Most people injured at work or made ill by their job never receive a penny, dispelling the "myth" that the UK is gripped by a compensation culture, the TUC said yesterday.
Research for the union organisation showed that sixfigure payouts were extremely rare, with average settlements around £7,500.
The UK also paid out less money in compensation cases than most other European countries, according to the report, Compensation Myth.
Only 80,000 of the 850,000 people injured at work every year ever received any money from their employer or the state, said the TUC.
TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: "All the time we hear that the UK is in the grip of a runaway compensation culture and that we are moving ever closer to a US- style ' sue- first-askquestions later' system.
"The harsh reality for thousands of ill and injured workers is very different with most getting little if anything when things go wrong at work as a result of their employers' negligence."
