Security firm scores a victory against ‘compensation culture’ with Harrison Drury

Harrison Drury has helped a security firm challenge the compensation culture with a successful defence against a personal injury claim.

In the case we represented an established and reputable company which provides professional door staff to entertainment venues in the North West.

Our client was sued for compensation by the claimant, a solicitor in a personal injury firm no less, who alleged she had been knocked down and injured by one of our client’s door staff at a city centre bar in Liverpool while she was on an evening out.

The door staff and the manager of the bar who were working on the night in question had no knowledge of the incident. We investigated the claim thoroughly and were looking to find a credible alternative explanation to put to the judge at trial that showed that if the incident had occurred, it did not involve our client.

We carried out a site inspection at the bar on a Saturday evening to try and recreate the conditions in which the incident was said to have taken place.

We then challenged the claimant’s evidence on the identity of the doorman she alleged had collided with her. When the matter came to trial her case was that her ‘assailant’ was a man dressed in a typical doorman’s uniform of black.

However, at the time of the incident, our client’s door staff had in fact been required by the local licensing police to wear bright yellow high-visibility jackets on duty, which was at odds with her evidence. Our client won the case and the judge dismissed her claim ordering her to pay a substantial contribution to our client’s legal costs.

The claimant had a no win no fee agreement with her solicitors which meant that had she won, she would have been entitled to double her legal costs against our client on top of her compensation.

In such circumstances, many clients would have felt under pressure to settle the claim, especially as the claimant was herself a personal injury lawyer.

Our client felt it was a victim of the compensation culture and wanted to defend the claim. This proved to be a wise course of action in light of the evidence we were able to put to the judge, which clearly exonerated our client and somewhat discredited the claimant.

For more information on Harrison Drury’s litigation services, please contact Amanda Webster on 01772 258321.