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Willis reports on reinsurance market
A study by Willis into the global reinsurance market has revealed that long-tail classes remain difficult with increasing pressure both on rates and conditions. ‘Unfortunately, the worsening development of earlier underwriting years continues..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Australia gives provisional go-ahead to liability pool
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has conditionally authorised an arrangement between Allianz Australia Limited, QBE Insurance (Australia) Limited and NRMA Insurance Limited to offer jointly public liability insurance to eligible..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
AIG launches MAX D&O policy
AIG company, National Union Fire Insurance, has launched Maximum A-Side Excess Insurance (MAX), a ‘Side A’ excess non-indemnifiable loss policy with a ‘Difference In Conditions’ provision that provides comprehensive..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Tyco settles with Chubb
Tyco International has paid US$92mn to its insurer Chubb as part of settlement which will enable the company to keep its directors & officers liability insurance cover for the last two years. The move, reported in the Wall Street Journal
, was..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Investment firms in E&O claim
A number of the US investment banks involved in the US$1.4bn settlement with the Securities & Exchange Commission over biased stock research are reported to be considering moves to recover sums from their errors and omissions insurance..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Aon in sexual discrimination class action
Aon subsidiary, Combined Insurance Company of America, is being sued by a group of female employees for sexual harassment and sexual discrimination. The women have applied for class action status, with around 6,000 women involved, and allegations..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Swiss Re to exercise environmental muscle
Swiss Re is reported to be considering putting in place a ban on providing insurance cover for companies that pollute the atmosphere, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal
. Specifically, Swiss Re is targeting companies that have failed..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Hartford increases asbestos reserves
Hartford Financial Services Group has increased its asbestos reserves by US$2.6bn through an after-tax charge of US$1.7bn in the first quarter of 2003. Hartford has boosted its gross reserves by US$3.91bn to a total of US$5.9bn, and the net reserves..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Group of insurers hit by asbestos verdict
A group of insurers, including Lloyd’s underwriters, and London market and US insurers, has been ordered by a jury to pay US$188.7mn to the Fuller-Austin Trust. The payment is for an element of the Trust’s estimated future asbestos..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Police sue over radio system
A number of police officers in Lancashire are claiming that their new radio system is making them ill, and are planning to sue their bosses as a result.
The officers claim that the Tetra (Terrestrial Trunked Radio) system which was introduced about..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
No comment!
Product liability concerns, especially in the US, have resulted in all sorts of bizarre comments being attached to labels on products. The need for manufacturers to cover themselves against possible lawsuits has always been there, but in recent..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Liability Underwriters Group Conference Queens’ College Cambridge
..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Fixed Recoverable Costs scheme progresses
The Lord Chancellor’s Department announced progress towards implementing an agreement on recoverable legal costs for low value road traffic cases which is due to formally come into effect later in the year. The Department said that the Fixed..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
New conditional fee regulations
New regulations, which came into force on 2 June 2003, will enable people seeking compensation for personal injury to enter into simpler, more transparent Conditional Fee Agreements (CFAs) with their solicitors and enable solicitors to guarantee to..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
DAS adds on-line resource
A new on-line risk management service has been added to DAS employment practices protection and stand-alone commercial legal protection policies. DASbusinesslaw provides an extensive and constantly updated archive of legal, financial and commercial..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
End of the hard market in sight (in the US)
Insurers will be gutted to hear that the end of the hard market is here – well at least in the US, according to the Consumer Federation of America (CFA). The CFA has released data showing that commercial insurance loss ratios have dropped..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
SARS update
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) insurance exclusions are becoming common in event cancellation policies, but not, as yet, in other classes. As far as liability classes are concerned, SARS could possibly be defined as an occupational..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Traffic fumes may effect sperm quality
A study from Italy has found that traffic fumes may have a harmful effect on male fertility. The researchers looked at the impact of traffic-derived pollutants on male fertility by evaluating semen quality in men occupationally exposed to traffic...
