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Articles for September 2004
Ten Key factors to combat the rising cost of claims handling
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01 September 2004
Following recent research, ISO has identified ten key factors that are critical in enabling organisations such as local authorities to reduce the rising costs of personal injury claims handling, and to increase the knowledge and..
Online excess liability cover from CNA
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01 September 2004
CNA Insurance, the European subsidiary of CNA Financial, has launched an online excess liability product for the contracting industry in partnership with the British Insurance Brokers’ Association (BIBA).
The new product, which is the latest of..
PI Direct merges with Saturn Professional Risks
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01 September 2004
PI Direct, through the creation of a new holding company, is merging with Saturn Professional Risks. Although both PID and Saturn will continue to operate independently, the new group says it is now effectively the..
No insurer settlement for Hollinger plaintiffs
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01 September 2004
A syndicate of 12 insurers led by AIG has said that it will not settle with plaintiffs taking media publishing group Hollinger International and its directors to court over their failure to stop what a..
Revised D&O policy from CNA
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01 September 2004
CNA Insurance has announced a revised product for directors and officers (D&O) to help reduce the risks associated with inadequate protection. CNA’s Individual Solutions policy provides personal asset coverage for directors and officers when indemnification..
Hiscox and Catlin provide cover for PI Direct
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01 September 2004
PI Direct, the specialist indemnity agency, has announced that its capacity for the 2004 solicitors season is being provided by Catlin Insurance Company Limited (UK Branch) and Hiscox Insurance Company Limited, both of whom will..
Aon warning on aviation rates
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01 September 2004
Aon has warned that aviation insurance rates for both hull and liability business, which have softened considerably in the past year, could harden again towards the end of the year. Second-quarter renewals saw liability rates..
Chairman for IUA’s Marine Technical Committee
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01 September 2004
The International Underwriting Association (IUA) has appointed a new chairman for its Marine Technical Committee. Len Messenger, energy underwriter, at Zurich Global Energy takes over the key post from Graham Hensman, marine underwriter at Allianz..
Equitas to pay $97mn in asbestos settlement
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01 September 2004
Equitas is to pay $97mn in the latest negotiated settlement designed to cap on its asbestos, pollution and other health-hazard-related liabilities in the US. The latest payment is to Hercules, a chemicals company in the..
Defending Road Traffic Accidents 2004
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01 September 2004
Tuesday 16th November 2004 - Crowne Plaza London St James
IBC’s 6th Annual Defending Road Traffic Accidents Conference provides an established means for delegates to acquire an in-depth update on the major developments and current..
Compensation culture
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01 September 2004
Surveys have shown that personal injury claims have been increasing at a rate of 12 per cent per annum. However, according to independent market analyst, Datamonitor, who estimate that the UK personal injury claims market..
Helping Local Authorities control the spiralling costs of personal injury claims
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01 September 2004
By Joe Pendle, Director of Client Services for Insurance Services Office (ISO) Ltd
Every year £10bn is paid out in compensation claims, according to the Institute of Actuaries. Local authorities’ bottom lines are feeling the pinch..
Legal aid consultation from Legal Services Commission
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01 September 2004
The Legal Services Commission (LSC) has issued a consultation document entitled “A New Focus for Civil Legal Aid - encouraging early resolution; discouraging unnecessary litigation.”
The consultation proposes reforms to the funding of civil cases under..
Disability Rights Commission on new Commission
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01 September 2004
A failure to have harmonised equality laws in place prior to the creation of a new Commission for Equalities and Human Rights (CEHR) would “cause rancour and division” within the new body from its inception,..
Children’s charities suffer from premium increases
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01 September 2004
An investigation by the Daily Telegraph has found that some charities and schools have suffered more than a 60 per cent increase in premiums over the past year.
The paper said that children’s charities have been..
Crack down on uninsured drivers
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01 September 2004
The Government has announced a package of measures to crack down on the menace of uninsured motorists. The approach will target the estimated one million motorists on our roads driving without insurance.
Figures from the Association..
No cap for negligence claims versus company directors
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01 September 2004
A report in the Times says that the Government has frozen all plans to cap negligence claims against company directors until after the next general election to avoid being seen as siding with incompetent executives.
