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People on the move
PwC’s law firm resignations are to join Ernst & Young.
Managing partner Christopher Tite and senior partner Mark Lewis have left PwC’s law firm Arnheim Tite & Lewis a year after the merger of the respective law firms –..
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01 April 2000
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117 - 01 April 2000
PwC to split
In a reversal of recent trends, the world’s largest accountancy firm, PwC, is to split into two separate businesses. This is in response to US regulatory scrutiny.
Audit and business advisory services will be hived off (though keeping the name..
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01 April 2000
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117 - 01 April 2000
Portugal rules for single payment
Newspaper Publico
reported on 13 March 2000 on a Portuguese government ruling that insurance companies only need make a one-off compensation payment to accident victims with life-long injuries, rather than monthly payments throughout that..
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01 April 2000
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117 - 01 April 2000
Proposed arrangements of solicitors’ PI insurance
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01 April 2000
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Sole practitioners appoint broker
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01 April 2000
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Outsourcing of solicitors’ complaints handling
Professional indemnity specialist Weightmans has launched a service for the handling of complaints against solicitors who are unable or unwilling to deal with them in-house.
A fixed fee of £500 will produce a report analysing the complaint, the..
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01 April 2000
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Whiplash database
Lyons Davidson details from Carol Parsons, tel 0117 904 5793, cparsons@lyonsdavidson.co.uk.
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01 April 2000
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Claims for crash victims abroad eased
New rules agreed by the EU will make it easier for victims of car accidents while in other parts of the EU to receive insurance compensation in their country of residence.
This is through new rules requiring insurers to appoint representatives in..
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01 April 2000
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Inaccurate road injury stats
The European Commission is preparing guidelines to reduce inaccuracies in recorded information on road accidents. While Britain currently holds the best European record, with the exception of Sweden, inaccuracies have long been suspected. A..
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01 April 2000
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Dispute mediation
Details from Russell Caller, tel 020 8828 0022
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01 April 2000
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Landowners immune from natural hazard liability
Revision of the (‘right to roam’) Countryside Bill will protect landowners from suit by walkers on their land who suffer injury as a result of natural features, such as tree stumps or rabbit holes. They will, however, still be liable for..
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01 April 2000
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Lloyd’s wins Canadian case
The Ontario Supreme Court has rejected the arguments of 88 dissident Canadian Names, allowing Lloyd’s to collect over £20mn. The court rejected Names’ arguments that they had been deprived of fair trial in England and of..
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01 April 2000
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Automatic stay
On 26 April 2000 the automatic stay of all court proceedings, which have not been active during the previous 12 months, will become effective under the Civil Procedure Rules.
Commenting on the insurance implications, Jonathan Sacher, head of City..
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01 April 2000
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OFT boosts in-house department
The Office of Fair Trading has increased staff by one-third (including the addition of 20 lawyers to its in-house legal department) along with a 20% budget boost. This is in expectation of an influx of work arising from the implementation of the..
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01 April 2000
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Data Protection Act in force
A detailed roundup by Judge Tromans appears in the Law Society Gazette, 2 March 2000
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01 April 2000
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New health and safety regulations
A new series of modified regulations was introduced in the closing months of 1999. Nigel Tomkins, writing in the February issue of the newsletter of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers, runs through the new and salient points.
Most..
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01 April 2000
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New Zealand’s ACC sets premiums
As New Zealand returns to state-run workplace accident insurance – through the reborn Accident Compensation Corporation (ACC)-the average premium is set at NZ$1.16 per NZ$100 wages. This could be as low as NZ$1.10 for some..
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01 April 2000
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Allianz withdraws from insuring Deutsche Bahn
Following the rail crash at Bruhl in Germany earlier this year, it is reported that Allianz has withdrawn from insuring German railways due to safety concerns. The first DM50mn of liability claims on behalf of the eight dead and 149 injured will be..
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01 April 2000
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Amlin merges syndicates
Lloyd’s insurer Amlin has merged its motor syndicate, Summit, with employer’s liability syndicate Drysdales.
The new division, to be known as Amlin Insurance, will underwrite a range of UK commercial policies, including motor and..
