Polski Dzial NHS Workers Potentially Exposed to Asbestos
An NHS Trust has been fined after it was found likely to have exposed workers to potentially fatal asbestos material for more than a decade at its three hospitals in Hertfordshire. The estates team, whose work is to carry out small repairs and maintenance projects where external contractors are not needed, were not made aware […]
Help for industrial disease victims
Sufferers of a deadly industrial disease in England and Wales are to be supported by faster legal processes under proposals announced by Courts Minister Helen Grant. The plans would see the creation of an out-of-court process specifically to help settle compensation claims for victims of mesothelioma – a condition which often develops decades after the […]
ABI welcomes plans for Mesothelioma Bill
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has welcomed the announcement in the Queen’s Speech that people with the asbestos-related cancer mesothelioma in the UK will get more financial help under a package of measures in the Mesothelioma Bill. This will include support for up to 3,000 sufferers who currently go un-compensated, and a more streamlined […]
Council and building firm fined for asbestos exposure
Staffordshire County Council and a refurbishment firm have been fined for exposing a nursery class, school staff and two joiners to asbestos fibres. Stafford Crown Court heard two joiners were cutting through a large built-in cupboard in the nursery class when they noticed unidentified material nailed to the back of it. They showed this to […]
New fund for mesothelioma victims must go further
The announcement that the government is to make compensation claims easier for the thousands of people who have mesothelioma – as a result of asbestos exposure at work – but who until now have been unable to claim because their employer no longer exists, has been welcomed by the TUC. TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber […]
Two year wait goes on for industrial disease victims
Asbestos victims are still dying without legal redress, two years after the Government finished consulting on plans to set up an insurance fund to help them. The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) has long-campaigned for a fund of last resort to compensate workers suffering from industrial diseases and who cannot pursue their former employers’ […]
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. The comments came in the run-up to International Workers’ Memorial Day, which took place on Saturday 28th April. Unite has accused ministers of introducing ‘light touch’ health and safety regulations and called […]