The..
Bullied workers like combat soldiers
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01 September 2004
A leading psychologist has told the BBC that being workers who are bullied show similar symptoms to soldiers in conflict situations. The psychologist has worked with both workers and soldiers and says that both suffer..
Equal Opportunities Commission reports on pregnancy
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01 September 2004
The majority of employers have positive attitudes to pregnancy in the workplace, according to forthcoming research from the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC). But a lack of awareness and understanding of their legal obligations could be..
Union hotline reveals bullying at airports
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01 September 2004
A telephone hotline set up by trade union Amicus to give advice to cabin crew and ground staff at Heathrow and Gatwick airports, has received more than 150 calls in a two week period, reporting..
HSE statistics on work-related ill health
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01 September 2004
The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has published new statistics on work-related ill health in Great Britain. The figures, highlighted in Occupational Health Statistics Bulletin 2003/04, draw on the latest data from specialist doctors and..
University takes on second staff counsellor
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01 September 2004
Cambridge University has been forced to take on a second full-time counsellor, after the demand for counselling by staff increased by more than 60% in the last four years. The University said that the waiting..
Personality an issue in stressed doctors
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01 September 2004
Researchers at University College London have produced a study which looked at overworked and stressed doctors, and suggests that personality traits were often as much to blame as working conditions.
The study, published in BMC Medicine,..
Communicating risk to the public
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01 September 2004
The National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) has published a report of a seminar that examined important terms used to communicate risk to the public, in particular the precautionary approach and the precautionary principle.
The report examines..
Danger of trench collapses
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01 September 2004
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has pointed to the dangers faced by construction workers when working in excavations following recent fatalities caused by trench collapses. There have been three fatal incidents since April where..
HSE publishes Offshore Safety Statistics
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01 September 2004
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published provisional statistics the latest offshore safety statistics bulletin, “Offshore Safety Statistics Bulletin 2003/04.” The HSE said it confirmed an unacceptable slow decline in fatal and major injury..
South Africa miners bring test case
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01 September 2004
A silicosis test case has been filed in South Africa against the mining corporation Anglo American Plc. The test case has been brought by ten South African gold miners suffering from silicosis.
Lawyers said that the..
Health risks from flooding – advice from the US
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01 September 2004
The recent severe weather in the UK, and the accompanying flooding in many parts of the UK, has brought home the devastation of floods, but the US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has warned that..
Atkins diet to be evaluated by NICE
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01 September 2004
The National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) is to investigate the Atkins diet. According to media reports, the evaluation will be made by up to 20 doctors, nutritionists and dieticians.The move comes amidst concerns about..
No avoidance of statutory cap via different claim
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01 September 2004
The Texas Supreme Court is reported to have reversed a $9mn award for mental anguish and punitive damages on a claim for intentional infliction of emotional distress.
The Supreme Court ruled that a plaintiff cannot avoid..
More trouble ahead for medical malpractice
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01 September 2004
If malpractice award size continues to increase more rapidly than inflation, with the impact spilling over to other claim payments, reserve developments and rate inadequacies, then medical malpractice insurance will continue to experience many of..
Florida’s med-mal act under attack
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01 September 2004
The parents of a six-year-old girl who suffered permanent disfigurement from a medication that was allegedly misprescribed, have filed a lawsuit against the Florida medical malpractice cap.
The lawsuit, which has been filed in Miami, challenges..
Home Depot pays $5.5 million to settle lawsuit
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01 September 2004
The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has announced the simultaneous filing and resolution of a class-wide discrimination and retaliation lawsuit against Atlanta-based Home Depot, on behalf of employees in the company’s Colorado stores.
Under the..
Campaign group calls for speedier compensation
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01 September 2004
Clydeside Action on Asbestos, a campaign group, has called on the Scottish Parliament to speed up compensation for victims of the disease and their families. The group said that too few claims were settled while..
Compensation for Gibraltar workers
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01 September 2004
The Gibraltar Chronicle has reported that a combined compensation payout of $120,000 has been paid to 39 Spanish workers (or their families) who suffered from asbestos poisoning fifty years ago at the MoD shipyard
The payments,..