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01 April 2000
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New conditional fee arrangements
Commenting on the Lord Chancellor’s Department report The Government’s Conclusions Following Consultation on Conditional Fees: Sharing the Risks of Litigation,
Jonathan Sacher, chairman of the British Insurance Law Association and head..
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01 April 2000
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117 - 01 April 2000
SIF excludes overseas offices
The overseas offices of international law firms are to be excluded from the new solicitors’ indemnity provisions. Following consideration of three options by the Law Society, this will not remove the firms’ obligations to comply with..
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01 April 2000
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SIF shortfall drops
With claims against solicitors falling for the fourth year in succession, the annual report of the Solicitors’ Indemnity Fund (to 31 August 1999) shows the shortfall at £209mn (£150mn less than a year before) when taking account of..
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01 April 2000
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Aon offers solicitors cover
Looking forward to the ability of solicitors to enjoy some measure of choice of PI cover from 1 September of this year, Aon has designed a range of products suitable for all practices – from sole proprietor to large City firm.
Aon, which will..
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01 April 2000
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New tradesman liability product
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01 April 2000
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Petroleum facilities
ECS Underwriting has enhanced its pollution insurance programme for petroleum bulk storage facilities, distributors, marketers and refineries.
‘The petroleum industry continues to show increased interest in environmental insurance to help fill..
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01 April 2000
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NFUM excludes GM crop risk
Leading UK farm insurer NFU Mutual said not to offer cover for genetically-modified crop contamination risks. This is based on a letter, publicised by environmental organisation Friends of the Earth, from NFUM to a Lincolnshire farmer saying it..
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01 April 2000
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Internet liability cover
Details from Chubb Executive Risk, cber-info@chubb.com
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01 April 2000
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117 - 01 April 2000
Profits up, shares down
Late and non-reported claims in the London general liability subscription market, from which Independent Insurance commenced withdrawal in 1997, leads to a £20.3mn charge along with reinsurance ring fencing of exposures up to and including..
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01 April 2000
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117 - 01 April 2000
Lloyd’s liability business grows in US
Despite the final rumblings of dissident US Names, enhanced marketing methods have led to a 17% growth in Lloyd’s US business during 1999 to total premiums of US$4.8bn, almost half of this in reinsurance.
Improved premium rates and new..
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01 April 2000
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UK liability underwriting losses double
Stats from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) show a near doubling of underwriting losses in the UK liability market of 1998. These resulted from a sharp rise in both claims and expenses ratios, with 91% premium income covering claims and an..
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01 April 2000
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Lincoln National may exit UK pensions
US insurer Lincoln National, taking a US$114mn after-tax charge to strengthen reserves for the settlement of pension misselling liabilities in the UK, may exit that market altogether. Following strategic review it has engaged Lehman Brothers to..
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01 April 2000
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Bermuda Fire & Marine settlement
An end to a case that at one time embroiled several of Bermuda’s leading business and government figures has been achieved, with a vote of shareholders of BF&M Ltd for a US$35mn settlement over the collapse of Bermuda Fire & Marine..
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01 April 2000
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D&O in corporate manslaughter cases
The Home Office has confirmed planned consultation this spring on implementation of the four-year-old Law Commission recommendation on corporate manslaughter.
Legislation will be required, rather than court-driven reform, following the acquittal of..
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01 April 2000
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SERPS misselling
The Department of Social Security’s failure for 10 years to alert couples to planned reduction on the State Earnings Related Pensions Scheme (SERPS), when one of them died, had been expected to be rectified with a 10-year delay in..
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01 April 2000
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‘Top-up’ pension review
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has ordered review of sales of FSAVC (free-standing additional voluntary contribution) pensions between 1988 and 1999. With less stringent requirements than for personal pensions, the cost to companies is..
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01 April 2000
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Major accident guidance
The Health & Safety Executive has published two sets of guidance to operate in conjunction with the Control of Major Accident Hazards Regulations, operative from April 1999.
Preparing Safety Reports (HSG 190) is a guide for site operators who,..
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01 April 2000
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Workplace smoke warning
The Chartered Institute of Environmental Health has issued a policy document on the dangers of passive smoking, making it clear that all workplaces should be free of tobacco smoke. Each such warning weakens the position of any employer – in..
