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Ockham hit by motor litigation
Ockham Holdings follows Independent in blaming ‘no win, no fee’ litigation for increased claims costs, adding £11mn to reserves in respect of Highway and two other Lloyd’s motor insurance operations and warning of..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
RSA portfolio for directors
Royal & SunAlliance has launched a portfolio of insurance policies for company directors, offering coverage for employment practices liability, directors’ and officers’, libel, pension scheme liability, professional indemnity,..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
Financial protector for middle companies
AIG has prepared the first of a new product series, BusinessGuard, Financial Protector cover for employment practices liabilities, D&O, reputation risk and business fraud for 100,000 middle-sized UK businesses. This is on its estimate that a..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
Solicitors’ indemnity premiums
A survey commissioned by Alexander Forbes shows 73% of solicitors have saved money by seeking cover on the open market. Overall, 90% had experienced no problem obtaining cover. Some 32% have already made a claim against their new insurer, and most..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
Largest ever motor claim
Dwarfing the previous highest settlement (£5mn in respect of a young Chinese musician), the Selby rail crash could cost insurers more than £100mn when taking account of business interruption and rolling stock as well as passenger claims,..
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01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
New DES developments
DES (diethylstilbestrol), the antimiscarriage drug marketed between 1947 and 1969 to the harm of mothers and their daughters, is back in the courts again. Research suggesting the granddaughters of those who took the drug during pregnancy may..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
Foot-and-mouth disease
As the greatest risk of transmission of the highly infectious foot-and-mouth viral disease occurs in the two weeks before symptoms appear, the chances of identifying a target for liability claims is almost nil.
While a serious condition, periodic..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
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129 - 01 April 2001
Awards and settlements
‘Disintegration’ of motorist’s life
after his car hit a young deaf child who ran out into the road, while driving at 20 to 25 miles per hour and with ‘no chance of avoiding her’. Award for posttraumatic stress..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
Human Rights Act and personal injury law
..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
Religious discrimination
A report, Religious Discrimination in England and Wales
, commissioned by the Home Office and carried out by Derby University, proposes a need to outlaw discrimination on grounds of religion. At present Jews and Sikhs are protected by race..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
ABI guidelines on disability
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) has issued draft guidelines (drawn up in conjunction with the Disability Rights Commission) for life and disability insurers. This is to assist them in compliance with the Disability Discrimination Act,..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
Latent damage limits stretched
The decision by the court of appeal in Cave v Robinson Larvis & Rolfe
has broadened exceptions to the 15-year bar on negligence claims under the Latent Damage Act 1986, according to law firm Reynolds Porter Chamberlain.
Consolidating two other..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
After-the-event protocol in sight?
Following talks with several parties, including the Law Society, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) believes a new protocol on the recoverability of after-the-event premiums was within reach, and could remove the need for a test case to be..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
General liability in Europe
The tables on the following two pages provide a snapshot of European groups and companies writing general liability risks. Based on company/group annual reports, it should be noted that as some companies do not provide breakdown of premiums by class..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
Independent Insurance profits fall
While reporting an operating profit of £40.1mn for 2000, this represented a 42% drop on the previous year’s profits for Independent Insurance. Although the autumn storms cost £17mn, past involvement with the London market general..
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01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
Professional risk cover in China
In a first-of-its-kind move, the Shenzhen Public Health Bureau is to require hospitals to buy professional risk insurance for doctors, so as to provide for compensation payments to victims of medical accidents. This as part of ongoing moves to..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
Mandatory D&O for South Korea?
The South Korean Ministry of Finance has suggested that financial institutions, that could be considered to have inadequate corporate governance safeguards such as a high proportion of external directors, should be obliged to effect insurance for..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
D&O tax in Germany
Directors’ and officers’ (D&O) policies in Germany, with an estimated annual premium of DM170mn, are to remain a taxable employee benefit rather than being accepted as a business expense. D&O risks are rising in Germany,..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
Abbey Legal increases cover
..
