Hospitality sees 19% public liability accidents
It has been revealed that around one in five public liability accidents occur in pubs, nightclubs and hotels, whilst slips, trips and falls cause the most claims.
19% of payouts were due to personal injuries in hospitality sectors such as hotels, pubs and clubs. Accidents in pre-owned establishments accounted for 56% of all claims.
The Injuries Board stated that the total cost of the country’s public liability claims totalled €65.4 million in the 24 months to December 2008.
Patricia Byron, Chief Executive of InjuriesBoard said: “With almost one fifth of these accidents occurring in the hospitality sector, it is vitally important that hotel, pub and nightclub owners do not cut back on their investment in health and safety; it may be tempting for some of them to do so, but this kind of approach can backfire, particularly when they are operating in such a competitive and accident-prone sphere.
“As this review highlights, the factors which give rise to accidents in public places are many and varied. It is timely for public and private sector organisations alike to review the measures they have in place to prevent accidents across retail, hospitality, leisure and public spaces.”
The average Public Liability award in the 24 months to December 2008 was €22,865. Over half the awards were for amounts of less than €20,000 - typically sprains, bruises, fractures and lacerations.
Updated on 29/06/2009