Travelers $502.5mn settlement approved
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01 September 2004
The proposed $502.5mn settlement of asbestos-related claims against Travelers Property Casualty has been approved by a US bankruptcy court in New York. The settlement involves more than 600,000 claimants who had accused Travelers of failing..
Testimonies of plaintiffs’ doctors questioned
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01 September 2004
A study published in the journal Academy Radiology, aimed at university radiologists, has questioned the testimony of some doctors who served as expert witnesses in asbestos liability lawsuits. The study looked at more than 400..
Tobacco firms to sue state attorneys general
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01 September 2004
It has been reported that the parent group of cigarette maker Liggett Group is to planning to sue a group of state attorneys general for allowing favourable financial terms for another tobacco company, apparently in..
Ford rollover accident settlement
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01 September 2004
Ford Motor Company has been found liable for a rollover accident involving a Ford Explorer by a Florida jury. Ford was ordered to pay compensatory damages, but an out-of-court settlement was made before punitive damages..
Low level radiation not harmful
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01 September 2004
A leading expert in radiation has told the BBC that the widely held view that even low levels of radiation damage health has no basis in hard science.
Professor Zbigniew Jaworowski, former chairman of a United..
Postponing delivery may prevent brain damage
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01 September 2004
Research by Nottingham University has found that postponing delivery by a few days may prevent brain damage in premature babies. The study, published in the Lancet and funded by the Medical Research Council, assessed the..
Medical errors are Britain’s fourth-biggest killer
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01 September 2004
According to a report quoted in the Times, one in ten patients admitted to NHS hospitals will fall victim to medical errors. Indeed, these have now become Britain’s fourth-biggest killer.
The report was produced by Dr..
Claims Standards Council to investigate GP payments
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01 September 2004
The Claims Standards Council has said that it is investigating the actions of Paul Higgins and Co following the discovery that his solicitors firm is enticing doctors to refer personal injury claims to the firm..
BMA attacks law firms’ referral cash for GPs
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01 September 2004
The British Medical Association and the Royal College of GPs have attacked the offer of money to GPs by law firms for referring patients with compensation claims.
It has been reported that a number of firms..
Personal injury
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01 September 2004
Up to 3 in 10 people who suffer a personal injury do not recover, for psychological reasons, as quickly as might be expected, according to a report published by the IUA (International Underwriting Association) and..
Compensation culture Kenyan-style
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01 September 2004
People think that things are bad here, with everyone decrying the compensation culture, and suggesting that we are fast approaching the sort of culture that exists in the US. But it could be so much..
Law Society says compensation culture is a myth
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01 September 2004
The Law Society said that it had received prominent coverage on page two of the Daily Telegraph with its view that Britain’s so-called compensation culture is in fact a myth, fuelled by media coverage. The..
More Tory attacks on compensation culture
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01 September 2004
The Tories have kept up their attacks on the compensation culture in the UK in a speech by Michael Howard, the leader of the Conservative Party, entitled “The distorted culture of political correctness.”
In the speech,..
Tories set up commission to review Human Rights Act
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01 September 2004
David Davis MP, Shadow Home Secretary, has announced the establishment of a Commission to conduct a review into the 1998 Human Rights Act.
The Conservative Party said that the purpose of the Review will be to..
Shadow Home Secretary attacks compensation culture
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01 September 2004
The Shadow Home Secretary, David Davis, has attacked the compensation culture in the UK, and in particular the role of the Human Rights Act. Writing in the Spectator magazine, in an article entitled “Victim Nation,”..
Horseplay is analogous to a sport
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01 September 2004
A boy was injured by a friend whilst throwing sticks at each other. The court found in favour of the boy, but reduced damages by 50% in respect of his contributory negligence.
The Court of Appeal..
Meaning of “transfer” in employment
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01 September 2004
“Transfer” has the same meaning under section 218(2) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 as in the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations (SI 1981 No 1794), when determining whether an undertaking had been..
Proof of damage not necessary
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01 September 2004
The Court of Appeal allowed an appeal from a serving prisoner and the claimant in an action for misfeasance in public office. The court stated that proof of damage was not a necessary ingredient of..