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01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
Tax liability cover
Covering professional costs incurred during tax investigations, Tax Liability Cover (TLC) is a joint venture between Composite Legal Expenses and tax specialist Qdos Consulting in conjunction with NIG. Available for tax, VAT and PAYE inquiries as..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
Homeowners’ pollution protection
A product, marketed by Broker Brands through solicitors and house conveyancers, offers up to £1mn for legal and cleanup costs – for a premium of £25 for up to 25 years’ cover. While it is technically possible for local..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
Mississippi requirements on ice
..
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01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
Russian motor insurance bill submitted
A bill requiring Russian car and truck owners to carry liability insurance has finally been submitted to the state Duma. Although Russian law currently requires the owners of cars and other means of transport to compensate for the damages caused,..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
Compulsory insurance draft in Lithuania
A draft bill aims to bring in compulsory third-party motor insurance early next year. At present less than a quarter of the 1.3mn drivers have voluntary coverage. Lithuania and Russia are the only countries in Europe where some level of third-party..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
End of government freeze in Italy
With the government’s freeze on motor liability premiums coming to an end, Italian insurance association ANIA seeks more effective measures to contain rising claims costs. It claims there has been little progress on measures agreed between..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
Call for compulsory road gritting
The Motor Accident Solicitors’ Society has called for solicitors to campaign for a change in the law so as to require local authorities to grit roads in icy weather. In a recent decision the House of Lords, in Goode v East Sussex County..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
Copyright injunction against Napster
The US appeals court in San Francisco has upheld an injunction against Napster in respect of ‘peer-to-peer file sharing’, allowing the unauthorised downloading of copyright sound recordings.
Detailed commentary by Stuart Lockyear of..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
(In)equitable?
Despite the Halifax bailout, Equitable still faces legal problems, the latest being the threat of action by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) on its imposition of a 10% exit penalty on policyholders wishing to move their funds. This is on the..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
Employees’ liability continues
The ruling in Merrett v Babb
makes professional employees constantly vulnerable to claims against them for advice given on behalf of their employers (see Case update
, page 8). Such claims can be pursued where the firm has ceased trading and lacks..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
Depleted uranium panel appointed
The UK government-appointed panel of medical experts, led by Surgeon Commodore N E Baldock, reports that screening cannot rule out the possibility of harm from exposure to depleted uranium (DU).
Recommending research to establish the ‘normal..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
Vicarious penalties for dangerous driving?
Proposals floated by the Health & Safety Executive could place directors at risk of fines or even jail for the dangerous driving of their employees. This is through implementation of existing Health & Safety at Work regulations to include..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
US$200mn Mir cover
Prior to the splashdown of aged space station Mir – hopefully in unpopulated areas of the Pacific – Russian space authorities have effected liability insurance, shared between Megaruss and Industrial Insurance (40% each) and Avikos..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
96% survive US air crashes
Although more than 2,000 people died in US commercial aircraft crashes over the last 18 years, 96% of the estimated 53,000 passengers and crew involved survived. Based on the full range of accidents, survival was halved in the more serious..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
DVT suits – the realities
Following the launch of Club Direct’s travel policy providing up to £25,000 for passengers to sue airlines should they suffer from deep vein thrombosis (DVT), it has now developed a product to support suit against travel agents and tour..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
Thai blast not a bomb
The fire and explosion that wrecked a Thai Airways Boeing 737-400, shortly before the prime minister was due to board, was not caused – as at first thought – by a bomb, according to a statement by the Thai transport minister. A newspaper..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
Singapore’s flight SQ 006 report
The preliminary report into the 83-death crash of a Boeing 747-400 at Taiwan’s Chiang Kai-shek international airport last October – while making no judgment as to the cause – highlights shortcomings of markings on the taxiway that..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
Korean Air pays for Shanghai house damage
Following a Chinese court ruling, Korean Air has started paying compensation to families in Shanghai whose homes were damaged by the crash of an MD-11 cargo plane in 1999. It was ordered to pay between Yuan80,000 and Yuan120,000 (US$14,500) to each..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
Germans agree Concorde settlement
Lawyers for relatives of German victims of the Air France Concorde crash have agreed an outline multimillion-dollar settlement package. A firm offer from Air France – of American standards – is expected within a few weeks, covering 96 of..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
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129 - 01 April 2001
US sub hits school boat
Diplomatic anger, as well as personal sorrow, was the first reaction to the sinking of a Japanese school’s trawler Ehime Maru
off Hawaii, carrying 35 crew and students, nine of whom are missing, presumed drowned. Questions were raised as to..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
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129 - 01 April 2001
Coastguard’s liability
Unlike the judicial view of coastguard liabilities taken in the UK in relation to Sea Empress
off Milford Haven and the Lyme Bay canoe disaster, a US federal court has awarded US$19mn in respect of inadequate coastguard assistance.
