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PYV strengthens PI team
Lloyd’s Insurance Broker PYV Limited has strengthened its wholesale professional indemnity broking operation for insurance brokers throughout the UK.
Nick Pointon, group development director, points to recent changes in the wholesale market in..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Risk manager for DLA
Law firm DLA has appointed Julia Graham to head risk management, taking over from Clive Pracy who retired last year. Ms Graham was for merly group operational risk manager at Royal & SunAlliance.
In 2000 DLA became one of the first law firms to..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Record year for Hiscox
Hiscox has announced a record pre-tax profit of £83.4mn for 2003, an increase of 302 % over the previous year result of £20.7mn. The operating profit was £77.1mn compared to £34.6mn in 2002. Gross premium income underwr itten by..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
SVB preliminary results for 2003
SVB Holdings has announced its preliminary results for 2003, with operating profit up 190% to £31.6mn, and a combined ratio down to 99.9% from 107.2%. Indeed, excluding discontinued liability reinsurance business the combined ratio was..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
RSA in further reserve strengthening
Royal & SunAlliance has announced a further addition to its reserves to cover asbestos-related losses in its US business. During the fourth quarter it established a further £96mn as additional prior year claims provisions, primarily in the..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Loss and exposure analysis for US D&O
Guy Carpenter & Company has launched the US insurance industry’s first model for analysing and forecasting the frequency and severity of secur ities class action suits, which account for the major ity of Directors’ &..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Capita takes over miners’ liability claims
The Capita Group is to manage the contract to administer all UK coalminers’ personal injury liability claims on behalf of the Department of Trade & Industry. Miners’ claims represent the government’s largest uncapped..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Record low for airline losses
The airline industry saw its lowest levels of losses in history during 2003 resulting in an average reduction of 18% in insurance rates, according to a report from Aon.
However, Aon says that terrorism continues to be an ever-present threat to the..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Clubs leave it late in P&I renewal season
Reporting on the latest Protection and Indemnity (P&I) renewal season for ship owners, Aon said: “With P&I Clubs’ general rate increases ranging from 0% to 20%, many ship owners left making renewal decisions until the last..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Travelers and Equitas settle asbestos claims
Travelers Property Casualty and Equitas have reached a settlement of policies existing between Travelers and those underwriters at Lloyd’s reinsured by Equitas. Under the terms of the agreement, Travelers will receive US$245mn, resolving net..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Producing the (fake) goods
Food manufacturers are leaving themselves open to lawsuits, by claiming that produce is fresh when it clearly isn’t, natural when it most certainly isn’t, traditional when it is obviously modern, and farmhouse, when there isn’t a..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Directors and officers’ liabilities – through the looking glass
By John Barlow, a partner in the Insurance and Reinsurance group, Denton Wilde Sapte
It will not have escaped the notice of those operating in the insurance market that the volume and quantum of claims against directors and officers have increased..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Government to streamline equal value tribunal procedures
The government has announced plans to streamline equal value tribunal cases that will help cut down the time cases take. These tribunals involve workers claiming equal pay on the basis that they are doing work of equal value to that of someone of..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Best reports on RSA’s results
AM Best Co said that RSA’s financial strength ratings remain unaffected following the release of year-end results for 2003. “The outlook remains negative as, in line with A.M. Best’s expectations, R&SA reported a pre-tax loss..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Zurich combines EL with injury management
Zurich's UK Commercial business is offering an employers’ liability policy in combination with injury management for work related injuries regardless of liability. It will only be available to customers “who have a proactive approach to..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Compensation claims hit road maintenance budget
A survey by the Asphalt Industry Alliance has found that spiralling compensation claims from road users are eating up nearly all the extra money local authorities have received for road maintenance in the last year.
According to the Annual Local..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Public sector claims in Northern Ireland double the UK rate
ALARM – The National Forum for Risk Management in the Public Sector – believes that the sums paid out to those claiming against local councils and other public sector organisations in Northern Ireland are often twice as much as those in..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Bullying claims down by 75% in 2003
While the quantity of bullying claims has been rising steadily in recent years, the total number of bullying claims made in 2003 is less than a quarter of those made in 2002, according to Zurich Municipal.
The local authority insurer has analysed..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
No exclusion for directors’ liability says RPC
Law firm Reynolds Porter Chamberlain has opposed proposals in the DTI's consultation document on Directors & Auditors liability suggesting that companies should be allowed to agree an exclusion of their directors' liability for negligence.
