UK Police need kerbing.

[Lord Jim]

At no place I have ever lived or visited (including here in San Fran, which is about as Nanny State a place as you can imagine) has either public or private property ever followed any of the silly Walking for Dummies curb painting suggestions (which of course aren't laws) that have been posted in this thread.

And yet people aren't prat falling left and right over curbs.

[Sue U]

And I don't see motorists driving off of roadways all the time in the absence of guardrails, but on the rare occasions they are called into service, I'm sure even you would agree they are highly worthwhile safety measures.

[Econoline]

BTW, I just looked out my office window and can see a KFC across the highway, where the curbing at the pedestrian entrance is painted bright safety yellow.

That's because the KFC manager looked across the highway and saw who was watching from her office window...

[Lord Jim]

I'm sure even you would agree they are highly worthwhile safety measures.

I certainly do. And just as soon as people start walking at 60 MPH, and stepping off a curb represents a 50 foot drop, that will be an excellent analogy....

BTW, I just looked out my office window and can see a KFC across the highway, where the curbing at the pedestrian entrance is painted bright safety yellow.

Is there a "special needs" group home nearby?

[Gob]

The policewoman suing a burglary victim after she tripped over a kerb during a 999 callout is demanding compensation from her own police force for another accident, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

WPC Kelly Jones, 33, launched legal action against Norfolk Constabulary following a panda car crash. Her claims for damages for incidents just seven months apart will fuel the row about the compensation culture gripping Britain’s police forces.

Norfolk Constabulary said it could not comment on ongoing legal proceedings, but a spokeswoman confirmed WPC Jones was in a car which skidded off the road as it pursued a suspicious vehicle on January 30, 2012. No other vehicles were involved but the panda car ended up on its side and had to be written off after the pre-dawn crash in the south of the county.

[Econoline]

WPC Kelly Jones, 33, launched legal action against Norfolk Constabulary following a panda car crash.

Oh, dear...I hope the panda wasn't hurt.

[Jarlaxle]

The only yellow painted curbs I see are usually to mark "no parking" areas, to direct pedestrians to access points (like wheelchair ramps), or both. On-street handicapped parking sometimes has curbs painted blue. That's it.

[Econoline]

The only yellow painted curbs I see are usually to mark "no parking" areas, to direct pedestrians to access points (like wheelchair ramps), or both.

Me too. I don't know if a yellow curb means the same thing in the UK, but in the Google Street View link Sue posted the area in question was obviously supposed to be a parking spot...so painting the curb there yellow would've been confusing for customers.

[Lord Jim]

Sue, it would seem that at this point, we are both talking past each other, and going around in circles, (a seemingly contradictory problem from a physics standpoint, though not from a rhetorical one...)

We are coming from completely different quadrants of the galaxy on this...

You seem to view a common "curb'", the sort of thing one encounters on countless occasions just in the normal course of life experience, as though it was some sort of "hazard"...(as though it were a tiger pit with sharpened bamboo poles, or an area festooned with IEDs, or a dark and perilous place, filled with crocodiles and mamba snakes...or maybe a hungry puma roaming the gas station property...)

On the other hand, I just see, well....

A "curb"....

On top of that, in this particular case, you seem to attach absolutely no significance whatsoever, (you just pay lip service to it in the 12th paragraph of a 12 paragraph post) to what I and others see as central to this case; the fact that this is a police officer responding to an emergency call...

Suing the person who made the emergency call...

Based on the fact that they tripped over a common curb in the dark, (ignoring the fact that entering situations where you don't know what is going on is pretty much what one should expect as an officer of the law; and being able to find your way about in the dark, even if that includes navigating common sized curbs that are not painted a "bright safety yellow" is something a trained police officer ought to be able to do...(in fact even a normal civilian should be able to manage that... and they do, countless times, every day...)

But my position on this seems somehow unreasonable and lacking in knowledge to you; (and your position seems like something out of a Monty Python skit to me ) so I guess we're just going to have to agree to disagree...

[Econoline]

I wonder how they get away with selling these....these....

....weapons of mass destruction?

[MajGenl.Meade]

COP #1: 'Course you see, I look at life like this. (TILTS his head)

COP #2: Why's that? Problems?

COP #1: Yeah. My lady fell over a kerb last night and I laughed.

