Police officers undertake their duties with public protection as their top priority, with the potential risk to themselves as a secondary consideration, if at all.

‘However, on occasion private prosecutions and civil claims are made by police officers - and they must be treated each on their own merits.