Ed..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
D&O rates still on the rise
The cost of D&O insurance will continue to rise, in real terms, during 2004, but companies which demonstrate exceptional governance, finance and management controls should be able to minimise those increases. This is the stark warning from..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
£500mn liability limit for Big Four says RPC
The Big Four accountancy firms should be allowed to limit their liability for negligent audit work to £500mn. This is according to Reynolds Porter Chamberlain (RPC), in its submission to the DTI's consultation on Director and Auditor..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
TGWU wins over £80mn for members in 2003
Over £80mn in accident and injury compensation was won by the Transport & General Workers Union last year for individual members. This has taken the total won since the union was founded to over £1.5bn.
“These compensation..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
DTI announces bullying and discrimination at work project
The Department of Trade & Industry has announced the world's largest project to stamp out bullying and discrimination at work. The trade union Amicus will lead the project, worth £1.8mn, and will work with some of the UK’s biggest..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Pregnancy discrimination at work study
The Equal Opportunities Commission says that in an average year more than 1000 women take legal action claiming they were sacked because of their pregnancy, and this figure is only the tip of the iceberg.
The commission has launched “Pregnancy..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Stress at work not a prescribed disease
The Industrial Injuries Advisory Council has published a position paper on “Stress as a Prescribed Disease and Post-traumatic Stress Disorder.” The Council, the independent body which advises the Secretary of State for Social Security on..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
HSE publishes manual handling guidance
The Health & Safety Executive has published revised manual handling guidance designed to help employers and employees to take sensible steps to reduce injuries.
The new guidance, “L23 Manual Handling: Manual Handling Operations..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Cautious OK to GM maize but company pulls out
The government has revealed its current policy on GM crops. Margaret Beckett, Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, said that the government will “oppose the commercial cultivation of the relevant varieties of GM beet and..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Call for separate environmental court
The Environmental Justice Project (EJP) is calling on the government to establish a separate environmental court or tribunal, which is served by specialist judges and operates special rules.
“Environmental protection is a key component of..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Civil justice system failing on environment issues
The civil justice system effectively prevents people concerned about the environment from going to court, and the criminal justice system fails to provide effective deterrents to environmental and wildlife crimes. This is the conclusion of a report..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
McDonald's to end "supersizing"
McDonald’s has said it will end “supersizing” by the end of the year. “Supersizing” is where drinks and portions of chips are upgraded from a large portion to an even bigger one.
The fast food chain insists that..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Cheeseburger Bill gets through first hurdle
The House of Representatives has voted in favour of a bill which seeks to ban class-action lawsuits that blame food companies for obesity. The bill, nicknamed the “Cheeseburger Bill,” was supported by Republicans who said the industry..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Aegis to pay for Adelphia D&O costs
Bermuda-based insurer Aegis has been told it must pay up to US$300,000 in defence costs for a number of Adelphia executives who face criminal and civil actions over collapse of the US cable TV operator. A Pennsylvania federal court ruled that Aegis..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
US casualty cost of risk survey from Marsh
A new study from Marsh, “Casualty Cost of Risk 2004,” reveals that for every US$1000 of revenues, US businesses spend an average of $2.32 on insurance and other measures to manage their workers’ compensation, auto and general..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Sue a doctor and get listed
A website has been established in the US by doctors in Texas which lists patients that have sued doctors. The online database includes lists of plaintiffs, plaintiffs’ lawyers and expert witnesses in Texas and other states. Names can be..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Analysis reveals US death toll from asbestos
The first-ever analysis of US federal mortality records finds that 10,000 Americans die each year from asbestos exposure, and projects that up to 10 times that many will die in the next decade.
The analysis was carried out by the EWG Action Fund..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Low-level magnetic fields study urges caution
Research in the US has found that exposure to low-level magnetic fields could be harmful. The study in “Environmental Health Perspectives”, a journal of the US National Institute of Environmental Sciences, reported that rats which were..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
VCJD risk from human growth hormones
An unknown number of people could contract vCJD from human growth hormones, according to a coroner. A 33-year-old man died after contracting vCJD when he was injected with the hormone as a child. The coroner recorded a verdict of death from a..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Blood transfusion donor ban
The government has announced that recipients of blood transfusions after 1 January 1980 are to be excluded from donating blood in the future as a further precautionary measure against the possible risk of transmission of variant Creutzfeldt Jakob..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Coca-Cola recalls Dasani bottled water
Coca-Cola has recalled all of its recently launched Dasani bottled water in the UK. The move was prompted because levels of bromate that exceeded legal level in the UK. The recall was reported to involve around half a million bottles of the still..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Mandatory recalls for dangerous products says Which? magazine
Which? magazine has called on the Department of Trade & Industry (DTI) to “stop dithering and make mandatory recall of dangerous products and cars a matter of urgency.”
