COMPENSATION CLAIMS

Waikato Times, Volume 129, Issue 21599, 9 December 1941, Page 4

COMPENSATION CLAIMS

LIABILITY OF EMPLOYERS ROTARY CLUB ADDRESS Addressing members at the weekly luncheon of the Hamilton Rotary’ Club yesterday, Mr A. L. Tompkins, president of the Hamilton District Law Society, detailed types of cases which could arise through accidenis to employees, nuk.»g employers liable to claims for compensation. “At the begin- I ning of the nineteenth century employees could not claim compensation 1 for injuries at their work unless it 1 was pr*ve'.’ that the accident was directly due to the negligence of the employer,” said Mr Tompkins. “An ! Act introduced in 1880 made em- j ployers liable for accidents caused ’ through defective machinery and and similar negligence, but this was ■ not very successful. Acts have since ' been made whereby injuries re- ! ceived by employees due to the negligence of workmates, whether i superior or inferior, make employers liable. I “In England and several other ] countries the actual rate of compen- ! satiorf is fixed, but in New Zealand special compensation courts presided over by a judge have been established. New Zealand has also a dif- 1 ferent method of awarding compen- I sation for injuries, the extent of the injuries determining the amount oi compensation.”