Test for adequate words for arrest
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01 September 2004
The Court of Appeal held that when considering whether an arrested person had been properly informed of the true ground of arrest, the test whether the words used were adequate was sufficiently set out in..
No collusion in illegal contract
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01 September 2004
Where an employer failed provide payslips, to deduct tax and national insurance contributions and understated the amount of wages for a foreign national who had only a limited knowledge of English, the employee did not..
No award for panel brokers’ fees
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01 September 2004
When assessing damages for personal injuries, no award should be made in respect of panel brokers’ fees which would be charged by the Court of Protection on advice and other aspects of dealing with the..
Workers or professionals in organisation
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01 September 2004
The case involved allegations of race discrimination and victimisation arising out of the way in which the Medical Protection Society had advised and assisted him in relation to disciplinary and other proceedings.
The Society appealed on..
Tribunal determining cause of wage deduction
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01 September 2004
Where a tribunal is looking to determine whether claims for unlawful deduction of wages fell outside its jurisdiction, the tribunal had to determine whether there had been an overpayment of wages or whether the worker..
Compromise not affected by reversal
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01 September 2004
The Court of Appeal held that compromise of an action based on a decision of the court, which was subsequently overturned, remained binding on the parties who must be taken to have accepted the risk..
Beer drinking waiter wins case
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01 September 2004
A waiter in Germany has won a case for unfair dismissal after he was sacked for drinking up to 100 bottles of beer every day. The man, 50, reportedly admitted that his bosses had repeatedly..
Builder gets £85,000 after fall
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01 September 2004
A South Yorkshire man has been paid £85,000 compensation by a construction company, after injuring his knee in an accident at work in January 2000. The man was working as a ceilings and partition fixer,..
$1mn damages in wrong IVF embryo case
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01 September 2004
A woman in the US has been awarded $1mn damages after she was implanted with the wrong embryos during IVF. The embryos were instead intended for a married couple. She did not find out until..
Injury caused Erb’s Palsy
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01 September 2004
A child who developed Erb’s Palsy after receiving an injury at birth has received £60,000 in a settlement. The child is expected to suffer from future employment limitations, and the settlement took this into account,..
Caesarian without anaesthetic
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01 September 2004
A hospital trust has apologised to a woman who underwent a Caesarean section without being given anaesthetic, and has agreed to pay her £13,500 damages.
The woman underwent an emergency Caesarean section after going into labour..
US pays £1.3mn to UK soldier
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01 September 2004
The US government has paid £1.3 mn in compensation to a former Special Air Service soldier who was badly injured when he was crushed by a US helicopter in Afghanistan.The soldier was medically discharged from..
Cerebral palsy baby gets £5.7mn
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01 September 2004
A baby who was left with cerebral palsy at birth has received £5.7mn. The baby was starved of oxygen when hospital staff administered a higher dosage of a drug than necessary to aid the mother..
Travel agency sued over terror attack injury
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01 September 2004
A German boy who was injured in a terrorist attack in Tunisia is to sue the travel agency that arranged the trip. The five-year-old boy was left disfigured after an al-Qaeda suicide bombing in Tunisia..
Four year wait for compensation
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01 September 2004
A woman who sued over a faulty bone implant in her neck has won her claim for compensation but will have to wait up to four years for compensation.
The woman cracked a bone in her..
Men win US sex discrimination case
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01 September 2004
The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has announced the settlement of a sex discrimination lawsuit for $360,000 against Jillian’s on behalf of a class of male employees. Jillian’s operates a nationwide chain of family..
£18,400 for constructive dismissal
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01 September 2004
A former accounts manager of a north Wales hotel has been awarded £18,400 compensation. The woman won her case for constructive dismissal, but lost her claim for sexual discrimination. The employment tribunal said that there..
Compensation for Vibration White Finger
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01 September 2004
A Derbyshire worker has been paid £7,000 compensation from three separate employers after sustaining Vibration White Finger (VWF) caused through use of vibratory equipment.
The symptoms were first noticed in 2000, but the man had used..
OFT rejects cap on auditors' liability
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01 September 2004
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) says it has not found compelling arguments to support claims that a cap on auditors’ liability would have pro-competitive effects on the audit market. It is likely that allowing..
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