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01 April 2000
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‘Loss of earnings’ inadequate
A report from the Economic & Social Research Council argues that the current level of damages for loss of earnings is inadequate, and that a US-style approach would raise these by 25%. US courts take more account of labour market information,..
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01 April 2000
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Lost work time initiative
Employers’ liability insurer St Paul has joined with the Trades Union Congress (TUC) in an initiative to reduce the number of people laid off due to illness or injury.
Of these, the main occupational injuries and diseases are stress,..
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01 April 2000
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70% rise in stress claims
..
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01 April 2000
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HSE criticised on inaction
A House of Commons select committee has criticised the Health & Safety Executive for investigating too few workplace injuries, and seldom prosecuting errant companies. Only 6% of serious accidents, 10% of severe injuries and 20% of deaths have..
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01 April 2000
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Whistleblower stays on payroll
One of the first cases under new legislation to protect whistle-blowers has kept accountant Antonio Fernandes on the payroll of Netcom Consultants UK, pending the outcome of a full hearing. This was ordered at an industrial tribunal hearing.
He was..
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01 April 2000
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Babcock & Wilcox files for bankruptcy
McDermott International’s subsidiary power plant construction unit Babcock & Wilcox (B&W) has filed for bankruptcy protection against rising asbestos liability claims. In a statement that business remained solvent and strong, the move..
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01 April 2000
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Shell tankers found negligent
This in exposing marine engineers to asbestos while working in the 1950s. The wives of Miller Jeromson and Peter Dawson – both now dead from asbestos-related disease – sought compensation under the provisions of the Law Reform..
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01 April 2000
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Sellafield saga
Following a hard-hitting report from the chief inspector of the Health & Safety Executive’s Nuclear Inspectorate, Laurence Williams, focusing on falsifications since 1996, chief executive John Taylor has quit beleaguered Sellafield. The..
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01 April 2000
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JCO pays compensation
Following the Tokaimura incident, where violation of safety rules at the uranium processing plant led to the death of one worker, with many hundreds of people in the vicinity exposed to radiation, JCO has already paid out US$49.3mn, mainly to..
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01 April 2000
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Chemical tests
The UK government has announced that strict environmental and health toxicity tests are to be carried out on thousands of chemicals by 2005.
According to environment minister Michael Meacher: ‘Only a few hundred of the 20,000 chemicals in..
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01 April 2000
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More pollution of the Tisza
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01 April 2000
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Esmeralda moves for voluntary liquidation
Following the January spill of 100,000 cubic metres of toxic sludge containing cyanide from the Romanian Baia Mare gold plant, 50% owner Esmeralda Exploration is to go into voluntary liquidation.
Although still claiming long-term environmental harm..
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01 April 2000
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Cyanide spill settlement
Not by Esmeralda Exploration, but by American Cyanamid (a unit of American Home Products) following a nine-year lawsuit between the company and its insurers over cleanup of 24 contaminated sites in the US.
Insurers, including Aetna and CIGNA, had..
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01 April 2000
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117 - 01 April 2000
Sea Empress
fine reduced
The £4mn fine against Milford Haven Port Authority imposed as a result of the oil spill from the Sea Empress
in 1996 has been reduced to £75,000. The Port Authority (the grounding was caused mainly through the inexperience of one of its..
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01 April 2000
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Holbeck Hall reversal
The Court of Appeal has reversed the judgment of Judge Hicks QC in the High Court regarding liability of the owner of the lower part of a cliff to those owning the upper part.
Holbeck Hall Hotel slithered onto the beach in 1993, and the owners..
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01 April 2000
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Mast height regulations
An inspector of the Department of the Environment, Transport & the Regions has ruled against a mobile phone mast found to exceed 15 metres. Masts above this height are subject to planning considerations. In measuring the height, the inspector..
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01 April 2000
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EU consultation
After six years of procrastination and discussion, the European Commission adopted the White Paper on Environmental Liability in February of this year. It explores the way the ‘polluter pays’ principle can serve the aims of community..
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01 April 2000
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117 - 01 April 2000
Burbank overrun
Although there were no deaths and only six injuries, in view of the make-up of the 142-strong passenger list a spate of mental trauma claims would be no surprise from the overrun onto a six-lane highway of a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 on flight..
