We carried out a detailed claims investigation of a public liability claim that was alleged to have occurred at one of the Public Sector organisation’s premises. We produced a report that summarised:

• Details of the allegation
• Scope of investigation
• An investigation into the area where the alleged incident occurred
• Review of the organisation’s existing procedures
• Summary of evidence/lack of evidence

This report was shared with the organisation and their insurers and resulted in the liability claim being denied.

The allegations from the pursuer could have easily been accepted by the insurer on the balance of probability. It was claimed that lights were turned off as the premises was closing leading to the pursuer falling down steps causing injury.

As the insurer is not familiar with the premises and as it was genuinely around closing time that the alleged incident happened, it would have been easy for the insurer to accept the allegations and make an economic decision to deal with the claim on best terms. As the claim was relatively low value, the insurer was never going to appoint a loss adjuster or claims inspector to undertake a locus investigation to establish liability.

Our experienced claims investigator was able to conduct a thorough site visit with the support of the Public Sector organisation, interview relevant staff members and gather key evidence that clearly showed that the allegations made by the pursuer could not possibly have been true. By undertaking this investigation it also removed the burden from the Public Sector organisation in having to take steps to gather evidence to defend the claim.

Following receipt of our report the insurer immediately issued the pursuer’s solicitors with a firm denial of liability and nothing further has been heard from the solicitors since. It was key that these investigations were undertaken early in the life of the claim as a strong denial to solicitors early makes them think twice about further investing in pursuing the claim and increases the likelihood of successfully defeating the claim.