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Bus and coach operators surveyed
A survey of bus and coach operators by Ensign Motor Policies in conjunction with the Confederation of Passenger Transport UK has found that 38% are expecting an increase in employers’ liability claims (for bus operators only, the figure is..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
ISP wins spam damages
EarthLink, a leading US Internet service provider, has won US$16.4mn damages from a spam ring based in Buffalo, New York. EarthLink also won a permanent injunction to prevent the spammers from sending bulk emails. The spam ring sent out over 825..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Zurich leading solicitors’ PI insurer
Zurich Professional is the leading provider of professional indemnity insurance to solicitors in England & Wales, according to figures released by the Law Society’s Assigned Risk Pool. The insurer also insures more firms of solicitors..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
US D&O survey from Tillinghast – Towers Perrin
Directors & Officers (D&O) liability insurance premiums in the US rose by nearly 30% according to the latest survey from Tillinghast – Towers Perrin. The survey, ‘2002 Directors & Officers Liability Survey,’ said..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Higgs bows to boardroom pressure
Derek Higgs, who produced a report into corporate governance, has bowed to pressure from boardrooms and said that he would consider dropping one of the proposals – banning company chairmen from serving on company nomination committees.
Mr..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
State funds in workers comp success
State-sponsored funds have become a major force in the workers’ compensation insurance market, according to a new study by Conning Research & Consulting. In states that have state funds, they now account for nearly a third of the national..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Employment tribunals see multiple claims
There has been a 21% increase in multiple grievance claims from individual employees at employment tribunals since 2000. This is according to Croner Consulting, an employment tribunals specialist. Croner says that these multiple claims include..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Whistleblowing report from charity
Over £10 million a year is being paid in compensation to employees who are sacked or victimised for blowing the whistle, according to a report by the whistleblowing charity, Public Concern at Work. The highest award is £805,000, with the..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Larger employees and uniforms
Fitness First, the fitness company at the centre of the scandal over larger employees, has sent a message to all of its employees assuring them that it does not discriminate against larger people. The company had sent an email to regional managers..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
T&N wins employers’ liability case
Turner & Newall (T&N), the engineering group, has won its case against its employers’ liability insurer, Royal & Sun Alliance (RSA) over asbestos liabilities involving former employees. The High Court ruled that RSA is liable..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Disabled workers backed by Commission
Workplace discrimination accounted for more than half of the cases supported by the Disability Rights Commission (DRC) in 2002. More than a third of those cases involved the failure of employers to make adjustments for disabled workers. Of 1,781..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Miners sue for knee injuries
The Union of Democratic Mineworkers (UDM) is bringing ten test cases claiming compensation for Nottinghamshire miners who have suffered knee injuries. The UDM says that the miners had to work in cramped conditions, in mineshafts often only three..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
End of respiratory disease scheme
The Government has announced that the cut-off date for the British Coal respiratory disease scheme is 31 March 2004, and is embarking on a campaign to encourage miners, widows and family members of deceased miners to claim now.
