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New Health & Safety warning: Lust – Caution!
We’re pretty used to Health & Safety warnings covering all sorts of activities. But rarely has it been applied to the act of sexual intercourse. But now, Health & Safety officials have officially warned of the dangers of vigorous..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
Spiralling UK ‘compensation culture’ – but spiralling down not up
By the University of Warwick’s School of Law, for the Health & Safety Executive
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
Monthly Quota
“Life is not risk free, we know that. Our children encounter risks every day and learning to manage risks is an essential part of growing up. Through educational activities and play we want children to enjoy themselves whilst staying safe. All..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
Number of civil cases launched in High Court rises by 25%
The number of civil law cases launched in the High Court jumped by a quarter last year - the first increase since the implementation of the Woolf reforms in 1999 triggered a steady decline, according to Reynolds Porter Chamberlain (RPC).
At 61,691..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
European Liability Insurance Buyers Report
Marsh has published “Risk and Reward: Liability Insurance Buyers Report – Europe 2007” which reveals liability limits and average costs for European countries. The report pointed to new capacity which was created after Hurricane..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
One in ten patients face adverse outcome
One in 10 NHS patients experiences an adverse outcome which causes some harm while in hospital as a result of their clinical care, according to a study led by University of York researchers.
The findings in the latest issue of Quality and Safety in..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
Annual Report on Healthcare Associated Infection 2007
The Health Protection Agency has published its Annual Report on Healthcare Associated Infection 2007, as well as the latest quarterly report on the MRSA blood poisoning and Clostridium difficile (C difficile) infection figures.
The latest annual..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
MRSA study points to underlying medical conditions
New research published today by the Health Protection Agency and the Office for National Statistics has found that the majority of patients dying following MRSA infection had significant underlying chronic medical conditions and had short life..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
Call for statutory legal Health & Safety duties for directors
A new report commissioned by construction union UCATT and written by the Centre for Corporate Accountability titled ‘Bringing Justice to the Boardroom’, claims to reveal the “complete failure of the voluntary approach to reducing..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
Health & Safety advice for directors
The Institute of Directors (IoD) and the Health & Safety Commission (HSC) have published ‘Leading Health & Safety at work’ written by directors, for directors. The practical, common sense Health & Safety guidelines will..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
Sub prime crisis may see “market altering” losses
The insurance and reinsurance industries will face potentially “market altering” losses from the sub prime crisis, according to Arthur Washington, a partner of New York firm Mendes & Mount.
Speaking at a seminar hosted by law firm..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
Latest statistics on work-related ill health and workplace injury
The Health & Safety Commission (HSC) has published the latest statistics on work-related ill health, and workplace injury in Great Britain. ‘Health & Safety Statistics 2006/07’ presents the top-level statistics, including reports..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
Review of post-traumatic stress disorder therapies
Many people, including significant proportions of active duty military personnel and veterans, suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), often in conjunction with other injuries or illnesses, according to a new report from the US Institute..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
Investment in safety professionals linked with accident rate cuts
New research commissioned by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) into the Health & Safety performance of British businesses links investment in safety professionals with cuts in accident rates.
The new academic study was..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
HSE warning over stonemasons and quarrying companies
The Health & Safety Executive (HSE) has warned quarrying companies and stonemasons of the risk that workers face of contracting the potentially fatal disease silicosis, if adequate measures to monitor and prevent exposure to respirable..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
Avian flu warning over chickens and domestic ducks and geese
The avian influenza virus H5N1 could become entrenched in chickens and domestic ducks and geese in parts of Europe, the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) has warned.
The agency stressed that healthy domestic ducks and..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
New atlas of radon affected areas in England and Wales
The Health Protection Agency (HPA) and the British Geological Survey have jointly produced new information on radon Affected Areas in England and Wales. There is detailed information for individual properties available from a new website and a new..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
UK companies warned over environmental liabilities
Law firm LG has warned UK companies of their increasing exposure to liability for environmental losses. LG said that the European Environmental Liability Directive, coupled with gaps under existing public liability insurance policies, meant that UK..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
Lawyer advertises for heart attack victims
The American Tort Reform Association has strongly criticised a personal injury lawyer’s advertisement suggesting that people who have heart attacks in public places should sue others for liability.