Michael Cornett,..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
Californian cleanup via court, only
Differing from other states, the Californian supreme court has ruled a limit of insurers’ indemnity of cleanup costs under CGL policies to those ordered by a court – excluding orders from administrative agencies. ‘The duty to..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
Claims escalate in Australia
Speaking at the Eighth Australian Accident Compensation Seminar, Bruce Watson and Mark Hurst of Trowbridge Consulting warned that Australian insurance companies may have underestimated future asbestos claims by up to 150% and that some would need to..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
‘Secondhand’ asbestos award
An Australian woman, Winifred Brennan, has been awarded A$370,000 in respect of mesothelioma contracted while washing her husband’s asbestos-laden workclothes. In the past few months three other women have also won settlements from building..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
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129 - 01 April 2001
Pfizer to appeal US$18mn verdict
An El Paso jury award of US$18mn to Miguel Agustin Calderon, in respect of asbestosis, is to be appealed. He was first exposed to the substance 45 years ago while working with insulators at Phelps Dodge Corp, but claims he contracted the disease..
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01 April 2001
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129 - 01 April 2001
Crown Cork faces liabilities
Metal and plastic packaging manufacturer Crown Cork & Seal has seen a 31% reduction of market value due to the threat of asbestos liabilities. Although its asbestos-related units were sold off in the 1960s, progressively higher charges for..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
Chester Street shortfall
The administrators of Chester Street Insurance Holdings, covering employers’ liability cover bought prior to 1990, have put forward a scheme whereby many victims of asbestosis would receive a mere 5% of their entitlement – out of which..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
HSC regulations to be amended
Following last year’s consultation by the Health & Safety Commission (HSC) on updating the Control of Asbestos at Work Regulations 1987, last amended in 1998, proposals included an explicit duty to take all reasonable care to locate..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
Scope of asbestos industry regulations
A decision of the court of appeal in Shell Tankers UK Ltd and Another v Jeromson and Another
held that the Asbestos Industry Regulations (SI 1931 No 1140) applied to the production of sealant paste for dry cleaning presses, and was not confined to..
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01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
Tobacco update
Asbestos firms jointly file claim
in Jefferson County circuit court against more than a dozen tobacco firms, seeking contribution to payments for asbestosis victims whose condition is alleged to have been worsened by tobacco use. A similar claim..
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01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
Jury verdicts over US$100mn
A survey carried out by the National Law Journal
reports a record 27 jury verdicts of more than US$100mn in 2000. The largest was for US$145bn against R J Reynolds, currently at appeal. The next, for US$4.5bn against Bosnian Serb leader Radovan..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
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129 - 01 April 2001
Publication of slave records
California’s Slaveholder Insurance Policy Law requires all insurance companies that sold cover to slave owners in the 19th century to open their archives to the public. Under a typical US$11-a-year policy a slave owner received US$500 when a..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
OSHA/RSI rule repealed
With the ink scarcely dry on the pages of the Occupational Safety & Health Agency’s ergonomic standards regulations, enacted by the Clinton administration, a massive campaign has led to their repeal. The regulations required employers to..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
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129 - 01 April 2001
Preemption of fraud claims against FDA
The US supreme court has ruled that federal law preempts state law liability claims alleging fraud against the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) in respect of the agency’s regulation of marketing clearance for medical devices. This stems..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
California’s electric supplier files for protection
..
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01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
Liability insurance crisis in New York
The Insurance Information Institute comments on an article by Alice Lipowicz, appearing in Crain’s New York Business
, on an impending liability insurance crisis in the state of New York.
It highlights a lack of liability insurance options in..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
First US challenge to genetic testing
The US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has filed action in the federal district court in Sioux City, Ohio against Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway. In this, it challenges the employer’s demand for DNA testing of those who claim..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
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129 - 01 April 2001
Drug addicts’ protection
An Australian federal court decision that drug addicts are entitled to the same antidiscriminatory protection as the disabled has raised questions. The decision in favour of a recovering heroin addict, discriminated against at the veterans’..
