Request ID: FOI-2649-2223 Date published: 09 February 2023
You asked
Can I please ask for the following:
1. The total number of incidents involving death or injury of a member of the public where TFL has accepted liability in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022. Please breakdown by year and by death or injury.
2. The total number of incidents involving death or injury of a member of the TFL where TFL has accepted liability in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022. Please breakdown by year and by death or injury.
3. The amount paid out for incidents involving death or injury of a member of the public where TFL has accepted liability in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022. Please breakdown by year and cite the highest single payment per year.
4. The amount paid out for incidents involving death or injury of a member of TFL where TFL has accepted liability in 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022. Please breakdown by year and cite the highest single payment per year.
We answered
Our Ref: FOI-2649-2223
Thank you for your request received on 19 January 2023 asking for information about liability and compensation claims made against TfL.
Your request has been considered in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information (FOI) Act and our information access policy. I can confirm we do hold the information you require.
The safety of our staff and customers is always our top priority and London Underground is recognised as one of the safest metros around the world. However, we are never complacent, and continuously strive to reduce injuries. Slips, trips and falls are the biggest cause of accidents on escalators, and we have been trialling and implementing a variety of ways to minimise these incidents and highlight risks and encourage safe use of escalators. These include encouraging customers to hold the handrail; walk or stand safely; be aware of the step or landing interface; and, where available, to use lifts when mobility impaired. Further initiatives to minimise slips, trips and falls include blue footprints on the steps, hand prints on the handrails, contrasting colours to highlight the ‘comb’ between the moving steps and the landings, wording on step risers, new electronic displays, under-step lighting, escalator and lift floor signs, projections of staff members giving safety messages near escalators and frequent public address announcements. Additionally, TfL's safety campaigns, which run throughout the year, use posters in lifts, stations, as well as advertisements on the escalators across the network, to remind our customers of the risks of running on stairs and escalators. We continually monitor the effectiveness of our measures and campaigns in reducing accidents and adjust our approach accordingly. We offer comprehensive help and support to people involved in, or affected by, a life-changing incident on the TfL network via The Sarah Hope Line: https://tfl.gov.uk/campaign/incident-support-service.
Unfortunately, to provide the information you have requested would exceed the ‘appropriate limit’ of £450 set by the Freedom of Information (Appropriate Limit and Fees) Regulations 2004.
Under section 12 of the FOI Act, we are not obliged to comply with a request if we estimate that the cost of determining whether we hold the information, locating and retrieving it and extracting it from other information would exceed the appropriate limit. This is calculated at £25 per hour for every hour spent on the activities described.
We have estimated that it would cost over £450 to provide a response to your current request. This is because it is estimated that it would take in excess of 18 working hours to retrieve and compile the information you have requested.
We are unable to report on whether a formal admission or acceptance of liability has been made due to the way that this information is recorded. We have received almost 5,000 claims during the time period requested. In order to collate the information you have requested we would need to manually review all of the claims we have received in order to determine whether such an admission or acceptance was made.
To help bring the cost of responding to your request within the £450 limit, you may wish to consider narrowing its scope so that we can more easily locate, retrieve and extract the information you are seeking. If you want to refine your request or make a Freedom of Information Act request in future, please bear in mind that the Freedom of Information Act allows you to request recorded information held by us. You might consider limiting your request to a smaller period of time.
Although your request can take the form of a question, rather than a request for specific documents, we do not have to answer your question if it would require the creation of new information or the provision of a judgement, explanation, advice or opinion that was not already recorded at the time of your request.
Please note that we will not be taking further action until we receive your revised request.
In the meantime, if you have any queries or would like to discuss your request, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Please see the attached information sheet for details of your right to appeal.
Yours sincerely
Gemma Jacob Senior FOI Case Officer FOI Case Management Team General Counsel Transport for London
