Project Description

Compensation Culture

Project Description

A Compensation Culture? A Comparative Investigation of the Risk Management of Legal Liability in Public Services in Scotland and Ireland is a joint project being conducted by researchers at the University College Dublin School of Law and the University of Strathclyde School of Law. It is funded by the Irish Research Council for the Humanities and Social Sciences and the Economic and Social Research Council. Through our research, we hope to develop a better understanding of the ways in which liability affects the quality, performance and delivery of public service.

This project will comprise a study of roads authorities in Scotland and Ireland, focusing on trends in public liability claims during the last ten years. The comparison between Scotland and Ireland exploits the fact that the Irish legislature introduced important reforms into processes of civil liability in 2003-04, including the intermediation of the new Personal Injuries Assessment Board, in most personal injuries claims (medical liability claims being the most significant excluded area). Accordingly the comparison enables an evaluation of the impact of the reforms against the Scottish case, with a similar legal system, but within which no similar reform process has been followed. We aim to develop an evidence base for assessing the pattern of changes in liability in both jurisdictions.

1. The domain chosen for investigation is that of local authority provision and maintenance of roads. This domain has attracted a high degree of claims and is said to be a key example of the compensation culture phenomenon. The core questions for the research are:


2. How do public service organizations manage the risks associated with potential liability to their users? To what extent and in what ways does the management of liability and liability risks contribute to or cut across the capacity for delivery of high quality public services?

The research will involve the collection of data from local authorities and other sources to identify incidence and quantum of claiming against roads authorities. To accomplish this, we plan to conduct a confidential telephone survey of approximately 30 minutes in length. This survey will include questions regarding the claims structure of your roads authority, including the pathways through which complaints and claims are lodged and investigated, staff and budgeting allotments, insurance arrangements, and statistics about claims in which compensation has been given. Furthermore, we will gather information about risk management strategies undertaken by the roads authorities to minimize future claims.

This survey was initially administered to a pilot group of eight authorities, four in Ireland and four in Scotland. This group included both urban and rural authorities, chosen with the intention of gaining insight into a broad spectrum of issues faced by claims handlers, risk managers, and roads officials.

After the completion of the survey, high claim authorities will be identified in each jurisdiction and ethnographic research pursued in order to identify the processes by which such authorities respond to risks of liability.