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01 April 2001
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129 - 01 April 2001
£400,000 fine for electrician’s death
Doncaster council has been fined £400,000 for ‘disgraceful disregard’ of safety measures leading to the death of electrician Michael Seiles. It was held to have ignored the most elementary safety precautions and failed to honour a..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
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129 - 01 April 2001
Beard discrimination OK
An employment tribunal has found that supermarket Waitrose was entitled to refuse to employ bearded workers in its food departments. Holding that hair from head and face posed a significant food safety risk, the tribunal ruled that Waitrose’s..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
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129 - 01 April 2001
Work rights of the disabled
The rights of disabled people are extended to cover 7mn additional jobs, including those in the police, prison and fire services and small businesses, along with additional protection for those with cancer or registered as blind.
Around 600,000..
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01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
‘Knowledge’ of driver’s lack of insurance
An injured passenger was not debarred from seeking damages from the Motor Insurers’ Bureau by his mere carelessness or negligence in checking whether the driver was insured.
White v White and Another • House of Lords •
The Times..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
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129 - 01 April 2001
Injury from intentional ramming of car
The claimant suffered significant injury when the defendant deliberately rammed the stationary car in which he was a passenger. Insurer’s appeal against indemnity upheld, in that there was no cover for the criminal actions of the..
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01 April 2001
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129 - 01 April 2001
Variation of costs after legal aid revoked
A high court judge erred in refusing to vary a costs order, made by a previous judge, where the unsuccessful party’s legal aid was revoked after the order was made.
Deg-Deutsche Investitions und Entwicklungsgesellschaft Mbh v K Joshy and..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
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129 - 01 April 2001
Offer can be withdrawn before acceptance
An offer of settlement under part 36 of the Civil Procedure Rules could be withdrawn at any time prior to acceptance. Once withdrawn, it was no longer open to acceptance.
Scammell and Others v Dicker • court of appeal •
The Times..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
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129 - 01 April 2001
Reduction of dismissed employee’s damages by subsequent earnings
In a claim for wrongful dismissal, where the contract of employment provided that the employer may make a payment in lieu of notice, the correct damages were the amount the employee would have earned had employment continued, allowing credit for any..
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01 April 2001
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129 - 01 April 2001
Reasonability of employer’s response
In determining whether an employer had acted in a reasonable manner in relation to alleged misconduct treated as reason for dismissal, an employment tribunal could consider the reasonableness of the process by which the employer came to..
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01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
Assessment of effects of disability
A tribunal erred in focusing on what an employee, suffering from clinical depression, was able to do, rather than also considering what was beyond her abilities.
Leonard v Southern Derbyshire Chamber of Commerce • employment appeal tribunal..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
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129 - 01 April 2001
Role of employer’s medical officer
A tribunal erred in accepting the opinion of an employer’s medical officer that a telephone operator’s impairment had a ‘substantial’ effect on his ability to work. On appeal, it was held that it was for the medical expert to..
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01 April 2001
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129 - 01 April 2001
Stigma claim not barred by redundancy settlement
Payments accepted in full and final settlement of all or any claims, by redundant former employees of the Bank of Credit & Commerce, did not bar them from subsequent action for stigma damages in respect of their disadvantage in the labour..
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01 April 2001
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129 - 01 April 2001
Employment status
An individual with a long-term specific assignment through an employment agency, seeking to claim unfair dismissal, must show there was both some form of mutual obligation and her work controlled by the agency.
Montgomery v Johnson Underwood Ltd..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
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129 - 01 April 2001
Limiting scope of liability
In determining the limitation of liability by a contractual clause to the effect that no statements or representations by either party had been relied on for entry into the contract, the significance and effect were to be assessed. Allowed, on..
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01 April 2001
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129 - 01 April 2001
Potential liability of agent
The professional agent of an employer could become liable to a contractor for negligent misstatement inducing him to tender. This in allowing appeal on preliminary issues on liability.
J Jarvis & Sons Ltd • court of appeal •
The..
