Corporate Claims

Our Corporate Claims team specialise in the defence of employer liability and public liability claims.

We offer a volume ‘cradle to grave’ service and handle claims through to litigation and the higher courts. Our Partner-led service is supported by specialist staff and we are well known for outstanding client satisfaction. Our experience and expertise enable clients to resolve claims efficiently and fairly. We identify and manage risk early, thus reducing the impact on our clients’ organisation and minimising costs. Our clients testify that we provide clear, practical and commercial advice as well as being responsive and efficient.

We routinely act on behalf of insurers, captive insurers, self-insured corporate clients (typically in the manufacturing, construction, retail, leisure, tourism and heritage sectors), public authorities, utility companies and devolved government. We regularly act for clients who find themselves unintentionally uninsured because:

• the relevant insurer cannot be traced or is insolvent
• the client is a successor company to a body that was exempt from the obligation to insure against employer liability risk
• the construction of policy wordings and policy exclusion clauses leave them inadvertently without cover
• they have inherited employment liabilities following a TUPE transfer and the relevant insurance history has not been subject to proper due diligence
• the claim has been declined by the relevant insurer due to late notification.

Our employer liability practice encompasses accidents at work (ranging from low-value slips and trips to catastrophic injury and fatal claims) and disease claims, particularly legacy claims. We have many years of experience successfully defending claims for occupational deafness, asbestos-related cancers (lung cancer and mesothelioma), asbestosis and pleural thickening, bladder cancer, hand/arm vibration syndrome (HAVS), asthma and occupational stress.

We also defend public liability claims arising in negligence, under the Occupiers’ Liability Acts and under the Highways Act. We have successfully defended claims involving accidents sustained by visitors, contractors and road users resulting in a wide range of injuries or death. We have handled a public liability insurance scheme for retail and hospitality outlets on behalf of a leading London market insurer.

We attend inquest hearings and offer consultancy services including internal investigations, insurance and corporate archaeology and claims auditing.

We provide accurate and timely client reports.

We regularly provide training on civil liability issues to large corporate clients and their staff.

Related expertise include: Commercial Disputes, Debt Recovery, Employment Contracts & Rights, Workplace Issues & Disputes.