The coal health..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Worldwide workplace accident and fatalities
Around two million people are killed by their work every year, and an estimated 160 million people on this planet have work-related diseases, according to a new report from the International Labour Organisation (ILO). The number of work accidents..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
WHO releases injury mortality rates
Injuries kill more than five million people worldwide each year, accounting for nearly 1 of every 10 deaths globally, with road traffic incidents the leading cause, according to two new World Health Organisation (WHO) publications. ‘The Injury..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Clubbers risk permanent hearing damage
Around three out of four young people who go to clubs or concerts regularly are risking permanent hearing damage, according to research published today by the Royal National Institute for the Deaf (RNID). The research found that of the 66% of young..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Designers fail to understand duties
Many designers are unaware of their duties under Regulation 13 of the Construction (Design & Management) Regulations 1994 (CDM). This is the main finding of the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) designer initiative held in Scotland and the..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Solicitor wins damages from airline
The budget airline, easyJet, has paid undisclosed damages to a solicitor for cancelling a flight to Paris. The airline was accused of letting passengers check in and wait in the departure lounge, whilst knowing that there was no aircrew for the..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Holiday firm sued for psychological damage
A group of passengers whose plane crashed in Spain have been given the go-ahead to sue their holiday company for compensation. The 70 passengers, out of the total of 236 on the plane, are to pursue a claim against Thomson Holidays for psychological..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Prestige payments limited
The International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund has said that the level of payment of compensation in the ‘Prestige’ oil spill incident will be limited, temporarily, to 15% of total losses incurred. This is reported to be because the..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Fund agrees to pay 100% of Erika claims
The International Oil Pollution Compensation Fund has raised the level of payment of compensation to the victims of the ‘Erika’
oil spill incident from 80% to 100% of the amount of loss or damage agreed between the claimants and the..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
French coastal environmental protection zone
France has brought in strict punishments for polluters following recent environmental disasters off its coast. The French Parliament has announced the creation of an environmental protection zone on its Mediterranean coast. The zone extends for..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
National Trust bans GM crops
The National Trust has announced that it is banning its tenant farmers from growing genetically modified crops on Trust land. The National Trust has around 2,000 tenant farmers. The Trust described the move as a precautionary approach, and it would..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Royal Society reports on GM foods
The Royal Society says that claims that foodstuffs containing ingredients from genetically modified plants are inherently less safe than their non-GM conventional counterparts remain unproven.
The Royal Society policy statement points out that..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Arch moves in to environmental liability insurance
Bermuda-based Arch Insurance Group has launched an environmental liability insurance programme specially designed for consultants, contractors and property owners and managers. The programme offers limits of up to US$25mn and provides risk..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
US oil firm faces suit in Ecuador
A lawsuit involving 30,000 Ecuadorian rainforest peoples has been filed in a small town in Ecuador against ChevronTexaco, charging the oil company with systematically destroying their homeland through the dumping of toxic wastewater and crude oil..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
EU directive to be strengthened
The European Parliament is reported to be on the verge of strengthening the proposed EU directive on environmental liability. A number of amendments may be on their way, including a broader definition of biodiversity damage, reducing the number of..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
WTC victims sue al-Qaeda and Iraq
Damages of US$104mn have been awarded to the families of two men killed during the attack on the World Trade Centre. The judge ruled that it had been proved that the attacks had been planned by al-Qaeda and Iraq. The families had sued Osama bin..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Silverstein sues another insurer
Larry Silverstein, the World Trade Center leaseholder, is suing the insurer of 7 World Trade Center which was destroyed in the WTC attack. The building, which collapsed shortly after the Twin Towers, was insured by Industrial Risk Insurers with a..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
WTC fund lawsuits dismissed
Three lawsuits which claimed that the 11 September Victim Compensation Fund is unfair to the families of high-income victims have been dismissed. The main complaint was against the procedures for assessing awards which are based on income levels and..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Airlines liable for not preventing hijacks
A lawyer for some of the families of victims of 11 September has said in a hearing that American Airlines and United Airlines should be held liable for the attacks because they did not stop hijackers from entering the cockpits of the planes. The..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
US tort system fails in objectives
Health insurance premiums have been driven up and access to medical care has been reduced, because of the shortcomings of the US medical liability system according to a new Joint Economic Committee (JEC) study, ‘Liability for Medical..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Class action lawsuit reform moves forward
The US Senate Judiciary Committee has voted on bipartisan class action lawsuit reform legislation. The committee has approved the Class Action Fairness Act of 2003 which will let national, multi-state class action lawsuits be heard in federal court..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Chicago club owner demands cover
The property owner of the Chicago nightclub where a fire killed 99 people earlier this year has asked a US court to order its insurers to cover any damages arising from lawsuits from the fire, and any legal costs incurred. Triton Realty said that..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Lead paint apportionment settlement
A New York appeals court has ruled that a lead paint liability settlement must use an appropriate apportionment which means that some insurers will pay more than others. In the original case, the court split the settlement equally between the three..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
US investment banks in US$1.4bn settlement
The US$1.4bn settlement between major investment banks and the US Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC) over biased stock research includes US$487mn in fines. Liability insurers will be called on to cover the other US$913mn of the settlement,..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Report on asbestos and European insurers
A special report, ‘Asbestos: Too Hot to Handle for European Insurers?’
