Roofing boss fined after worker seriously injured in fall

An Aberdeenshire roofing boss has been fined after one of his workers was seriously injured when he fell five metres from the edge of a flat roof.

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Review into PiP implant scandal published

A review into the PiP breast implant scandal has found that, although the regulator acted appropriately and followed scientific and clinical advice, there is room for improvement and serious lessons must be learned.

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Girl wins compensation for injuries suffered at birth

An eleven-year-old girl has been awarded around £11 million in compensation for serious injuries she suffered at birth, reports the Guardian.

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Director fined after worker's fatal fall through roof

The director of a building firm has been prosecuted after a self-employed contractor fell to his death through a fragile roof at an industrial building in Penryn.

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Steel firm in court over employee's injuries

A Preston steel firm has appeared in court after a working platform slid off the forks of a forklift truck and struck one of its employees.

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Workplace deaths underestimated by 800%

The government has been accused of hiding behind statistics, as workplace deaths are underestimated by more than 800%, trade union Unite has said.

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Recommendations to increase safety of medical devices

A breast implant register, more stringent checks and product traceability, and a pre-market authorisation system are among the measures proposed by the European Environment and Public Health Committee to prevent a recurrence of the PIP defective breast implants case. The resolution was passed unanimously.

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BSC launches health & safety manifesto

The British Safety Council (BSC) has launched its health and safety manifesto, 'Working Well', which sets out five steps to help improve workplace safety and reduce the number of work related injuries.

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Moves to close legal loophole on prosecution of partnerships

Tightening the law on the criminal liability of partnerships and reforming the law on unincorporated associations will be the dual focus of a recently launched UK Government consultation.
 
The Government is seeking views on proposals put forward by the Scottish Law Commission.
 
Reforming the criminal liability of partnerships in Scots law was suggested after the tragedy of the Rosepark nursing home fire in Lanarkshire in 2004 in which 14 residents lost their lives.
 
The case against the care home operators failed in the courts because of a loophole which prevented the prosecution of a partnership once it had been dissolved.
 
The proposed change would ensure all Scottish partnerships could be held to account if they commit crimes and prevent them escaping prosecution for potentially serious offences by dissolving.
 
The consultation will also look at a separate issue of attributing legal personality to non-profit making unincorporated associations where they meet certain statutory criteria.
 
Without this reform, a member of a charity, club or other unincorporated association could find themselves held personally liable for someone injured at an event it has organised, for an act for which they are not personally culpable, exposing them to personal financial risk.
 
The Commission's proposals would provide organisations with limited liability to ensure individual members or office-bearers could not be held personally liable for any damage or offence caused by the organisation as a whole.

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Control of Asbestos Regulations

The Health and Safety Executive has advised that the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012 came into force on 6th April 2012, updating previous asbestos regulations to take account of the European Commission's view that the UK had not fully implemented the EU Directive on exposure to asbestos.

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Firm fined after failing to manage asbestos

A laboratory testing firm has been prosecuted after putting workers at its Tyneside premises at risk of exposure to asbestos.

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FOR FULL OR PART SALE: ENGINEERING BUSINESS – AYRSHIRE, SCOTLAND

An Established Engineering Business in Ayrshire is offered for Part or Full Sale.  The Company has been trading for 65 years and operates from a central location in Ayrshire close to good transport links for West/South and Central Scotland. Serving a wide variety of Customers including Defence, Local Authority, Environmental, Food Processing, Energy & Utilities, Rail, Transport, Construction and Retail.

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Completion of sale of Coul Shooting Estate

We act for Eighton Investments and have just completed the sale of Coul Shooting Estate in the Highlands which has been on the market through Ballantynes, Surveyors & Estate Agents, Perth with an asking price of £2,200,000.  If you wish to discuss with us any aspect of the sale of any Estate in Scotland, whether including shooting and fishing rights or otherwise then please do not hesitate to contact Forbes Leslie in the first instance who would be able to give advice on all legal aspects of any sale.  Alternatively, if you are considering purchasing an Estate in Scotland please do not hesitate to contact us for legal advice.

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Regulation in Scotland ‘would help ensure children’s safety’

Children will be exposed to greater risk of harm if important safety measures for adventure activities in Scotland are watered down, a not-for-profit campaign group has warned.

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Supreme Court brings justice for asbestos victims

Trade Unions have welcomed the landmark ruling by the Supreme Court which will affect many of the 2,500 people who are diagnosed with mesothelioma each year.

Mesothelioma is a terminal form of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos. Mesothelioma has an unusually long gestation period, which can be in excess of 40 years between exposure to asbestos and manifestation of the disease.

Insurance companies had tried to argue that employer's liability policies only covered mesothelioma which manifested as a disease at some point during the relevant policy period. The Supreme Court has rejected these arguments, which would have denied compensation to victims of the terminal disease, and ruled that the insurers of an employer at the time of the exposure to asbestos should pay compensation.

In his judgment Lord Clarke concluded that: “The whole purpose of these policies was to insure employers against liability to their employees. That purpose would be frustrated if the insurers’ submissions on this point were accepted.”

Lord Phillips added that diseases are contracted when the process that leads to them is initiated as a result of wrongful exposure to the noxious substance that causes the disease.

