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Government announces nanotechnology strategy website
Lord Drayson, Science and Innovation Minister and chair of the Ministerial Group on Nanotechnologies, has called on industry and interested groups to get involved in shaping a UK strategy for nanotechnologies.
Industry, academia and consumer groups..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
Appeared in issue:
228 - 01 August 2009
Breakthrough in C. difficile outbreak research
New research suggests that antibiotic treatment could be asymptomatically inducing the transmission of the healthcare-acquired infection, C. difficile, contributing to the outbreaks that have recently been widely reported in hospitals. A team of..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
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228 - 01 August 2009
Study into safety of ready-to-eat speciality meats
A new report has highlighted that 99% of ready-to-eat speciality meats sold in the UK are safe to eat. However, the study also revealed that a very small proportion of the meats contained Salmonella or unsafe levels of Listeria monocytogenes.
The..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
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228 - 01 August 2009
Call for EU to legislate on formaldehyde
The European Federation of Building and Wood Workers (EFBWW) and the European Furniture Manufacturers Federation (EFMF) want the EU to legislate on formaldehyde, a chemical widely used in furniture manufacture.
In a Joint Declaration, the two..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
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228 - 01 August 2009
Call for legislation on directors and health and safety
Thompsons Solicitors has called on the Government to legally force company directors to take responsibility for accidents at work. Currently directors are governed by voluntary guidance which can make it difficult to prosecute, said the law firm...
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12 August 2009
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228 - 01 August 2009
UN launches Foot and Mouth Disease offensive
A major offensive aimed at bringing Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) under global control has been launched by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Paris-based World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE).
The initiative..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
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228 - 01 August 2009
Board level commitment to health and safety “too weak”
The Work and Pensions Select Committee has said that board level commitment to prioritising health and safety is still too low weak. The Fourth Report of Session 2008-09 from the Work and Pensions Select Committee, entitled “Workplace health..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
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228 - 01 August 2009
HFCs contribute to climate warming
Some of the substances that are helping to avert the destruction of the ozone layer could increasingly contribute to climate warming, according to scientists from the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Earth System..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
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228 - 01 August 2009
DoT proposals on compensation claims criticised
New Government proposals would severely undermine the ability of motorists to claim compensation for damaged property and could have far-reaching consequences for personal injury claimants, according to Thompsons Solicitors. Under the plans there..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
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228 - 01 August 2009
Asbestos victims dismayed by pleural plaques delay
The Asbestos Victims Support Groups Forum UK has expressed its dismay at the delay in a decision from Government over pleural plaques. The Forum said: “This further delay, which will cause dismay and distress to asbestos victims, can only be..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
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228 - 01 August 2009
Claims management companies upset over Jackson review
Claims management companies are set to challenge Lord Justice Jackson’s review following an address made by Lord Jackson at the recent Claims Standard Councils (CSC) annual conference in Manchester.
The statement from the executive comes after..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
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228 - 01 August 2009
Cautious welcome for Government plans from plaintiff lawyers
Government plans to examine the process for tracking and tracing the former employers and insurers of the victims of asbestos-related disease are welcome if they lead to the setting up of an Employer’s Liability Insurance Bureau (ELIB),..
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12 August 2009
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228 - 01 August 2009
Unions disappointed by lack of Government decision
The announcement by Jack Straw that the Government has not yet made a decision over pleural plaques was met with disappointment by unions. Unite said the Government had opted to “half heartedly look at some of the other issues surrounding..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
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228 - 01 August 2009
APIL decries “feeble” response to Law on Damages consultation
‘A feeble anticlimax’ was the verdict of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) on the Government’s response to the consultation The Law on Damages, after a two-year wait for publication.