produced by Fitch Ratings, suggests that asbestos-related disease will be more widespread in Europe than in the US with a significantly higher incidence rate per..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
US settlement pool for asbestos claims
The US appears to be well on the way to establishing a settlement pool for asbestos claims, funded by contributions from businesses that are affected, and their insurers. The pool is the result of a Senate judicial committee. There is reported to be..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
General Electric liable for primary layer
A New York state court has ruled that General Electric is liable for the first US$5mn in cover for claims filed by people exposed to asbestos in General Electric products. The court rejected General Electric’s argument that claims on policies..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Tobacco giant avoids increase
Philip Morris will not have to post more than US$6.8bn in order to appeal the US$10.1bn judgment in the class action over the marketing of light cigarettes. A judge has ruled that the US$6.8bn would not have to be increased, but instead has said..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
New untested drug helps vCJD victim
A teenager with vCJD, the human form of mad cow disease, who has taken a new untested drug, has shown signs of improvement. The drug appears to have stopped the disease, and may even have helped his condition to improve, according to his father.
The..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Toy banned after strangulation risk
The Government has banned a toy for being potentially dangerous to children, the first such ban for over a decade. The Department of Trade & Industry (DTI) said that the measure is only used in the most serious of circumstances.
Yo-Balls are..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Pringle shortage for North America
Terrible news for crisp lovers in the US. Shipments of Pringles potato chips in North America have been suspended. The move by manufacturer Procter & Gamble is because the only plant that makes Pringles (and Torengos snack chips) has been..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Australia’s largest medical products recall
Australia’s largest-ever medical products recall has been blamed on false results from a laboratory analyst. The recall was ordered by the Therapeutic Goods Administration and involves products made by Pan Pharmaceuticals.
Pan is the leading..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Pesticides blamed for village illnesses
A woman from a Kent village is calling for an investigation into the use of pesticides in the area, which she is blaming for a series of cancers and serious illnesses. The woman, from the village of Lamberhurst, says that she, her husband and her..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Inquiry into Hep C testing
An inquiry is being carried out by the General Medical Council into allegations that doctors in Scotland and England tested patients for hepatitis C without their consent, thereby breaking medical guidelines.
A Scottish haemophilia action group has..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Junior doctors tackle bullying
Junior doctors have voted to set up a mentoring service, so that victims of bullying, harassment, and discrimination in the NHS can air their complaints confidentially. The British Medical Association’s Junior Members Forum has called for a..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Radiation doses underestimated for US veterans
The US government has been accused of underestimating the radiation doses for veterans who participated in above-ground nuclear-weapons tests, according to a report from the National Academies’ National Research Council. However, the committee..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Gulf War syndrome link to injections
A tribunal has ruled that a former soldier’s brittle bone disease could be linked to a number of vaccinations given to him shortly before the Gulf War. It is being hailed as the first official recognition of Gulf War Syndrome. The soldier did..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Laser eye surgery failure rate
A report in the medical journal Opthalmology, backed up by research carried out by Health Which?
magazine, suggests that the real failure rate for laser eye surgery is one in ten, as opposed to one in 1,000 which is the usual claim of clinics and..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Vitamins warning from FSA
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has issued new advice on some vitamins and minerals that could have possible harmful effects if taken in too high a dose. The advice follows the publication of the report of the Expert Group on Vitamins and Minerals..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Infusion devices testing initiative
The National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) has announced an initiative designed to test a range of measures to reduce the number of errors associated with the use of infusion devices.
