Injury Compensation for Tesco Employees

Does injury compensation for Tesco employees need to involve court action? I have read about two Tesco claims and both were taken to court to be decided?

Eoin P. Campbell, LL.B., Solicitor

Editor in Chief

Eoin P. Campbell

Claims for injury compensation for Tesco employees are rarely headline news unless they result in high awards of compensation through the courts, and this can give the impression that Tesco takes all injury compensation claimants to the courts. However, considering the number of employees which are employed by Tesco, and the number of injuries sustained by its employees every year, it is clear that the vast majority of claims for injury compensation for Tesco employees do not get involve court action and are not reported in the media.

If you have sustained an injury in an accident in Tesco, injury compensation for Tesco employees can be claimed provided that your employer has been negligent and there has been a failure in a duty of care to provide you with a safe environment in which to work. Provided that you are eligible to claim Tesco injury compensation, your claim will be resolved in one of three ways.

Claims for injury compensation for Tesco employees are initially submitted to the Injuries Board which will attempt to resolve the claim and determine the level of Tesco injury compensation which is applicable. Following receipt of the claims forms, the Injuries Board will alert Tesco who will be given the opportunity to accept or deny liability. If liability is accepted, the Injuries Board will process your claim and determine its value. A third of accepted compensation settlements in Ireland are dealt with and resolved by the Injuries Board.

Once a claim for injury compensation for Tesco employees is submitted; the personal injury solicitor of the claimant will make contact with the Tesco´s employer liability insurance company and will attempt to negotiate a settlement directly. It is often in the insurance company’s best interest to settle a Tesco injury compensation claim promptly to save potential court costs. Approximately one third of personal injury claims in Ireland result in an ‘out of court settlement’ in this fashion. Should this happen, your claim will be withdrawn from the Injuries Board.

Court action is usually only necessary to resolve claims for injury compensation for Tesco employees if:

a) A claim for injury compensation for Tesco employees is submitted to the Injuries Board and liability is denied by Tesco.
b) A claim for injury compensation for Tesco employees is submitted to the Injuries Board and full liability is denied, such as when there is contributory negligence of the claimant or another third party. Claims for injury compensation against Tesco when this happens may still be resolved by negotiation
c) When liability is accepted but the Injuries Board assessment of the level of compensation is rejected by either the claimant or Tesco.

Since more than two thirds of claims for compensation do not involve court action in Ireland, it is most likely that court action will not be required. However, it is still to your advantage to use a personal injury solicitor to pursue a claim for injury compensation against Tesco.