After missing a legal deadline in January to implement a recall..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Viagra may affect male fertility
Researchers at Queen’s University Belfast have revealed that men who take Viagra when they are hoping to start a family could be affecting their fertility.
A group at the University’s Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology have shown..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Solicitors’ scope of duty of care
The scope of the duty of care owed by a solicitor to his client depended on the instructions he received and the circumstances of the case. The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council allowed an appeal from a solicitor in a case involving a claim..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
No reliance on wrong to break chain of causation
A firm of solicitors was found liable in damages for negligence to a company, to be assessed by referenced to a loss of chance, assessed at 70 %. The Court of Appeal allowed the solicitors’ appeal, replacing the figure of 70 % by 40 %.
The..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Unfair and unreasonable burden on employers
There was no general duty on an employer to take reasonable care for the economic well-being of an employee, although there were certain restricted circumstances where the court would imply a term whose effect was to impose on the employer a duty..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Effective date of termination
The Court of Appeal ruled that the effective date of ter mination of employment within section 97 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 for deciding whether a claim in the employment tribunal was lodged within three months of that date could not be..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Remarks have the force of binding authority
The claimant was unfairly dismissed by the council. An employment tribunal included in its award of compensation, under section 123 of the Employment Rights Act 1996, £10,000 for injury to his feelings on the basis that the meaning and effect..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Employment and the Race Relations Act
A self-employed taxi driver was not within the extended definition of “employment” in the Race Relations Act 1976. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal of the claimant, and upheld the decision of the employment tribunal, and the..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Suitability of work equipment
A bus driver was assaulted by a passenger. He brought a claim on the basis that a protective screen should have been in place to separate the driver from the passengers. The trial judge found in favour of the claimant and held that both negligence..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Challenge not fair to court or respondent
Where an appellant failed to make it clear, or changed its position on the issue of whether a first-instance finding of fact was being challenged, it was not fair either to an appellate court or to the respondent. This was especially so when that..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Employer’s duty to assess and monitor
The Court of Appeal dismissed appeals by four claimants who claimed for injuries sustained during employment. But the court upheld four other appeals which held the defendant liable for injuries sustained after 1991/1992. The employers duty to..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Charterer’s ability to limit liability
The Court of Appeal held that a charterer’s ability to limit liability under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995 would depend on the type of claim brought against him rather than the capacity in which he was acting when his liability was..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Suitable person and duty of care
The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council dismissed an appeal by the Attorney General of the British Virgin Islands from the Court of Appeal of the British Virgin Islands, in a case involving a claim for damages for negligence.
The Privy Council..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Possibility of implied employment contract considered
An employment tribunal should at least consider the possibility of an implied employment contract between the worker and the client in situations when determining the employment status of a person who was working under contract for services for an..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Alcoholic beer taster gets US$2mn
A master brewer in Brazil is reported to have won around US$2mn from a brewery after he claimed that 20 years as a taster turned him into an alcoholic. The man apparently drank around eight litres of beer every day while working at the brewery near..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Priest’s housekeeper unfairly dismissed
The housekeeper of a priest who was unfairly dismissed has been awarded £3600 for loss of earnings and compensation. She was sacked when the priest came back early from holiday and was locked out of his house until late at night. He blamed the..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Damages in foetus operation claim
A boy has won damages estimated at more than £1mn after his family sued the hospital for negligence. The case involved an operation while he was still in his mother’s womb, after tests had revealed an abnormality.
During the operation, a..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Slip and trip pensioner gets damages
A pensioner aged 89 has won damages from a supermarket after she slipped on washing liquid that had spilled on the floor. She broke an arm in the fall, and staff who went to help her also ended up slipping on the liquid. Even the paramedics had to..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Popcorn factory worker wins US$20mn
A man in the US has been awarded US$20mn after he suffered lung injuries from mixing butter oils in a popcorn factory. He claimed that the injuries were caused by fumes from the butter oils. Another 29 popcorn workers are reported to be making..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
TV company makes reality payment
Sky Television has made payments to six men who were part of a reality TV show. The men had threatened legal action but accepted undisclosed payments. The men had been part of the show “There's Something About Miriam” in which the men..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Unfair dismissal law firm faces unfair dismissal claim
In one of the more ironic claims of the year, a solicitor is suing a law firm which specialises in compensation for injury to feelings in unfair dismissal cases, for sex discrimination and unfair dismissal. Indeed, the solicitor claims that she was..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Glider crash negligence claim
The widow of a pilot who was killed in a mid-air crash has sued the estate of the other dead pilot and passenger, and the flying club that they all belonged to.