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01 April 2000
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Swissair tests relations with insurers
Following the crash of Swissair flight 111 off the coast of Nova Scotia in 1998, the airline has taken more steps to help the families of the 229 victims than any other airline involved in a disaster.
Despite insurer concerns, Swissair has offered..
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01 April 2000
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Alaska suits filed
The first three suits in respect of the 88 passengers who died in the crash of Alaska Airlines jet on 31 January have been filed.
The first, from the widow and three children of 48-year-old California Bankers Association marketing executive Allen..
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01 April 2000
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Laura D’Amato
costs and fines
The cause of Australia’s largest oil spill, polluting Sydney Harbour, remains a mystery. However, fines and cleanup costs of A$10mn have been imposed on the owner, Fratelli D’Amato, plus legal fees. Charges against the captain were..
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01 April 2000
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Erika
The first interim payments are being processed by ECHO (Erika
Claims Handling Office), set up jointly by the International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund and P&l insurer Steamship Mutual. Under the 1992 civil liability convention, Steamship..
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01 April 2000
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Braer claim dropped
In a move to ‘unfreeze’ international oil pollution compensation funds, the British government and the vessel’s insurers (in respect of salvage) have dropped claims of £lmn and £4mn respectively. This should allow..
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01 April 2000
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McDonald’s milkshake
After the too-hot coffee problems, there is now a suit arising from a watery milkshake. Alfred and Tijuana Pointer are seeking £60mn in compensation for injuries allegedly inflicted on them by a local McDonald’s franchise manager and his..
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01 April 2000
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Eugenics claim
What could be the first of a flood of cases, arising from widespread sterilisation of ‘mental defectives’ in the 1930s to 1950s, has been launched by Fred Aslin against the state of Michigan. One of a large, poor, ‘Indian’..
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01 April 2000
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No need to inspect workers’ homes
A turnabout by the Department of Labor removes the onus on employers to carry out safety inspections of their tele-workers’ home offices.
After consultation, the Occupational Safety & Health Administration will tell employers that they..
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01 April 2000
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Transport department responsible for road curb
The widow of truck driver Richard Meek sued the Michigan Department of Transport (MDOT) for failure to design, construct and maintain a safe highway. Exiting from 1-94 to 1-96, the truck slid into a barrier, overturned and burst into flames. The..
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01 April 2000
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Failure to warn of side effects
Failure to warn of a rare-but-known side effect of causing blindness from heart medication Cordarone led to US$22mn damages to Douglas Axen against American Home Products. This was one of the largest personal injury awards in Oregon. Appeal to..
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01 April 2000
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Alcohol liability widened
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01 April 2000
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Gun safety measures
The US administration is to drop action against the country’s largest gun manufacturer, Smith & Wesson, following agreement on safety and design changes for handguns.
External locks will be incorporated into handguns within 60 days and..
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01 April 2000
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117 - 01 April 2000
Tobacco update
Evidence to the health select committee
of the House of Commons was given by solicitor Martyn Day, following a temporary lifting of the ‘gagging clause’ imposed by Imperial Tobacco when the first English multiparty action on behalf of..
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01 April 2000
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BSE, CJD and OPs
Test for presence of brain and spinal cord material
in food stuffs developed by German scientists. It is found in up to 15% of allegedly brain-free sausages. The scientists quoted in New Scientist
of 4 March 2000 say this is ‘unacceptable..
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01 April 2000
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Medical experts database
..
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01 April 2000
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Antibiotic resistance
A two-year study led by Dr John Magee of the University Hospital of Wales shows human resistance to antibiotics is on the increase. This was based on the testing of bacteria in thousands of urine samples. Further investigation linked resistance to..
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01 April 2000
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117 - 01 April 2000
HIV infection by surgeon
A Paris court ordered £70,000 compensation to an elderly woman infected with the HIV virus during an operation in 1992. At that time the doctor was unaware but he later discovered that he himself had been infected during the performance of..
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01 April 2000
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Award ‘dwarfed’ by fees
Three of the women who developed cancer after being given the all-clear from cervical smear tests at Kent & Canterbury Hospital have won compensation. The NHS Litigation Authority appealed the High Court ruling but lost at the Court of..
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01 April 2000
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117 - 01 April 2000
Polio vaccine/AIDS link?