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01 April 2001
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129 - 01 April 2001
Nuisance liability for water saturation
Water having escaped from a cement pipe, owned and controlled by the defendant council, led to the collapse of a disused railway embankment, owned by the claimant council, leaving a high-pressure gas main exposed. In the interests of public safety,..
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01 April 2001
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129 - 01 April 2001
Issuance of prohibition notice
A rail inspector was entitled to issue a prohibition notice under section 22 of the Health and Safety at Work Act, even where the prohibited activities had been temporarily suspended as a result of a major accident.
Railtrack plc v Smallwood •..
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01 April 2001
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129 - 01 April 2001
Injuries during recapture of prisoner
A long-term prisoner sought damages for treatment and injuries during recapture after his escape. Held that certain treatment – handcuffs, removal of clothing – had been necessary but that undue force used. £1,500 general and..
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01 April 2001
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129 - 01 April 2001
Razors available to prisoners
It was held that the governor of a young offenders’ institute was not negligent, but had made a balanced judgment in line with Home Office guidelines, in allowing certain prisoners to have razors.
Thompson v Home Office • court of appeal..
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01 April 2001
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129 - 01 April 2001
Landlord’s duty of care
It was not necessary for a claimant to show that a landlord had notice of a defect that had caused him personal injury. He merely had to show a failure by the landlord to take reasonable care for the safety of the claimant. This in relation to a..
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01 April 2001
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129 - 01 April 2001
Product defect in absence of previous accidents
In a claim for injury from a product under the Consumer Protection Act 1987, it was irrelevant whether the hazard had previously come to the attention – or ought to have come to the attention – of the producer. However, in the absence of..
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01 April 2001
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129 - 01 April 2001
Pension administrators’ duty of care
Although ordinarily owing no duty of care to advise a beneficiary, where the administrators of an occupational pension scheme proffered specific advice they might assume a duty to exercise reasonable care.
Wirral Borough Council v Evans and Another..
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01 April 2001
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129 - 01 April 2001
Personal costs against company director
A costs order against a company director, on the winding-up of two companies, was valid where he had treated the companies as an extension of himself, the money earned as his own and had defended winding up petitions to protect his personal position..
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01 April 2001
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129 - 01 April 2001
Personal liability of surveyor
Where a firm went out of business and its professional indemnity insurance was cancelled, a surveyor employed by that firm of valuers had personal liability in negligence to purchasers of a property where he knew they would rely on his mortgage..
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01 April 2001
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129 - 01 April 2001
Lifesaving liability
The Texas supreme court is to consider questions of liability for the continued life of a severely impaired infant. When Sidney Ainsley Miller was born, her condition was such that her parents asked for a cessation of lifesaving procedures. Now aged..
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01 April 2001
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129 - 01 April 2001
Australian medmal curbs
Responding to the rise in medical claims in Australia (see LRI
128, March 2001), the New South Wales government has put together a package to cap payouts and reduce insurance premiums by 12% for doctors in high-risk specialities, such as..
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01 April 2001
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129 - 01 April 2001
GMC complaints remain in house
Despite a record number of complaints filed against doctors – up from 3,000 in 1999 to 4,470 the next year – the General Medical Council has rejected proposals for reform of the disciplinary system through judgment and prosecution of..
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01 April 2001
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129 - 01 April 2001
Guidance from Retained Organs Commission
Guidance has been issued to all NHS Trusts by the Retained Organs Commission so as to ensure accurate and comprehensive information for those inquiring whether their relatives’ organs have been retained after postmortem.
All trusts must fully..
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01 April 2001
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129 - 01 April 2001
Reporting system for medical errors
Responding to research (published in the British Medical Journal
of 2 March 2001) led by Prof Charles Vincent of University College, London on adverse events (defined as ‘unintended injuries caused by medical management rather than the..
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01 April 2001
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129 - 01 April 2001
WHO reports probable DVT link
Following a finding by international experts that a link between deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and air travel ‘probably exists’, airline representatives have attended a meeting hosted by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and agreed to..
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01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
Diet drug Amp II Pro
An American woman, Rosalie Talbert, has won a jury award of US$13mn (US$12mn of which punitive) in respect of a stroke she suffered, alleged as a result of using diet drug Amp II Pro. Produced by E’ola Products, it is thought to contain the..