“In all my years of..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
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228 - 01 August 2009
Cricket and insurance link up
It’s not strictly relevant to Liability Risk and Insurance, but it is important news nonetheless, especially for brokers and risk managers. As the Ashes series hots up, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has announced that Brit..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
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228 - 01 August 2009
Sunbeds classed as carcinogenic to humans by IARC
An International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Working Group has classified UV-emitting tanning devices as “carcinogenic to humans” (Group 1). The group’s conclusions are reported in The Lancet Oncology. The IARC had..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
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228 - 01 August 2009
Which? calls for mandatory reporting scheme for nano materials
The consumer association Which? has called for a mandatory reporting scheme for the use of nano materials. Which? wants the Government to introduce a mandatory reporting scheme, requiring companies to report their use of manufactured nano materials...
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
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228 - 01 August 2009
Lord Justice Jackson’s seminar on fixed costs
A seminar hosted by international law firm Eversheds has underlined the difficulty in reaching consensus on fixed costs in the fast track and above. The Eversheds event, part of Lord Justice Jackson’s review of civil litigation costs in..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
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228 - 01 August 2009
Major increase in Employment Tribunal applications
The Tribunals Service has published statistics for the year from 1 April 2007 to 31 March 2008. The total number of Employment Tribunal applications rose by 43 percent to 189,303, compared with 132,577 applications in 2006/2007. However, many of..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
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228 - 01 August 2009
Consultation launched on ‘Regulating Damages Based Agreements’
The Ministry of Justice has said it has taken a major step towards protecting claimants from unfair ‘no-win, no-fee’ arrangements. Proposed neåw powers for the Lord Chancellor in the Coroners and Justicåe åBill will ensure..
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12 August 2009
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228 - 01 August 2009
New FOIL representative on Law Society Council
Michelle Penn, a partner at Berrymans Lace Mawer, has been appointed as the Forum of Insurance Lawyers (FOIL) Law Society Representative on the Law Society Council. She joined BLM in 2000 and became a partner in 2003. She specialises in occupational..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
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228 - 01 August 2009
AIRMIC’s D&O benchmarking data
AIRMIC and Advisen, a supplier of benchmarking services, have produced detailed aggregate data of D&O insurance programmes purchased by risk managers. The survey shows that AIRMIC members are responding to an increasingly hostile shareholder..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
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228 - 01 August 2009
CSC responds to Civil Litigation Costs Review
The Claims Standard Council (CSC) has submitted a response to the preliminary report by Lord Justice Jackson, the Civil Litigation Costs Review. In its submission, the CSC said “Solicitors can obtain personal injury claims only if their..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
Appeared in issue:
228 - 01 August 2009
T&N claims exemption from Compensation Recovery Unit reinstated
The government has put in to place legislation that will benefit hundreds of sufferers of mesothelioma to the tune of thousands of pounds in compensation, according to the trade union Unite.
The people affected were exposed to asbestos by Turner..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
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228 - 01 August 2009
Scientists discover possible reason for pleural plaques’ chest pain
Scientists at the Barbara Ann Karmanos Cancer Institute’s National Center for Vermiculite and Asbestos-Related Cancers (NCVAC) in the US have discovered what they describe as “a probable reason for the unrelenting chest pain experienced..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
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228 - 01 August 2009
Agreement on preventing injuries from needle sticks
Employers and trade unions in the healthcare sector have signed an EU-wide agreement to prevent injuries from needle sticks and other sharp objects. More than 1 million such injuries occur every year, forming one of the most common health and safety..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
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228 - 01 August 2009
US court prevents personal injury claim circumvention
The American Tort Reform Association has applauded the Maryland Court of Appeals for ruling that the state’s limit on non-economic damages applies to lawsuits brought under the state’s Consumer Protection Act (CPA). In so doing, the..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
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228 - 01 August 2009
Government response over collective actions
The Government has responded to the Civil Justice’s final recommendations to improve access to justice for consumers and small businesses in collective claims.
In December 2008 the Civil Justice Council (CJC) published its final..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
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228 - 01 August 2009
Acas sees 22% increase in unfair dismissal conciliation cases
The full depth and severity of the recession and its knock on effects on the employment landscape have been revealed in a new report published by Acas, the employment relations service.
In its annual report – which provides a snapshot of the..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
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228 - 01 August 2009
Impact of recession on older workers revealed in survey
A new survey from TAEN – The Age and Employment Network has revealed the real impact of the recession on older workers and jobseekers. The research compares periods before and after October 2008. The figures for the latter period show that the..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
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228 - 01 August 2009
£1.5mn wrongful birth claim against Trust
An NHS trust is reportedly being sued for £1.5m for the “wrongful birth” of a mother’s severely disabled son. The child was born with congenital heart defects, a cleft palate, one kidney, and back problems, which meant he has..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
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228 - 01 August 2009
City lawyer claims £12mn from asset management
A city lawyer has won the latest round in her legal battle to secure the biggest pay-out on record for sex discrimination. The woman is claiming £12m from an asset management firm for forcing her out of a job through bullying. The company had..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
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228 - 01 August 2009
Dog collision appeal rejected
A dog walker who was knocked over by a dog whilst out walking has had her personal injury appeal for £160,000 rejected. She was out walking her golden retriever in 2005 when a black Labrador collided into her. She needed surgery on her knee and..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
Appeared in issue:
228 - 01 August 2009
Mesothelioma damages of £135,000
The widow of a bricklayer who died from mesothelioma has received £135,000 in compensation. He was exposed to asbestos while working as a bricklayer. His job included cutting asbestos piping. His former employers eventually admitted liability..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
Appeared in issue:
228 - 01 August 2009
Disabled within meaning of Disability Discrimination Act 1995
When determining whether a person was disabled within the meaning of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 by reason of having an impairment which, though capable of being controlled by measures taken to treat or control it, would be likely to have..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
Appeared in issue:
228 - 01 August 2009
Mesothelioma compensation paid
The family of a former tailor has received more than £162,000 in compensation after he died from mesothelioma. The former self employed tailor was exposed to asbestos after 1970 when he moved into factory work. He worked for an electrical wire..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
Appeared in issue:
228 - 01 August 2009
No decision on pleural plaques
The Government has announced that it has yet to make a decision as to whether to bring in legislation to reverse the House of Lords’ decision on pleural plaques. Speaking in the House of Commons, Jack Straw, the Lord Chancellor, said:..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
Appeared in issue:
228 - 01 August 2009
TUPE Regulations and Equal Pay Act 1970
An employee whose employment contract had been transferred under contracting-out arrangements to another employer could not have any greater rights against the transferee than she had against the transferor by virtue of regulation 5 of the Transfer..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
Appeared in issue:
228 - 01 August 2009
Section 11 of the Limitation Act 1980
The three-year limitation period under section 11 of the Limitation Act 1980 applied to the whole action where a claim for damages for personal injuries was one of a number of claims.
The court so held when dismissing all claims, save for that..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
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228 - 01 August 2009
Determining equal value pay claims
An independent expert report as to equal value was not always necessary before an employment tribunal could determine an equal value pay claim based on the contents of a job evaluation scheme (“JES”). However, the fact that there was..
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12 August 2009
Appeared in issue:
228 - 01 August 2009
Leg injury to amateur duathlete
A man who had to give up endurance sport after injuring his leg at work has received £5,250 in compensation. The man was a keen marathon runner and established duathlete - a race where participants run and cycle - before he damaged his leg.
The..
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12 August 2009
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228 - 01 August 2009
Damages for leg crush injury
A woman who was forced to take six months off work after her leg was crushed in a workplace accident has received £14,500 in compensation. She needed surgery following the accident at a tissue manufacturer. She was attempting to move a 250 kg..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
Appeared in issue:
228 - 01 August 2009
£177,000 out of court mesothelioma settlement
A former nuclear power plant worker who was diagnosed with mesothelioma has received compensation of £177,000 in an out of court settlement. He was exposed to asbestos while working at a nuclear site. He started work as an instrument mechanic..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
Appeared in issue:
228 - 01 August 2009
No damages for civilian injured by Iraq bomb
The High Court has ruled that a British engineer who lost his shoulder in a roadside bomb blast in Iraq cannot claim compensation for his injuries. The civilian was working on a power station construction project when the Land Rover Discovery he was..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
Appeared in issue:
228 - 01 August 2009
Eye injury from wrong goggles
A steel erector has received £6,500 in compensation after he suffered permanent damage to his eye during the construction of the new Wembley Stadium. The steel erector was hammering a steel pin into a hole when a piece of galvanised coating..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
Appeared in issue:
228 - 01 August 2009
£35,000 in compensation for shoulder injury
A man who was off work for more than 20 months following a workplace accident has received £35,000 in compensation. He needed surgery on his shoulder and received intensive physiotherapy following the accident. The tool setter for an automotive..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
Appeared in issue:
228 - 01 August 2009
Accountant in race discrimination claim
An accountant who operated in the City of London has accused her former employer of race discrimination. The Romanian woman worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) and said that she was the victim of bullying and was repeatedly ignored for..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
Appeared in issue:
228 - 01 August 2009
Effective date of termination of employment
The “effective date of termination of employment” within section 97(1)(b) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 was not necessarily the date yielded by contractual analysis. When determining the relevant time limit for making an unfair..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
Appeared in issue:
228 - 01 August 2009
Plaintiff lawyers criticise Animals Act changes
Government plans to make changes to the Animals Act “via the back door” have been criticised by plaintiff lawyers. According to John McQuater, president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) the proposed amendment to the..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
Appeared in issue:
228 - 01 August 2009
Cyclist knocked down by car
A cyclist who was badly injured when a car knocked him down has received £5,000 in compensation. He was off work for two weeks following the accident on his cycle and was so psychologically damaged by the incident it took him more than eight..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
Appeared in issue:
228 - 01 August 2009
£1.35mn in compensation for brain damage
A girl who was left with brain damage as a result of negligent delays in her birth has been awarded £1.35m in compensation. She developed quadriplegic cerebral palsy and through her mother she sued the NHS Trust. The NHS trust admitted..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
Appeared in issue:
228 - 01 August 2009
The globalisation of collective redress: Consequences for the insurance industry (Part Two) Distinctions between European and US class actions
A Focus Report by Swiss Re
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
Appeared in issue:
228 - 01 August 2009
£580,000 in compensation for cycling death
The family of a teacher, who was killed while cycling home from work, has received £580,000 in compensation. He was working as Head of Science at a school when he was knocked off his bike. He was hit from behind by a car driven by a diabetic,..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
Appeared in issue:
228 - 01 August 2009
Mesothelioma damages for plumber
A hospital plumber, who has developed mesothelioma, has received £175,000 in compensation. He had been exposed to asbestos while working in a number of hospitals, including removing asbestos lagging at two hospitals. He said he had never been..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
Appeared in issue:
228 - 01 August 2009
Firefighter wins £250,000 in damages
A firefighter who suffered extensive injuries when he fell down a 20ft pit while trying to put out a blaze has received £250,000 in compensation. The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) member received the accident compensation after he attended a fire..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
Appeared in issue:
228 - 01 August 2009
£37,000 in compensation for back injury
A welder who was forced to retire after he injured his back at work has received more than £37,000 in compensation. He worked as a track welder and was lifting a heavy piece of equipment when he fell causing a slipped disc in his back and..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
Appeared in issue:
228 - 01 August 2009
Union members receive unfair dismissal payments
UNITE the union has secured more than £17,000 in compensation each for 21 members who were made redundant while working at a power station in Plymouth. An Employment Tribunal awarded the money after they were sacked without consultation by an..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
Appeared in issue:
228 - 01 August 2009
£1mn settlement for hit-and-run victim
A young woman who was injured in a hit-and-run accident has won a settlement worth over £1mn. She was crossing the road when she was hit by a car which drove off without stopping. The accident left her with horrific injuries and she is now..
Online Published Date:
12 August 2009
Appeared in issue:
228 - 01 August 2009