Request ID: FOI-3365-2324 Date published: 16 January 2024
You asked
1. In the last financial year (2022/23) please state how many claims you paid to passengers who had made a claim for compensation after suffering a injury while using the London Underground network. Also state what the total in compensation paid out was and the three largest amounts of compensation paid.
2. In the last financial year (2022/23) please state how many claims you paid to passengers who had made a claim for compensation after suffering a injury when trapped in the doors of a underground train. Also state what the total in compensation paid out was and the three largest amounts of compensation paid.
3. In the last financial year (2022/23) please state how many claims you paid to passengers who had made a claim for compensation after suffering a injury when injured on an escalator on the underground network. Also state what the total in compensation paid out was and the three largest amounts of compensation paid.
4. In the last financial year (2022/23) please state how many claims you paid to passengers who had made a claim for compensation after suffering a injury when injured at a ticket barrier on the underground network. Also state what the total in compensation paid out was and the three largest amounts of compensation paid.
5. In the last financial year (2022/23) please state how many claims you paid to passengers who had made a claim for compensation after suffering a injury following a fall onto the tracks. Also state what the total in compensation paid out was and the three largest amounts of compensation paid.
NOTE: I expect that the answer to Q.1 is the global figure for all compensation on the underground and the answers to Q.2, Q3, Q4 and Q5 are subsets within the response to Q.1.
NOTE: The question relates to when the compensation was paid rather than when the incident took place or when the claim for compensation was lodged.
Please note I am not seeking the number of claims received in the last year. This question relates to claims paid in the last year regardless of when the claim was lodged. Please provide the response on the same basis as a previous FoI Ref [CRM:0137228].
We answered
Our Ref: FOI-3365-2324
Thank you for your request received on 22 December 2023 asking for information about customer compensation claims for injuries sustained on our network.
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 that 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.
You asked:
1. In the last financial year (2022/23) please state how many claims you paid to passengers who had made a claim for compensation after suffering a injury while using the London Underground network. Also state what the total in compensation paid out was and the three largest amounts of compensation paid.
There were 26 claims with payments totalling £212,880.23, the three largest payments were £50,000.00, £20,000.00, and £15,372.73.
2. In the last financial year (2022/23) please state how many claims you paid to passengers who had made a claim for compensation after suffering a injury when trapped in the doors of a underground train. Also state what the total in compensation paid out was and the three largest amounts of compensation paid.
There were eight claims with a total payment of £49,890.00, the three largest payments were £11,130.00, £8,840.00, and £8,000.00.
3. In the last financial year (2022/23) please state how many claims you paid to passengers who had made a claim for compensation after suffering a injury when injured on an escalator on the underground network. Also state what the total in compensation paid out was and the three largest amounts of compensation paid.
There were two claims with a total payment of £29,500.00, the payments were £20,000.00 and £9,500.00.
4. In the last financial year (2022/23) please state how many claims you paid to passengers who had made a claim for compensation after suffering a injury when injured at a ticket barrier on the underground network. Also state what the total in compensation paid out was and the three largest amounts of compensation paid.
There were no paid ticket barrier claims within the financial year.
5. In the last financial year (2022/23) please state how many claims you paid to passengers who had made a claim for compensation after suffering a injury following a fall onto the tracks. Also state what the total in compensation paid out was and the three largest amounts of compensation paid.
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 do not have a specific code that we can report against for injuries caused following a fall onto the tracks. There have been over 1,500 payments made by our claims handlers during the requested time period, we would need to review each of these to determine whether it involved a fall onto the tracks and whether a compensation payment relating to an injury 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 should identify the information that you want as clearly and concisely as you can, specifying the types of document that you are looking for. You might also consider limiting your request to a particular period of time, geographical area or specific departments of the organisation.
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.
If this is not the information you are looking for 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