The crash involved two gliders, one flown by the widow’s husband, and the other..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Damages for buttocks burned in radio stunt
A radio station has agreed to pay a substantial sum as compensation to a woman after her buttocks were very badly burned in a competition. A further competitor in the stunt has received a similar sum and a third person has yet to agree a sum with..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Death caused by removal of antibiotics
The mother of a four-year-old boy who died after hospital staff took away the antibiotics that were prescribed for a secondary infection to chickenpox is to be compensated by the hospital which has admitted liability.
The boy died of streptococcal..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Deadline passes for coal health compensation scheme
The national coal health compensation scheme has seen 371,000 claims and £1.7bn had been paid out so far. Payouts to individual miners range from £350 to £350,000 and average £770.
The end of March saw the cut-off date for..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Discrimination over height
A boy who was ridiculed over his height by bosses at a supermarket where he worked has won his claim for discrimination. The 19 year old boy, who is just 4ft 4ins tall, had his claim for discr imination upheld by an employment tribunal. However, it..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Lost education claim partially succeeds
A boy who sued his school for £10,000 for 10 months of lost education when he was expelled after a classroom fire has won an appeal. The court had ruled that he was not entitled to damages under the Human Rights Act, even though his expulsion..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Unfair dismissal but no racial discrimination
A woman has lost her claim of racial discrimination, but won a claim of unfair dismissal. The woman claimed that her boss called her his “little Indian slave,” and “my Indian princess.” However, the tribunal ruled that..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Army officer loses sexual discrimination case
A female officer has lost her claim for sexual discrimination against the Ministry of Defence. She claimed that she was subject to harsher treatment than a major in the Army with whom she had an affair. He was allowed to retire while she was..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Unfair and wrongful dismissal ruling
The Court of Appeal has ruled that employees cannot claim for the loss of the opportunity to claim unfair dismissal as part of damages in wrongful dismissal proceedings (Virgin Net Limited v Sally Harper
).
In order to claim unfair dismissal, an..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Man can sue over car crash
The Appeal Court has ruled that a man who was seriously injured when he lost control of his car while it was on Supertram tracks in Sheffield can sue the city council as well as Supertram's builders and operators.
He was injured nine years ago, when..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Over 65s rights case goes to Court of Appeal
Two men are suing the government for unfair dismissal and redundancy payments. The men are in their seventies and have appealed to the Court of Appeal over the case which involves the issue of workers over 65 not having the same employment rights as..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Cerebral palsy at birth claim fails
A woman who was left with cerebral palsy as a result of asphyxia during birth has failed in her claim for compensation. The court ruled that the health authority was not liable in any way. The woman’s mother had alleged that staff at the..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Settlement in IBM birth defect case
A woman who sued IBM claiming her severe birth defects were the result of her mother’s exposure to chemicals at an IBM plant, has agreed a settlement with the company as a trial was about to begin. Terms of the settlement were not..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Bangladeshis to appeal to House of Lords
The case against the National Environmental Research Council (NERC) by Bangladeshi citizens is to be taken to the House of Lords. The case involves a claim against the British Geological Survey (BGS), an arm of NERC, for failing to check for arsenic..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Medical negligence claims in Northern Ireland
At the end of January 2004, there were 2374 cases of alleged medical negligence pending in the 19 Health Service Trusts in Northern Ireland. The Royal Group of Hospitals & Dental Hospital HSS Trust has the most claims, with 482, followed by..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
BMA to be sued for racial discrimination
Five doctors, originally from India, are to sue the British Medical Association for racial discrimination. They claim that the BMA did not back them when they asked for legal assistance in employment disputes with hospitals.
In one case, the doctor..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Compensation for lost embryos
An IVF clinic has agreed to pay compensation to a woman after it lost her frozen embryos. The woman had private IVF treatment at clinic, and her eggs were harvested and then some of the resulting embryos were implanted. Unfortunately that round of..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004
Ruling in retained organs group litigation
Both sides in the Nationwide Retained Organs Group Litigation have claimed victory. The claimants lawyers said they had won overall, while the NHS Litigation Authority (NHSLA) pointed out it had won two of the three lead cases.
The ruling in the..
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01 April 2004
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164 - 01 April 2004