“I didn’t have a heart attack..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
US workplace injuries and illnesses down
The rate of workplace injuries and illnesses in private industry in the US declined in 2006 for the fourth consecutive year, the US Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has reported. Nonfatal workplace injuries and illnesses..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
Environmental and occupational causes of cancer
The US Lowell Center for Sustainable Production has produced a new report entitled “Environmental & Occupational Causes of Cancer: New Evidence 2005-2007”, a review of the current state of the science on environmental and..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
Occupational cancer and carcinogens in the workplace
Initial findings on the current burden of occupational cancer associated with carcinogens in the workplace have been published by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE).
Steve Coldrick, head of HSE’s Disease Reduction Programme, said:..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
Asbestos exposures from large scale fires
The Health Protection Agency has published a report about the potential health impact and levels of asbestos exposures from large scale fires. Large scale fires involving materials containing asbestos are relatively common in the UK and can cause..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
Nanotechnology - large risks with tiny particles?
A new report from KemI, the Swedish Chemicals Agency, calls for caution over the rapid development of new fields of application, and the “great lack of knowledge” about the issue.
“The combination of the rapid development in the..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
Call for urgent action to control food chemical diacetyl
The International Union of Food, Agricultural, Hotel, Restaurant, Catering, Tobacco and Allied Workers’ Associations (IUF) is calling for government regulatory authorities around the world to take urgent action to control the use of the food..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
Call for US law on defective products from overseas
Attorney Thomas Gowen has urged lawmakers to adopt legislation to better detect and stop dangerous products from entering the US market and hold manufacturers and retailers accountable for the injuries and deaths caused by their products, according..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
Merck pays $4.85bn into a settlement fund for VIOXX claims
Merck & Co has announced that it has entered into an agreement with law firms over the ongoing VIOXX litigation. According to Merck, “if certain conditions under the agreement are met, the company will pay a fixed amount of $4.85bn..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
Leading emerging biological risks identified
The European Risk Observatory, part of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, has produced a report which identifies emerging biological risks that are most likely to affect workers in the EU. The report said that farmers, healthcare..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
Research finds claims for damages falling
Research published by the University of Warwick’s School of Law, for the Health & Safety Executive, has undermined the popular view that UK citizens are engaging in a spiralling ‘compensation culture’ with ever increasing..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
Grievance procedures and breach of trust and confidence
The claimant raised a grievance in response to a formal proposal to change her contract. The defendant’s grievance procedure had three stages. Stage one referred any grievance to the line manager, stage two required dealing with the regional..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
No duty of care to the proprietor
The registration authority, in applying to a magistrate for an order for the cancellation of the registration of a nursing home under s30 of the Registered Homes Act 1984, owed no duty of care at common law to the proprietor.
The Court of Appeal so..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
Proper construction of term “harassment”
In determining whether “harassment” had occurred for the purposes of civil proceedings under section 3 of the Protection from Harassment Act 1997 the touchstone was to ask whether the gravity of the misconduct was of an order which would..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
Periodical payment reduced for state funding
When assessing the damages of a man left as a quadriplegic after a road accident, the court considered whether periodical payments were appropriate for some or all of his claim and whether there should be any reduction in his claim for future care..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
£6.5mn in damages for hit and run
A woman has won £6.5mn in damages after she was left paralysed when she was hit by a drink-driver’s car which mounted the pavement. The driver was imprisoned for two years and banned from driving for four years. As a result of the..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
£5.4mn award for brain damage at birth
A boy has been awarded £5.4mn in compensation after he was left severely brain damaged following his birth. He now suffers from a form of cerebral palsy. The hospital admitted negligence. The six-year-old’s life expectancy has been..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
Pilot wins £750,000 for RTA
A former pilot in the Army Air Corps has been awarded £750,000 in compensation as a result of multiple injuries sustained in an off duty road traffic accident. The claimant was a Staff Sergeant serving with a front line attack Regiment. He was..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
Army pays £225,000 for severe cold injuries
A former Lance Corporal in the infantry who sustained severe cold injuries to both feet while undertaking covert surveillance operations in Kosovo during 2002 has been awarded £225,000. The injuries resulted in the claimant’s medical..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
£135,000 settlement over wrist injury
A panel beater who suffered a serious wrist injury whilst repairing a fire engine has been awarded compensation of £135,000 in an out-of-court settlement with his former employer. He was unable to return to his job in the council’s..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
£14,275 damages for vibration white finger
A ground worker has received £14,275 compensation following the development of vibration white finger. He was awarded the compensation from two former employers. He used pneumatic drills and jack-hammers continuously and was not made aware of..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
Soft tissue injury to hand
A bus driver has received £6000 compensation after suffering a soft tissue injury to his left hand. He slipped on a wet floor at the bus terminal. He put his left hand out to save himself, but he hit the doorframe of the canteen door..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
£23,500 compensation for pleural thickening
A retired manager with the Port of London Authority has received £23,500 compensation after being diagnosed as suffering asbestos related pleural thickening. He worked for the Port of London Authority from 1937 until 1975, except for the..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
Driver in trapped finger award
A driver has been awarded £3663 compensation following injuries sustained in an accident at work. He was delivering fridges to a recycling centre in Islington when his finger became trapped in the tail lift of his vehicle and he sustained..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
Broken leg compensation
A production worker has received almost £13,000 compensation after she suffered a broken leg when a colleague slipped on spilt oil and collided with her. Her colleague knocked her to the ground. She was in plaster for six months and could not..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
Another bus driver wins damages
A bus driver has received £6500 compensation after suffering a back injury due to his work. He checked his bus before leaving the depot and noticed that the seat would not tilt back. He reported this fault to his employer. Although the defect..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
Bus driver wins damages
A bus driver has secured £10,000 compensation following injuries sustained in a road traffic accident. He was driving his double-decker bus when a driver approaching from the opposite direction lost control of his car and smashed into the bus...