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01 April 2001
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129 - 01 April 2001
Zyban deaths
The Department of Health has confirmed that, since the introduction into the UK eight months ago of nicotine addiction medicine Zyban, 18 deaths have been linked to its use. During this time it has been prescribed to more than a quarter of a million..
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01 April 2001
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129 - 01 April 2001
BSE and CJD
Confirmation of link to meat supply chain
of the five vCJD deaths in Queniborough announced. Details to be released on 21 March 2001.
Interim payments of £25,000
to be made to the families of 86 people who have died of vCJD and those eight..
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01 April 2001
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129 - 01 April 2001
US Starlink warning
US farmers have been warned that genetically modified Starlink corn, ungerminated from last year, may sprout and mix in with this year’s crops intended for human consumption. The warning was issued by the National Corn Growers Association,..
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01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
OP research programme
A £1.4mn expanded research programme into the effects of organophosphates (OPs) on human health will be funded by the Ministry of Agricultures, Department of Health and the Health & Safety Executive. Additional funding will provide for an..
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01 April 2001
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129 - 01 April 2001
Vehicle recalls
In the US Ford recalls half a million Mercury Villager minivans (1993 to 1998) and 1993 F-series trucks because of fuel leaks that could lead to fire; and in Australia 97,000 vehicles, including the six-cylinder Falcon, Fairlane and LTD vehicles..
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01 April 2001
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129 - 01 April 2001
Bridgestone recall impact
Bridgestone Corp, reporting its worst financial performance for a decade, notes the impact of last year’s tyre recalls. Analysts believe the recalls, related costs and potential legal liability could lead Bridgestone to take a special charge..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
Vibration white finger apportionment of damage
..
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01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
CICB tariff
Increases in awards under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme, costing an expected £20mn a year, have been announced along with some new categories. The biggest change is a 10% increase in the middle-range tariff, with compensation for..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
Careless parents?
A strange story appeared in The Guardian
of 27 January 2001, suggesting Provident Insurance was considering seeking contribution from the parents and family friend of nine-year-old Darren Coombs, brain damaged when knocked off his bike by a..
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01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
Jockey’s claim dismissed
National Hunt jockey Peter Caldwell, who suffered a broken back and other injuries during a race, has lost his claim against two other professional riders, Maguire and Fitzgerald. This was despite a finding of ‘carelessness’ by a..
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01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
Birth after sterilisation
Naomi Brolan, who gave birth after a sterilisation operation, is seeking compensation from the Royal United Hospital, Bath. She claims she was not warned that a risk of pregnancy remained and that the surgeon had operated in such a way as to make..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
Appeared in issue:
129 - 01 April 2001
Alder Hey litigation
Liverpool firm Goodmans has been appointed to lead group litigation relating to psychiatric trauma of the parents whose children’s organs were retained at Alder Hey. More than 600 families are already parties to the action. Sixteen doctors are..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
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129 - 01 April 2001
Marchioness families sue over body parts
Following reports that body parts, including hearts and brains, were removed from victims of the Marchioness
disaster in 1989 and stored at a London hospital, relatives are considering legal action. This emerged as part of an earlier inquiry into..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
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129 - 01 April 2001
Douro bridge collapse
More than 70 people are believed to have died when heavy rain caused the collapse of a 115-year-old bridge into the swollen River Douro in Portugal. The dead were in a coach and two cars.
The government had ignored requests for repair and warnings..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
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129 - 01 April 2001
Rail operators may seek more
The £400mn compensation package on offer from Railtrack to operators that suffered serious disruption during the post-Hatfield programme of emergency repairs, has not satisfied all. Great Western, for one, confirming: ‘We are taking legal..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
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129 - 01 April 2001
Vatican ‘ignores’ EMF claim
A case against a cardinal and other Vatican officials, brought by the parents of a girl suffering from leukaemia and others, has been postponed until the autumn on a technicality. The case alleges infringement of electromagnetic radiation from the..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
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129 - 01 April 2001
Power and prudence
There has been yet another report on health risks from proximity to power lines – but this one leads the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) to admit for the first time the possibility of a ‘small risk of childhood leukaemia..
Online Published Date:
01 April 2001
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129 - 01 April 2001