Officer awarded £11,000 for falling off London Underground chair

A British Transport Police officer has been awarded £11,575 after reportedly falling from a chair on the London Underground Credit: PA

A British Transport Police officer has been awarded £11,575 after reportedly falling from a chair on the London Underground.

Transport for London (TfL) has regularly been paying out tens of thousands of pounds for individual cases of travelers tripping over, getting caught in Tube doors, and slipping on wet platforms.

A total of £4.76m was paid to members of the public since 2010 to compensate accidents and injuries incurred using public transport or whilst on Transport for London property.

Among the list of highest claims:

  • A blind person was paid £34,030 after being caught in an automatic door

  • £15,168 for somebody who had their elbow trapped in a Tube

  • A would-be traveler was given £10,050 after a seat on a platform collapsed

  • £158,584 for somebody who tripped over a pillar on a pavement.

The figures were obtained by a Freedom of Information request by Southwark Liberal Democrats.

Anood Al-Samerai, leader of the Lib-Dem group on the council said it's an example of a 'compensation culture':

Jill Collis, London Underground’s Director of Health, Safety and Environment, said: