i-law.com - Newsletter (Liability Risk and Insurance)

Health and safety posting hazard

Everyone seems to agree that there is no compensation culture in the UK. Equally, there is much agreement that there is a perception that such a culture exists, and this is leading to extreme risk aversion. This seems to be borne out by a story..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

State of the Market 2006 - A View of the Insurance Landscape

By Heath Lambert Group

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

Monthly quota

“It’s no wonder the President attacks the civil justice system – it holds his corporate contributors accountable when they price-gouge doctors, raise health care prices, knowingly market deadly drugs and endanger the public..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

Contract to stop students suing university

Oxford University is reported to have drawn up a draft contract which students would have to sign, which would legally bind them to attend lectures. It would also prevent students from suing the university for not providing enough tuition. A..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

Plaintiff lawyers call for waiver of limitation laws

Plaintiff lawyers are calling for a waiver of limitation laws in relation to pleural plaques cases, so that cases already in progress do not run out of time before the appeals are heard. Similarly, cases which are not yet in progress will also be..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

Price-fixing companies can be sued

The Times has reported that a landmark European court case will make it easier for consumers to sue companies guilty of illegal price-fixing. According to the Times, an advocate-general to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) found that Italian..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

Lloyd’s predicts Asian liability growth

Lloyd’s has released new research giving the insurance industry clear guidance on key developments in Asia. The research, “New Openings – quantifying opportunities in Asia,” earmarks four specialist classes of business for..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

Heath Lambert on construction insurance markets

Heath Lambert has revealed that the main message for construction firms is simple: risk management and health and safety issues will continue to drive the construction insurance markets this year, particularly in the UK. “It has been proven on..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

R&SA provides capacity for Saturn’s PI portfolio

Royal & SunAlliance (R&SA) is to be the sole provider of capacity for Saturn’s £18mn professional indemnity (PI) portfolio as from March 1, 2006. Saturn, part of the Martello Group which also includes PI Direct, PI Brokerlink and..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

Article looks at the “Liability Dilemma”

Vision may be the most important element required to underwrite liability risk, according to Ajay Gupta, marketing leader of GE Insurance Solutions. Mr Gupta says insurers tend to look backward at historical loss experience but not forward to..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

New package aimed at charities from Royal & SunAlliance

Royal & SunAlliance (R&SA) has launched Sector 3, a new “proposition” designed specifically for charities and not-for-profit organisations. R&SA says that Sector 3, designed in consultation with specialist charity brokers,..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

Council’s crackdown on bogus personal injury claims

Knowsley Metropolitan Borough Council’s campaign to weed out bogus personal injury compensation claims should become a model for councils throughout the country, according to the Association of British Insurers. The Council’s crackdown..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

Cost of bullying claims up by 225% in five years

New figures released by Zurich Municipal show that over the past five years the cost of bullying claims has risen by 225%. The trend, however, is from the increased cost of claims as opposed to the number of claims being made. According to Zurich,..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

RICS attains Designated Professional Body status

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has become one of only 10 government recognised Designated Professional Bodies (DPB). RICS is now directly authorised by HM Treasury to license and regulate the thousands of surveyors who provide..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

Healthcare professionals must do more to reduce risks

Healthcare managers and professionals are being urged to take more aggressive steps to manage the increasing costs of healthcare risk. Robert Wendin, the European Healthcare Practice leader at Marsh, said that while other industries such as aviation..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

EOC consults on Gender Equality Duty

The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) has launched a three-month consultation on the Gender Equality Duty – “the most significant change to gender equality legislation in 30 years.” The Commission is encouraging public sector..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

Equality Act gains Royal Assent

The Equality Act has gained Royal Assent and as a result, “a powerful new body to put equality at the heart of modern Britain” has been given the go-ahead, says the Government. Individuals experiencing discrimination and prejudice on the..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

Priorities for occupational safety and health research

Current trends in society and work organisation are creating new risks and putting new demands on occupational safety and health research. This is according to a working paper entitled “Priorities for occupational safety and health research in..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

Safety of patients and staff is paramount, says Lord Hunt

Lord Hunt, Minister for health and safety, has warned that: “The safety of patients and staff is paramount. The costs of getting it wrong are unacceptable, both morally and economically.” Addressing healthcare staff and patient safety..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

HSE targets slips and trips in construction

The HSE is beginning a nationwide inspection programme targeting building sites with poor housekeeping. The aim is to raise the industry’s awareness of the potentially serious consequences of untidy sites and therefore to reduce the number of..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

HSE warns over paint sprayers and asthma risk

Paint sprayers in vehicle bodyshops are around 80 times more likely to develop asthma at work than the rest of the working population, according to the Health and Safety Executive. Dr Mark Piney, an HSE specialist inspector said: “Sprayers are..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

Review of airline insurance market from Aon

The aviation insurance sector is likely to see a shift in global balance away from North America in 2006, according to the findings of Aon’s Aviation Airline Insurance Market Review of 2005. Europe and Asia’s airlines are playing an..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

UK P&I Club in “very satisfactory” renewal

The UK P&I Club is reported to have completed a “very satisfactory renewal.” A spokesman told Insurance Day: “The club’s objective was to establish premium levels consistent with the anticipated volume and value of future..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

S&P report on Protection & Indemnity Clubs

Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services is maintaining its stable outlook on the protection & indemnity (P&I) market, according to a new report entitled “Insurance Industry Risk Analysis: Protection & Indemnity..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

Jury awards down in US for third year running

The US National Law Journal has reported that the total amount awarded by juries last year in the largest cases in the US declined for the third consecutive year. Based on analysis of the VerdictSearch Top 100, a ranking of the largest jury verdicts..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

Hanson announces asbestos insurance settlement

Hanson PLC, the international building materials company, has announced that one of its US subsidiaries, responsible for approximately 20% of the group’s present asbestos costs, has reached a settlement with its insurers. The settlement is..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

US asbestos fund is defeated in Senate

The US Senate rejected a procedural motion on the proposed US legislation for the creation of a $140bn national asbestos compensation fund. As a result, the asbestos-reform bill could be shelved for the remainder of the year. Senate majority..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

No increased risk of breast cancer from exposure to EMFs

The independent Advisory Group on Non-Ionising Radiation (AGNIR) has published a report that examines whether electromagnetic fields (EMFs) associated with the supply and use of electricity can influence the risk of breast cancer. The report..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

Liability implications of Avian Flu spreading to UK

An outbreak of Avian Flu in the UK and possible human mutation of the virus will undoubtedly have an impact on businesses’ insurance programmes, regardless of size or sector, according to Marsh. The broker has outlined the potential impact of..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

‘Producer’ can include a distribution subsidiary

The European Court of Justice has ruled, in relation to liability for defective products, that the term ‘producer’ can include a distribution subsidiary. In November 1992, a child was vaccinated with an antihaemophilus vaccine dose in a..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

European product recalls double in 2005

The number of reported European recalls of dangerous and faulty consumer goods more than doubled last year, according to the latest European Commission (EC) figures analysed by PricewaterhouseCoopers. There has also been a significant increase in..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

New case of variant-CJD from blood transfusion

A new case of variant-CJD associated with a blood transfusion has recently been diagnosed. The patient developed symptoms of vCJD about eight years after receiving a blood transfusion from a donor who developed symptoms of vCJD about 20 months after..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

Sensor gives increased warning of fetal hypoxia

Researchers at the University of Warwick, and the University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, have devised a new sensor which has the power to dramatically improve the amount of early warning doctors and midwives get of a dangerous..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

BMA advice on combating MRSA

Doctors, nurses, other hospital staff, patients and visitors all have a role to play in preventing and controlling healthcare associated infections, according to a BMA report. The BMA adds that “while there is not a single solution, the most..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

Second action and limitation periods

Where a claimant brought a second action against the same defendant, following the dismissal of a previous action, the court was not precluded from exercising its discretion under s 33 of the Limitation Act 1980 to disapply the limitation period in..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

Settlement offer is not unlimited

An offer to settle court proceedings under Part 36 of the Civil Procedure Rules carried an implied term that it would not be available for acceptance after the hearing ended and the court had reserved judgment. The Court of Appeal so stated when..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

Future annual losses at other than RPI increases

A court has declined to strike out that part of the claimant’s case which seeks future annual losses at other than RPI increases The claimant was so severely injured that he was unable to work again and relied on others for his daily care..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

Mental incapacity and the conduct of litigation

The established principles relating to mental incapacity and the conduct of litigation were to be applied to the compromise of an action by a claimant before he became a “patient” within the meaning of CPR r 21.1 and which was made..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

Fall from hotel window not reasonably foreseeable

A hotel guest falling from a bedroom window was, in the circumstances, not reasonably foreseeable and did not give rise to a finding under the Occupiers Liability Act 1957. A man suffered severe head injuries and had no recollection of how he had..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

Immediate notification requirement and lack of cover

An insurer which rejected a claim altogether on the ground of lack of cover did not thereby waive subsequent reliance on the insured’s failure to comply with a requirement of immediate notification. The Court of Appeal so held dismissing an..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

Availability of before-the-event insurance

The claimant had sustained personal injury whilst a passenger on a bus that had been struck by a lorry. Before-the-event (BTE) had been available to her as an extension to the motor insurance policy of the bus operator but her solicitors had failed..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

Breach of Conditional Fee Agreements Regs

The claimant was involved in a road traffic accident and commenced proceedings under The Accident Group Scheme for damages for personal injury. He advised his solicitor that he did not have legal expense insurance and signed a Conditional Fee..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

No duty owed by fire escape owner

A fire escape was not itself dangerous so that, where evidence suggested there was no element of any disrepair or structural deficiency in its state, a child who chose to climb a fire escape knowing not only that there was a risk of falling but also..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

ABI and APIL welcome select committee report

The report on compensation culture by the House of Commons Select Committee on Constitutional Affairs has been met with general approval from all sides. The Association of British Insurers (ABI) said that the Committee’s call for action to..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

Compensation culture “much exaggerated” says Cherie Booth

The Prime Minister’s wife Cherie Booth has told the press that she does not think that there is a compensation culture in Britain, saying that the issue had been “much exaggerated”. She talked to the press about her new book,..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

£5.5mn in damages for crash victim

The High Court has awarded £5.5mn in damages to a woman who was left disabled after a motorway crash. She was left paralysed and wheelchair bound after she was forced off the motorway by a van. The van driver’s insurers failed in an..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

£200,000 for mistake during routine operation

A woman has been awarded £200,000 compensation for a mistake made during a routine ovarian cyst operation, which led to the patient requiring a colostomy for life. During the routine operation, the bowel was damaged and she was referred to..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

£45,000 to Prince Harry’s former art teacher

Eton College has paid out £45,000 in damages to an art teacher who claimed unfair dismissal and bullying. The art teacher had claimed that Prince Harry had cheated in his A-level art exam. She told the employment tribunal that she had made a..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

Fingerprint police officer wins £750,000

The Scottish Executive and the Scottish Criminal Records Office have paid £750,000 in damages in an out-of-court settlement to a former police officer. The officer had been falsely accused of leaving a fingerprint at a murder scene. She had..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

£330,000 settlement

A council has paid £330,000 in an out-of-court settlement with a teacher who was threatened at school by an intruder. The teacher was severely traumatised and never returned to work. Few details of the case have been disclosed but according to..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

£20,000 for bullying at school

A woman who sued her council over bullying when she was at primary school has won £20,000. The woman, who is now 23, was bullied from the age of four to 11. The money was paid in a settlement by the council which denied liability. The bullying..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

£1mn for lift fall injuries

A man who survived a 150 feet fall down a lift shaft has been awarded £1mn in compensation in a settlement. He was working as a lift engineer on a maintenance platform at Canary Wharf, when the supporting rope snapped. He plunged 150 feet and..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

£3.88mn for injured bike rider

A motorbike rider has been awarded £3.88mn in compensation after he was injured in a collision with a car. The bike was hit by the car and the motorbike rider was left with brain damage and will require care for the rest of his life. The car..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

Unfair dismissal after disability claim

A print worker has won £45,000 after winning her case for unfair dismissal and unfair selection for redundancy. Her case was based on the belief that her employer had never forgiven her for taking legal action years ago over a wrist injury. The..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

Award for driver with injury to spine

A Sheffield man has been awarded £47,000 in an out-of-court settlement by his former employers after injuring his back at work and sustaining a permanent disability. The man damaged his spine whilst working as a driver for a waste disposal..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

Footballer seeks damages over tackle

A professional footballer whose career was ended by an injury caused by a two-footed tackle is seeking compensation from the player who injured him, and the opposition club. The tackle took place during a game in the Premier Division of the Rymans..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

Radiation overdose girl to sue

Glasgow health board is to be sued by the 15 year old girl who was subjected to radiation overdoses on a number of occasions during her cancer treatment. The mistake was blamed on human error. Reports suggest that she could suffer brain damage or be..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

No discrimination over sex change

A transsexual council worker has lost his compensation case against his employer. He had brought the discrimination case because he felt unsafe at work and was forced to resign. The man, who was previously a woman, lost the case because, according..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

Apple sued over iPod and hearing damage

A man in the US is suing Apple over its iPod mp3 player which he claims could cause hearing damage. He claims there are defects in the design and there are inadequate warnings. It is not clear whether the man has actually suffered any hearing..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

US court to decide over non US residents and Vioxx claims

A Court hearing to decide whether non US residents will be able to take legal action in the US over the drug Vioxx will be held next month. Alexander Harris, which is acting for over 70 UK citizens, says that on the March 31 a Judge will decide..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

TV location manager injured by high winds

A freelance location manager on a television programme has won compensation after he broke a knee cap and elbow while working on the set of the show. The filming took place in the Lake District. On the day of the accident, high winds had caused..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

Liability for fall from vehicle

An electrician has won undisclosed compensation for a workplace injury after falling from his company vehicle while trying to secure a ladder to its roof. The compensation was secured by trade union Amicus’ free legal help scheme. He slipped..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006

Select Committee reports on compensation culture

The House of Commons Select Committee on Constitutional Affairs, in its report on compensation culture, has said that it is evident from the statistical evidence that the UK is not moving towards a ‘compensation culture’ driven by a..

Online Published Date: 01 March 2006

Appeared in issue: 187 - 01 March 2006