COP #2: W. P. C...?

COP #1: Dunno, I never could remember her name... umm... it's got a four in it, it's got a four, 'cause I remember, it was a round one, like that. (DRAWS circle in the air)

COP #2: Has it got a tail?

COP #1: Yeah.

COP #2: (PAUSE) That's a Q.

COP #1: Yeah?

COP #2: Yeah. Pretty sure.

COP #1: We'd been goin' out 'kin years.

COP #2: (PAUSE) How long?

COP #1: 'kin years...I reckon if I played me cards right, I could've, you know...(BENDS his knee inward)

COP #2: Kneed her in the groin?

COP #1: No, the other one.

COP #2: Slept with her?

COP #1: Yeah.

COP #2: Yeah.

COP #1: I reckon I could have slept with her, if it wasn't for that kerb. But we had a row, and uh... I said something about the Pope.

COP #2: That's a bit stupid, you know she's Catholic.

COP #1: Yeah, I know she's Catholic, I didn't know the Pope was.

COP #2: Heh. That's a laugh, eh, ain't it?

COP #1: What?

COP #2: That noise you make in the back of your throat when you see a WPC fall on her arse.

COP #1: Yeah, that's a laugh. (NODS)

[oldr_n_wsr]

I certainly do. And just as soon as people start walking at 60 MPH, and stepping off a curb represents a 50 foot drop, that will be an excellent analogy....

There's a road on the way to my lake house that is twisty turny (no way one could do 60mph) but it has nothing but 1950's era cables on the one side which descends down to the Delaware river. Those cables are pretty much rusted away and the posts, which were concrete, are just decayed. The road is named "Peggy's Runway" as sometime in the past (1800's?) the girl named Peggy, supposedly drove her horse and buggy down that road and went over the cliff. More than one person has gone over in the 50 years I have been going up there.
Guess they need some paint.

[Gob]

A chief constable today added his voice to growing anger over the Kelly Jones compensation case by saying it was 'wholly inappropriate' for police officers to make claims against victims of crime.

Mike Cunningham, of the Association of Chief Police Officers, spoke out after Pc Jones was criticised for taking legal action against a petrol station owner after she tripped on a kerb answering a 999 call.

It comes after Home Secretary Theresa May stepped into the row over the weekend by ordering a review of all such compensation cases involving the police.

Mr Cunningham told ITV's Daybreak programme: 'It is, to me, wholly inappropriate that police officers claim compensation against victims of crime, people to whom we have responded in order to help them.

'However, there are occasions, and I think many members of the public would accept and understand this, when an officer is badly assaulted on duty and loses earnings as a result; then it may be that they should have access to the criminal injuries compensation scheme along with everybody else.'

Mr Cunningham, who is Chief Constable of the Staffordshire force, added: 'I think it is self-evident that risk is an inherent part of being a police officer and when police officers join they absolutely know that and are aware of it.

'In fact, it is one of the appeals of the job that police officers put themselves between harm and victims, and that's what we do. 'There are occasions when officers unfortunately will be injured as a result of the profession they have chosen and it is in those circumstances when the issue of compensation arises.'

A Home Office source said: ‘It seems wrong that a PC should sue someone who reports a crime for a minor injury. There would be serious concerns if it deterred people from reporting crimes.'

[Econoline]

COP #2: Mebbe you should've mentioned to her that the whole rest of the world 'd be laughing at her too, if she sued....

[Lord Jim]

I have been googling this story every couple of weeks or so, hoping against hope to find an update that would show that common sense had at last prevailed...

This morning, I am pleased to report that it has!

Police officer suing burglary victim after tripping over kerb at his garage drops claim for damages

Mum-of-two Kelly Jones, 33, hurt her leg and wrist when she stumbled on a kerb while investigating a break-in at the garage





A policewoman who took legal action against a businessman after she tripped on a kerb while investigating a burglary has dropped her claim for damages.

PC Kelly Jones, 33, planned to sue petrol station owner Steve Jones, 50, after she injured her leg and wrist.

She claimed he failed to ensure she was “reasonably safe” while she searched his premises following a suspected break-in.

The case provoked widespread anger and raised questions about Britain’s growing “claim culture”.

