United Kingdom safety claims

It all started with the 1988 Piper Alpha North Sea Oil Platform accident, killing 167 people and causing over 3.6B in insurance claims. The subsequent Cullen Inquiry led to the development and promulgation in 1992 of the Offshore Installations (Safety Case) 1992, later updated in 2005 (United Kingdom, 2005). Now many industries (especially in the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe), in addition to petroleum, use the safety case process including aviation, nuclear, rail, and military hardware. See Chapter 2 for more on ALARP. 

Ffowever, perhaps the most important legal redress available to an individual working in the United Kingdom who wishes to seek compensation from his or her employer for a work-related illness or injury is through the civil court, where claims under common law are heard. Possibly contrary to popular belief, the phrase safe system of work was not defined by any action brought under a safety law, but under common law. 

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