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
Award for lost fingertip
A warehouse worker has received over £4000 compensation after losing the tip of his finger in an accident at work. He was loading goods on to vehicles. As he attempted to close the roller shutter door of the vehicle, it moved forward, trapping..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
Vehicle accident at work
A driver has received £115,477 in compensation following an accident at work. He sustained injuries when his vehicle turned into a ditch as a result of a defect on the road surface. The Local Authority had not applied hard core beneath the..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
Tribunal awards £550,000 over unfairly dismissal
A park worker in London who suffered from learning difficulties has been awarded compensation of £550,000 at an employment tribunal. At the hearing, it was alleged that the employer had used a system for selecting employees for redundancy that..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
Damages for man over MRSA
A man who lost part of his leg after contracting MRSA while in hospital with a broken leg has been awarded £102,583 in compensation, according to the Daily Record. While in hospital, he developed MRSA in a wound into which a metal rod had been..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
MoD pays damages over accident
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Devonport Royal Dockyard Ltd are to pay £12,000 damages to a ship’ s rigger from Devon who was injured on the stern of HMS Somerset. The man was standing on the stern of HMS Somerset to assist the ship..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
£130,000 in mesothelioma compensation
A man has been awarded £130,000 in compensation after he developed mesothelioma as a result of exposure to asbestos in the workplace. He was first exposed to asbestos while he was still a teenager training to be an electrician with an..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
Award over step fall
London Underground is to pay over £23,000 damages to a woman injured while visiting the office at Golders Green Underground Station to discuss a job vacancy. “As I was leaving the office, the door was opened by an employee,” she..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
£75,000 in damages for hit and run
A worker hit by a car at a road junction has been awarded £75,000 in damages. The man, a traffic light installer, was hit by a vehicle and both his legs were severely injured and he was left unable to work for nearly three years. At the time of..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
Care worker wins damages for attack
A local authority care worker who was attacked and injured by a resident in a respite care facility has received compensation from the borough council. The woman was employed by the council as a care worker at a respite care facility for people with..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
£250,000 damages for back injury
A man who suffered a serious back injury at work has been paid £250,000 in compensation. He worked as a facilities engineer and sustained a serious back injury when he fell down a damp sloping grass verge whilst reading meters at one of the..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
£25,000 compensation from T&N Asbestos Trust
A widow has received nearly £25,000 compensation for her husband’s death five years after he developed £25,000 compensation. Her husband worked as a painter and lagger’s mate for an insulation and chemical company. His job..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
Parkinson’s disease drug caused gambling
Two patients who state that a drug prescribed to treat their Parkinson’s disease caused them to gamble compulsively, have commenced claims, according to Leigh Day & Co. They are seeking compensation from the distributor of the drug in the..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
Teacher to sue for £800,000
A drama teacher is suing her former employers for £800,000, claiming her students’ behaviour made her ill, according to the Daily Record. She said she suffered anxiety and depression because of problems she experienced with her class. She..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007
European Commission review of consumer product safety controls
The European Commissioner for Consumer Affairs, Meglena Kuneva, has set out a series of initiatives where action will be taken to strengthen the enforcement and implementation of product safety controls currently in place in the EU. The move follows..
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01 December 2007
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208 - 01 December 2007