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Financial Risks
By Chris Hewitt, Lockton
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
Solicitor’s Professional Indemnity
By Steve Holland, Lockton
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
Local authority responsible for toxic birth defects
A group of 18 claimants brought a claim against Corby Borough Council in relation to birth defects caused to a group of children born between 1986 and 1999. They claimed that the birth defects were a result of the council’s negligence, breach..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
No judicial review over Employment Equality (Age) Regulations
The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 were compatible with Council Directive 2000/78/EC in that regulation 3, which permitted employers to justify direct discrimination on the grounds of age where they could show it was necessary and..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
Weathering the Storm - Airline insurance report
The number of airline losses so far this year has been relatively low, but the number of fatalities and the value of losses are very high, according to a report from Aon. The report, “Weathering the Storm — Aon’s Airline Insurance..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
The Law Society of Northern Ireland’s Report into Third Party Capture
The Law Society of Northern Ireland (LSNI) has recommended that the Northern Ireland Executive take action to protect accident victims against a small number of insurers who are exerting undue pressure to settle claims for compensation without a..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
£40,000 in compensation for asbestosis
A former dock worker has recovered more than £40,000 in compensation following his diagnosis with asbestosis. He was employed at the docks in East London and was often involved in unloading raw asbestos. He was originally rejected by a number..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
Damages for chlorine exposure
A trainee doctor who was exposed to dangerous levels of chlorine at a hotel while working in a part time job has received £1,000 in compensation. He suffered from a burnt larynx when working as a deputy gym manager at a health club, which was..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
Damages for RTA victims in Italy
Newlyweds on a once in a lifetime cruise of the Mediterranean have received accident compensation after their Italian tour bus was involved in a head-on collision in which one person died. The bus was forced to swerve to avoid a head-on collision..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
Girl with cerebral palsy awarded £2.5mn plus annual payments
A girl with cerebral palsy, which was caused by the negligent delay in delivery at birth leading to brain damage, has been awarded £2.5m by way of lump sum and will receive annual payments for the rest of her life.
Her mother was admitted at..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
£6000 for age discrimination
A receptionist who brought an age discrimination claim against a medical practice has received £6,000 in an out-of-court settlement. She left a permanent job to work for the practice, but when she presented her P45 giving her date of birth she..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
£2mn plus annual payments for birth delivery negligence
A young girl who has cerebral palsy, caused by the negligent delay in delivery at birth, has won substantial damages. She has been awarded a lump sum of £2m and annual payments for the rest of her life.
The girl’s mother was admitted at..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
£200,000 in damages for asbestos related lung cancer
The widow of a man who was diagnosed with pleural plaques and went on to develop asbestos related lung cancer has received £200,000 in compensation from her husband’s former employers. The man had worked with asbestos as a fitter at the..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
Damages awarded for asbestosis victim
A man with asbestosis has been awarded £20,000 in damages. He made a claim against two employers whose insurers were traced. But he had also been exposed to asbestos by a number of other companies that no longer exist and their insurer could..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
Pregnant worker in slip and trip
A pregnant civil servant who tripped at work damaging her back has received £9,000 in accident compensation. She was almost five months pregnant when the accident happened. She tripped on a loose carpet tile in the office. Fortunately she fell..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
£625,000 settlement for RTA brain injuries
A man who suffered serious head and brain injuries has been awarded £625,000 in a settlement. He suffered the injuries in a road traffic accident when aged 18. His lawyers managed to achieve interim payments, including the driver’s..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
Damages for police assault
A man has received an out of court settlement for £10,000 from the police. After a football match, he and a friend walked past a police van. Without warning, a police dog leapt forward and bit his forearm. He was then kicked and punched by a..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
£1.8mn and annual payments for brain damage at birth
A boy who suffered severe brain damage and permanent disabilities due to the negligent delay in delivery during his birth has been awarded a lump sum of £1.8m and considerable annual payments for the rest of his life. At 41 weeks gestation, his..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
£300,000 compensation for RTA victim
A woman has received £300,000 compensation after being badly injured in a road traffic accident despite the negligence of her former solicitors putting her claim in jeopardy. She was travelling in a car that collided with a vehicle which had..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
Compensation for slip and trip
A man who broke two bones in his leg after tripping on loose stones has received £7,875 in compensation. The man had been walking his dog when he fell over the stones on some land near the back of his home. He broke the tibia and the fibula in..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
RTA victim wins £45,000 compensation
A man has received around £45,000 compensation after he was involved in a road traffic accident. He was struck by a bus whilst using a pedestrian crossing. As a result of the collision, he sustained serious injuries and remained unconscious for..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
Damages for finger amputation after car crash
A student badly injured in a car crash has received a settlement of £13,000. He had to have partial amputation of his little finger and ring finger on his left hand following the accident. He was a passenger in a car which flipped over when it..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
£181,000 in compensation for mesothelioma
A man has been awarded £181,000 in compensation after he was diagnosed with mesothelioma. The former operations manager was exposed to asbestos during the 1960s while working for a heating and engineering company as a fitter’s mate..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
£57,000 in compensation for injured bin man
A bin man who seriously injured his shoulder while collecting rubbish for recycling has received £57,000 in accident compensation. He tripped on a raised paving slab while working for a borough council. He was collecting the recycling boxes..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
Shoulder damage from vibrating tools
A man has received £17,500 in compensation after his shoulder was permanently damaged by using vibrating tools at work. He was using a handheld grinder to remove paint from a floor. He used the vibrating tool for two full days when he began to..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
Corby decision a warning to developers
The High Court’s recent decision that Corby Borough Council was negligent in the remediation of the town’s steelworks site should act as a warning to developers, landowners, consultants and contractors, according to Chubb Environmental..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