But the Police Federation, a union for rank-and-file officers, revealed today that PC Jones has withdrawn her civil action.

Steve, who is not related to mum-of-two Kelly, said: “I welcome the news of the decision. It seems that we have a victory for common sense.

“I now wish to move on and concentrate on running my business.”

PC Jones injured her left leg and right wrist after an alarm went off at Steve’s garage in Thetford, Norfolk, last August.

She said he made no attempt to light the area or warn her about the high kerb.

PC Jones had to go to hospital and also took six weeks' sick leave from work.

The Police Federation, which represents police officers up to the rank of chief inspector in England and Wales, funded her legal costs.

A spokesman said: “PC Kelly Jones has withdrawn her civil claim for injuries sustained on duty.

“Contrary to media reports at the time PC Jones was not seeking a vast compensation payment, rather she was seeking monies that covered the income she had lost as a result of her injury.

“She will bear the financial loss [What "financial loss"? her medical bills were paid, her time off as a result of the injury was paid, and even her legal fees for this ridiculous lawsuit were paid.I understand from another article that the "damages" refer to theoretical loss of "career and promotion opportunities". I submit she did far more damage to those considerations by pursuing this nonsense then she would have just for being out for six weeks. And why was she out for six weeks anyway? She had broken wrist and an "injured knee"...seems to me with those kinds of injuries she could have at least had some sort of limited duty desk work after a couple of weeks, while she continued physical therapy] with a hope that the wider concerns the public might have can be resolved by Government and the police service for the future.

“This case raised a very real issue in that police officers find themselves financially disadvantaged when injured at work, with no other option other than to seek financial redress just as any other employee in any other industry would in the same circumstances.”

In April it emerged PC Jones was also taking separate action against Norfolk police after allegedly injuring her knee in a car crash.

She was understood to have been a passenger in a patrol car which skidded off the road during a high-speed pursuit.

The force has refused to comment on the case.

But Simon Bailey, Temporary Chief Constable of Norfolk Police, has backed PC Jones’ decision to drop her claim against Steve.

He said: “Policing, by its nature, can put officers and staff in hazardous situations.

"The Constabulary has a responsibility to seek to manage these risks, but nevertheless officers will at times be exposed to some risks in the interests of protecting the public.

“We acknowledge that individuals, police officers included, have the right to seek compensation for loss of earnings as a result of a work-related injury.

“The Constabulary has no direct influence over such litigation brought privately by a member of our staff, however, we do believe the right decision has now been made in this case to withdraw this particular claim.”

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[Big RR]

Jim--re the financial loss, if the UK is anything like the US, many police officers make a great deal of their money from overtime and differentials for different shifts, etc. she may have made her base salary for the time she was off or she may not have (in many US jobs disability is at a reduced rate, and 6 weeks is a long time to get full pay), but even at full salary she would have lost out on this additional component of her pay. she might also have been incapable of driving (or other household duties like cooking and cleaning) during this time and had to hire people to attend to her shopping and other errands, cooking, cleaning, etc., or to bringing her to and from medical appointments and physical therapy, and that might also not be compensated by insurance or her employer. Even with good insurance and employment coverage, people usually do esperiencesiderable out of pocket losses when seriously sick or injured.

[Lord Jim]

None of which could possibly remotely justify suing the crime victim whose call she was sent out on... That was simply beyond the pale...

If she had any beef at all it was with the police department, (perhaps they didn't train her adequately on how to navigate common curbs in the dark. )

I don't know all the details of the squad car injury, but in this case clearly some personal responsibility to fail to exercise minimal common sense caution is also involved, (paying attention to where you're walking, especially in the dark, is a life skill most have mastered by the age of 10) and you don't get additional compensation (from anybody; let alone as a police officer seeking damages from a crime victim you were sent to help ) for being injured as a result of your own poor judgement.

[Big RR]

I'm not voicing any opinion whatsoever as to the propriety of the original suit; I was merely commenting on your question of what loss she could have sustained.

[Lord Jim]

I didn't mean to imply that you were, Big RR, (I don't recall you being a big defender of the suit)...

I just thought it was a good opportunity to re-state the central issue...
















the only big defender I recall was Sue...I'm sure she'll be disappointed...

[MajGenl.Meade]

Kerbwork Orange