The theory that the AIDS virus originated from contaminated batches of live polio vaccine tested in Africa in the 1950s is laid out in a well-researched book by Edward Hooper. A useful report appears in The Telegraph
of 14 March 2000. Other aspects..
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01 April 2000
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Thalidomide victim’s future
Pressure by Thalidomide UK, supported by high-profile sports and music personalities and a move to boycott many Diageo products, has led to a promise of discussions with the Thalidomide Trust ‘in the near future’.
Victims of the drug..
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01 April 2000
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Case update
Subject Liability for latent defect in land
Result The owner or occupier of the lower part of a cliff owed a measured duty of care to prevent danger, from natural erosion, to higher land. This where they had knowledge of the danger and where it was..
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01 April 2000
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117 - 01 April 2000
GM products
The United Nations Biosafety Protocol, setting out a framework for regulation of genetically-modified organisms, has been agreed in principle by 130 countries, with ratification by 50 needed before it comes into force.
Under the protocol a country..
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01 April 2000
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Paddington/Ladbroke Grove
The Westminster Coroner has acceded to the request of the Lord Chancellor to adjourn the inquest into 31 deaths until completion of the inquiry in May.
However, solicitors representing the families are impatient that there should not be further..
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01 April 2000
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Southall rail crash report
Long delayed by the failed attempt to prosecute the driver for manslaughter, the report of the official inquiry into the Southall train crash, in which seven people died, under the chairmanship of Prof Uff concludes that the immediate cause was..
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01 April 2000
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Awards and settlements
The value of employment tribunal awards increased
from 1 February 2000, in accordance with the new system of automatic index linking. The current changes reflect the Retail Price Index between September 1997 and 1999, so that the maximum amount of..
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01 April 2000
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117 - 01 April 2000
Law Society vice-president takes action
Kamlesh Bahl, vice-president of the Law Society, has taken legal action against the Law Society, alleging sex and race discrimination. This follows a report on an internal inquiry upholding five complaints against her of bullying staff.
Ms Bahl,..
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01 April 2000
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Police to fight Lawrence claim
Having rejected an offer of £175,000, the parents of murdered Stephen Lawrence are suing the Metropolitan Police, citing negligence plus psychological damages for the way they were treated, the cost of their son’s funeral in Jamaica and..
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01 April 2000
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117 - 01 April 2000
Nine-year-old seeks aid re bullying
Verity Ward is seeking legal aid to obtain an order forcing education authorities to protect her from bullying. She also seeks damages from the governors of Bramcote Hills Primary School, alleging physical and psychological injury. This follows 18..
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01 April 2000
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117 - 01 April 2000
Young cricketers’ helmets
There have been no claims as yet, but flouting of an ‘immediate effect’ order of the England & Wales Cricket Board that all batsmen under the age of 18 wear protective helmets could lead thereto. This affects 2.4mn players.
The cost..
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01 April 2000
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117 - 01 April 2000
Rape by bogus asylum seeker
A hospital worker who was raped seeks to sue the Home Office on grounds that officials knew that Rashid Mus (currently serving a life sentence for rape) had already been convicted of sexual assault but were negligent in enforcing a deportation..
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01 April 2000
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First English lawyer successfully challenges US government
Manchester law firm Donns is justifiably proud of the outcome of claims for compensation by British soldiers injured in a minibus crash while in the US.
Managing partner Hilary Meredith – though not US qualified – obtained leave to act..
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01 April 2000
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117 - 01 April 2000
‘Shipman’ families claim from CICB
It is estimated that the families of up to 150 victims of Harold Shipman could receive a total of more than £1.5mn in compensation. The Criminal Injuries Compensation Board is, so far, examining claims from 75 relatives, and expects to make..
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01 April 2000
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117 - 01 April 2000
Oil spill volunteers lodge claims
Alleging they were not warned of the potential health risks from cleaning up the Erika
oil spill, volunteers – led by Rossano Pulpito – have lodged suits at five regional tribunals along the western coast of France, each targeting the..
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01 April 2000
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Public problems, private woes
Following erosion of immunity, statutory and in the public mind, public bodies are increasingly the target of claims from members of the public, as individuals and groups.
Rail companies have narrowly avoided charges of corporate manslaughter, but..
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01 April 2000
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117 - 01 April 2000