The judgment went on to emphasise that these principles apply not only to mesothelioma but also to other industrial diseases.

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Renewed calls for clocks to be changed year-round

As the clocks go forward Autoglass® and the road safety charity Brake are renewing calls for government to make it ‘Lighter Later’ by putting the clocks forward by an hour year-round.

This would mean fewer daylight hours ‘wasted’ in the early mornings when most people are asleep. The lighter evenings would mean reduced danger to pedestrians and cyclists in the dark afternoons and evenings through the winter months.

It’s estimated this would result in 80 fewer deaths and hundreds fewer serious injuries each year, preventing unnecessary suffering and saving the NHS £138 million annually.

Matthew Mycock, Autoglass® Managing Director commented:

“Low light means drivers struggle to clearly see objects and hazards, and it places cyclists and pedestrians at high risk.”

“Putting clocks forward an hour all year round, will save millions of pounds in emergency and medical costs and spare thousands of people the pain and anguish which comes from road crashes.”

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Company fined after surveyor killed by reversing lorry

An engineering and construction company has been fined £250,000 for safety failings after a surveyor was killed by a reversing lorry during work to widen the M25 near Dartford.

Richard Caddock was talking on a mobile phone and could not hear the approaching truck above the noise of nearby motorway traffic, when he was hit from behind in 2008.

The Health and Safety Executive prosecuted his employer Costain Limited for failing to ensure adequate precautions were in place to separate the movements of people and vehicles.

Maidstone Crown Court heard that Mr Caddock had left a parked van and was walking northbound along a section of the central reservation closed off as part of a £65 million scheme to ease congestion between junctions 1b to 3.

As he talked on the phone, a tipper lorry delivering crushed stone entered the same section and reversed northbound. Mr Craddock had walked approximately 30m when the truck hit him.

The surveyor sustained multiple injuries as a result of being run over by the eight wheel vehicle and was pronounced dead at the scene.

After the hearing HSE Inspector Melvyn Stancliffe said:

"This was a terrible tragedy that could easily have been avoided had Costain Limited implemented basic safety precautions.

"The movement of people and vehicles on construction sites requires careful planning and effective control. It must be considered a critical part of transport management. This case highlights that a failure to be in control can have devastating consequences."

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Inquiry into dog attacks on postal workers

Donald Brydon, Chairman of Royal Mail Group, has announced the launch of an independent inquiry to be led by Sir Gordon Langley into the prevalence and consequences of attacks by dogs on postal workers in the UK, with the objective of making recommendations to address them.

There are between three and a half thousand and four thousand dog attacks on Royal Mail employees each year, resulting in injuries - many severe, - and considerable trauma. 

Despite significant organisational effort to control employee exposure, and an outstanding and ongoing campaign - Bite Back, led by the CWU - the number of attacks remains unacceptably high. The inquiry will look more widely than just at primary legislation and therefore will look beyond current proposed amendments to the Dangerous Dogs Act.

The inquiry will:

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Countryside firm sentenced over strimmer death

A countryside management firm has been sentenced over the death of a father-of-four in Barrow-in-Furness, who was struck by a piece of metal that flew off a strimmer at high speed.

Tony Robinson died after a link from a chain, spinning at around 300 miles an hour on a petrol strimmer, became detached and struck him on the back of the neck, causing fatal injuries.

Mr Robinson, a self-employed contractor, had been hired to help clear undergrowth at the site during the construction of the new Waterfront business park. He was using a chainsaw to cut back the overgrown vegetation, with another worker using the strimmer on a nearby bank.

The chain attachment had been added to the strimmer so it could be used for more heavy-duty work. But the HSE investigation found ThreeShires had not properly considered the risks of using the attachment, and had allowed Mr Robinson to work close to where the strimmer was being operated.

The company pleaded guilty to breaching Section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 by failing to ensure the safety of workers and was fined £15,000 and ordered to pay £10,000 in prosecution costs.

HSE issued a Safety Alert following Mr Robinson's death, warning that there was a risk of death or serious injury from the use of the strimmer attachment.

It also served an immediate Prohibition Notice against the sole importer of the chain attachments in the UK, which resulted in a nationwide ban on the sale or supply of the product.

The attachment has now also been banned across Europe, after HSE alerted the European Commission to the issue.

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Road users warned to be aware of motorcycles

Road users across Scotland are being urged to raise their awareness of motorcycles, as the approach of spring sees more and more bikers out and about.

A campaign has been organised by the Association of Chief Police Officers in Scotland to make all motorists, pedestrians and motorcyclists themselves more aware of the risks associated with this popular mode of travel and leisure pursuit.

Superintendent Alan Duncan who is the head of Road Policing for Lothian and Borders Police, and the ACPOS lead for National Campaigns said:

“Year -on-year there is still a disproportionate number of motorcycles involved in collisions and unfortunately these often result in serious injury for those involved.

“Motorcyclists and their passengers are more vulnerable to injury than other vehicle users and I would urge all road users to be aware of motorcycles. Just remember that motorcycles can be less visible than other vehicles. Motorcyclists need to appreciate and be aware of changing road conditions at all times, and the fact that their personal skill level may have deteriorated over the winter months.”

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