Polski Dzial Nursing home fined for elderly man’s fatal fall
Truro Crown court has heard that an elderly man with dementia was able to wander into another resident’s room at his nursing home and fall to his death from a window. Reginald Gibbings, 89, fell 3.6 metres from the room in July 2008. The court was told that Mr Gibbings had been admitted to the […]
Working at height put under safety spotlight
Dozens of construction sites across Scotland have been put under the spotlight as part of an intensive inspection regime by the Health and Safety Executive. A total of 78 sites were inspected across Scotland during the first three weeks of September and while the majority were found to be managing health and safety appropriately, work […]
‘Sorry’ not always good enough for victims of injury
Plans to introduce legislation to protect people from legal action if they apologise for causing injury are “pointless and misguided” lawyers have said. In its response to a consultation on a proposed Apologies (Scotland) Bill, the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) said the courts take each case on its merits and already provide protection, […]
Injuriesboard.ie publishes interim report for 2012
InjuriesBoard.ie has released details of its work in the first six months of 2012. Data for the period shows a gradual but consistent increase (4.1%) in claims volumes compared to the same period in 2011. The period also saw the emergence of issue-specific claims linked to Thalidomide and De Puy hip replacements. In the six […]
Death rates after surgery double that of recent estimates
National estimates of death following general surgery have been too optimistic, according to the first large-scale study to explore surgical outcomes across Europe, led by Queen Mary, University of London. The study has generated new estimates using a snap-shot of death after surgery in more than 46,000 patients from 500 hospitals in 28 European countries. […]
De-regulation kills, warns TUC
Government plans to abolish safety inspections in thousands of businesses across the UK will put the health of millions of workers at risk, the TUC has warned. Responding to plans outlined by Business Secretary Vince Cable, TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: ‘Contrary to myths peddled by ministers, the UK is facing an occupational health […]
Lawyers welcome rethink on compensation cuts
Campaigners have welcomed a decision by the Government to rethink its proposals to cut compensation payments for victims of crime. Karl Tonks, president of the not-for-profit Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) said: “This decision will surely be of great relief to many victims of crime who have been injured through no fault of their […]
APIL reveals new whiplash research
An independent survey, commissioned by the not-for-profit Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL), has found that almost 40% of people who have suffered a whiplash injury have never claimed compensation for it. The new information “injects some sanity into a national debate characterised by overblown and inaccurate rhetoric,” said APIL president Karl Tonks. The research […]
Mobile devices more of a distraction than a screaming child
A recent study has exposed the distraction and danger to drivers of just having a mobile phone in the car, with a fifth of participants in a simulator situation moving their eyes from the road for more than seven seconds after simply hearing their phone ring. The simulator study commissioned by esure car insurance reveals […]
Fraudsters trick school over asbestos cleaning
Two men colluded with each other to commit fraud by falsifying a record stating that a school in Abingdon had been properly cleaned of asbestos. The “unusual fraud” was confirmed by detective work by one of the men’s employers using GPS tracking technology on the employee’s company van, which proved he had not attended the […]