The NPSA says that most infusion treatment, which is used to..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Tribunals and safety regulations
An employee had claimed that his employer had refused to give him time off work to attend training courses in relation to his role as a health and safety representative. His claim was dismissed by an employment tribunal. The appeal was allowed, and..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Proceedings brought in Germany
A British soldier’s baby was born with brain damage, and the German obstetrician was found to have been negligent and the insurers admitted liability. The claimant said that the Ministry of Defence and an NHS Trust owed or assumed a duty of..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Evidence admitted if reasonable
In personal injury cases, where private investigators were used to assess the degree of injury, the evidence obtained might be admissible provided the investigation was reasonable and proportionate. This was so, even if the investigation infringed..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Incontinence is disability
Urinary incontinence, caused by a prostatectomy following prostate cancer, qualifies as a disability. The Court of Appeal allowed the appeal of a decision by the Employment Appeal Tribunal which had ruled that the condition did not bring the..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Prove failure to work, not defect
Under the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations, it was only necessary to prove that equipment had failed in order to establish liability, rather than having to identify a defect. The case involved a personal injury claim from a man who..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Implied contract of service
Before a tribunal could decide whether or not an individual was an employee, it first had to determine as a fact whether there was an implied contract of service between the parties. The case involved a man who had been placed by an employment..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Unfair dismissal is personal to claimant
An employee’s claim for unfair dismissal, wrongful dismissal and disability discrimination was dismissed by a tribunal. She appealed, and before the case was heard, she became bankrupt. The Employment Appeal Tribunal dismissed her appeal for..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
No rolling up of holiday pay
An employee brought a test case against his employer over his holiday pay, which he won at an employment tribunal. The Employment Appeal Tribunal upheld the original decision, and the Court of Session refused an appeal by the employer. It ruled that..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Opinions must be declared preliminary
The Court of Appeal ruled that in cases where an employment tribunal gave an indication of its opinion before the hearing was concluded, it was good practice that the tribunal should ensure that it was clear to all that the opinion was only..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Limiting amount of claim allowed
Both parties involved in a road traffic accident had sustained damage to vehicles and disputed liability. Their insurers agreed to let the court decide liability to decide allocation of repair costs. The claimant paid an insurance excess of..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Rights of employees preserved on transfer
An undertaking had been transferred and an employment tribunal had ruled that a number of employees had been unfairly dismissed because there had been a relevant transfer. The appeal asked whether there could be a transfer of undertakings when the..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Psychiatric injury can be claimed
Under the Civil Aviation Act 1982, claims for psychiatric injury were recoverable as material loss or damage under the Civil Aviation Act 1982. The case involved a claim for damages for personal injury, loss and damage by residents of a village near..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Sex discrimination must be established
The burden of establishing sex discrimination through a disparity in the rate of pay at an employment tribunal lay with the complainant. The Court of Appeal dismissed an appeal by a female employee who had claimed she had been discriminated against..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Tribunals not to condone City secrecy
A woman appealed against an Employment Tribunal decision that had dismissed her claims of sex discrimination and unequal pay. The appeal was allowed and the complaints were to be remitted. The case involved a City woman who alleged financial..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Jet noise couple win nearly £1mn
A couple have won nearly £1mn in damages from the Ministry of Defence over noise from RAF Harrier jets above their house. The couple owned a 17th Century listed house and were suing for compensation and to obtain a declaration of unlawfulness..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
UK infringed human rights convention
Non-pecuniary damages of €22,900 and €7,500 in respect of costs and expenses were awarded to the children and mother of a heroin addict who died after suffering withdrawal symptoms while in prison. The woman, an asthmatic, died in..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Rock band in inebriated singer shocker
In a bizarre move, four US rock fans are suing their favourite band because they claim the lead singer was too intoxicated to sing at one of their concerts. The fans are suing US rock band Creed for US$2mn on behalf of the 15,000 fans who attended..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Auditor sued for negligence
PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) is being sued by Amerco for more than US$2.5bn in actual and punitive damages. The lawsuit is based on ‘the negligent, fraudulent and tortious conduct of PwC during the last seven years of its audit..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Damages for stabbed inmate
A murderer has received £7,250 in damages after being stabbed by other prison inmates in Edinburgh Prison. The ruling said that a prison officer had failed to supervise the recreation area where the attack took place. The attack on the..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Prison living expenses decision overturned
The two men whose convictions for killing paperboy Carl Bridgewater were quashed after 18 years in prison, and who won compensation in court, have won another legal case. The men had their compensation reduced by 25% because they did not have to pay..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Riders on the (lawsuit) Storm
Rock band The Doors is at the centre of a series of lawsuits. Two members of band are being sued by the parents of Jim Morrison, the singer with the band who died in 1971. Morrison’s parents are claiming that the band members have..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Policewoman hit by own squad car
A former policewoman is suing the driver of a van which hit her parked police car, causing it to crash into her. She is suing for damages of £750,000, claiming the incident ended her career in the police. The driver has admitted liability for..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Victimised asylum seekers fail in claim
A family of Turkish asylum seekers lost their battle for damages after being racially victimised when they were housed in Glasgow by the National Asylum Support Service. The High Court rejected the claim for damages for violations of human rights...
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Van the Man sued for non-appearance
Van Morrison is being sued for more than £100,000 over a concert that was cancelled. The singer is alleged to have pulled out of a concert, having received an advance payment of £23,000. Van Morrison offered a financial settlement but the..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Sexual assault victims get compensation
Compensation totalling nearly £300,000 has been awarded to a group of women who claim they were sexually assaulted by a psychiatrist. The assaults occurred in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s.
The sixteen women sued the health authority, which has..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Twelve year wait for birth damages
Agreed damages of £1.5mn have been awarded to a boy who suffered brain damage at birth. The boy, now 12-years-old, was born prematurely, and has cerebral palsy, requires a wheelchair to get around, and requires round-the-clock care. The health..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Sexual abuse lawsuit against priests fails
A sexual abuse lawsuit against the Diocese of Brooklyn has been thrown out of the New York State Supreme Court. The suit alleged sexual abuse by priests.
The judge rejected the claim of the plaintiffs that the statute of limitations did not apply to..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Damages for van accident victim
A 20 year old man who was hit by a van causing severe brain damage has received £4.8mn in damages. The man is wheelchair bound and is unable to communicate fully. It was reported that the van driver was using the van in his own time, and..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Boy sues school
A 15-year-old boy is suing his school for unlawfully removing him from the register. He is demanding £10,000 compensation, alleging that teachers breached his human rights.
He had been removed from the register, rather than being excluded, for..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Spanish prime minister faces lawsuit
A coalition of anti-war groups in Spain have brought a lawsuit against the Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar. The groups, including Culture Against the War, and the Free Association of Lawyers, claim that Jose Maria Aznar supported the..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Arm damaged at birth
A nine year old girl who suffered severe damage to her right arm during her birth by forceps has been awarded £250,000 in agreed damages.
The girl has Erb’s palsy, and the injury to her arm has affected her schooling, sports activities..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Bus accident damages
A man who was badly injured when he was knocked down by a bus has received £1.25mn in compensation.
The 56-year-old man was a high-rise window fitter, but following the accident he has been unable to work and requires 40-hours of care each..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Compensation for motorway workers
A court has awarded £1.2mn in compensation to the families of four men who died whilst working on a motorway bridge.
The men fell 80-feet from a gantry on a bridge on the M5. The gantry was not properly attached, causing the fatal accident. The..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
Teacher sacked over cancer fear
An employment tribunal has ruled in favour of a teacher who was dismissed because her school believed that her cancer might recur. The 54 year old teacher was head of the kindergarten department of an independent school. The tribunal ruled that she..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
False imprisonment case settled
South Wales Police has paid £40,000 in compensation to an amateur boxer who was arrested by police after he had been attacked by racists. He and another black man were attacked by three white men, but the police arrested the two black men,..
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01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003
The impact of NHS clawback on employers’ liability
The current debate over the need for reform of the employers’ liability system has led to growing opposition to the government’s plans to recover NHS costs in all compensated workplace accidents. This is currently part of the Health and..
Online Published Date:
01 June 2003
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155 - 01 June 2003