Compensation for bank worker after armed robbery
A bank worker who was held at gun point during an armed robbery has received £4,000 in compensation after the bank failed to protect her in the workplace. The bank failed to put security measures in place despite a security review following a..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
Employment tribunals seeing less claims
There has been a 20% decrease in the number of claims being seen by Employment Tribunals according to the latest statistics from the Tribunals Service. The figures are for the period April 1, 2008 to March 31, 2009 and show an overall decrease in..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
£17,500 in damages for asbestosis
A former delivery driver has received £17,500 in compensation after he was diagnosed with asbestosis. He was exposed to asbestos while working as a driver for a company which supplied asbestos products. On occasions he removed asbestos from..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
Hand injury compensation of £25,000
A man has received £25,000 in compensation after suffering a hand injury in a workplace accident. He needed surgery on his hand after a tendon was severed during the accident. On the day of the accident he was taking a tractor apart for..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
US launches Reportable Food Registry
The US Food and Drug Administration has launched what it describes as “a new way to head off potential cases of foodborne illness”. Food industry officials must use the Reportable Food Registry (RFR), an electronic portal, to alert the..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
Mobile phone health effect theory discounted
Scientists probing concerns about health risks posed by mobile phones and their base stations have discounted a theory suggesting low power radiowaves interact with living cells. If the research had found evidence that the signal interacted with..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
Investigation report into Fat Duck illnesses
The in-depth investigation by the Health Protection Agency into what caused 529 people to report being ill after eating at the Fat Duck restaurant in Bray, Berkshire, during January and February this year has concluded that norovirus was behind the..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
Low ranking for environmental risk in survey
Environmental risk ranked lower as a concern in Europe than any other region despite the introduction of the EU Environmental Liability Directive (ELD), according to Aon’s Global Risk Management Survey 2009. At the recent Federation of..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
New food safety website from US government
The US government has unveiled a new consumer website at www.foodsafety.gov. The site is designed to help consumers and families get all the latest information on food safety and food recalls in one convenient place.
The new site will feature..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
Nearly half of EU work absences are from MSDs
A new study has found that musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) account for nearly half (49%) of all absences from work and 60% of permanent work incapacity in the European Union. These and other socio-economic consequences of suffering from poor health..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
Damages for slipped disc from car crash
A police officer who suffered a slipped disc after being involved in a car crash while on duty has received £18,000 in compensation. He was driving an unmarked police car when it was hit from behind. His car was caught in a traffic jam when it..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
E Coli outbreak on petting farm
At the time of writing, the Health Protection Agency (HPA) has reported that the total number of cases of E Coli O157 linked to Godstone Farm in Surrey is 86.
The Agency’s Surrey and Sussex Health Protection Unit (HPU) is working with local..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
D&O market sees greater competition in short term
Competition has heated up in the Directors & Officers (D&O) insurance market but it could be short lived, according to Jardine Lloyd Thompson Limited (JLT). The broker advised companies that if they are offered a discount on their D&O..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
Streamlined compensation system for RTAs
Around 400,000 people injured in road accidents could benefit from much speedier compensation under a more streamlined compensation system, recently announced by the Ministry of Justice. The new arrangements follow a campaign by the Association of..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
Best/worst pieces of state civil justice legislation
The American Tort Reform Association (ATRA) has announced awards for what it deems both the best and worst pieces of civil justice legislation considered by state lawmakers across the country this year.
“Just as they have done in Congress,..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
Study into exposure to lead in the environment
There is growing evidence that exposure to lead in the environment is associated with cardiovascular disease, including increased risk of hypertension, but many of the studies have looked at lead concentrations in blood, not bone lead, a better..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
ECJ rules against ‘mass claims clause’ in Austria
The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that the Austrian legal expenses insurers’ practice of selecting the lawyers to represent their clients in collective redress proceedings is an inadmissible limitation of the rights of the insured...
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
Turkish workers develop silicosis from sandblasting denim
Migrant workers formerly employed in Turkey’s textile and garment industry may have contracted silicosis from sandblasting denim in factories that lacked basic protective measures, the Global Union for the textile and clothing industry has..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
Pop star wins plastic surgery case
Pop star Pete Burns has won an out-of-court settlement of £450,000 following plastic surgery that went wrong. The former frontman of 1980s band Dead or Alive has had several cosmetic procedures on his face and sued a Harley Street surgeon.
Mr..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
Yet more toxic sofas
The toxic sofa saga continues with news that more manufacturers have used DMF in their furniture production, according to tests carried out on behalf of law firm Russell Jones & Walker.
In the last two years an estimated 5,000 complaints have..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
Research into granite counter tops and radiation
Research into the implications of granite counter top construction and use has found that workers fabricating granite are exposed to significant radiation doses. Granite is a term for natural stones such as pegmatites, migmatites, gneisses, and..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
Health care reform analysis released
The American Association for Justice (AAJ) has blasted the “rhetoric and mistruths” in the public debate on health care reform and made clear to Congress that a final Bill “must decrease the number of medical errors, not bargain..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
Concern over banning of legal service adverts in hospitals
Welsh health minister Edwina Hart’s directive to ban all legal service advertising in hospitals could cost the Welsh NHS trusts £1m in compensation through breached contracts, according to the Claims Standards Council (CSC).
The council..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
HSE hit by asbestos advert complaint
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has expressed its deep disappointment at a decision by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) to uphold a complaint about its ‘Asbestos: The hidden killer’ awareness campaign.
The ASA has upheld..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
Link between pesticides and Parkinson’s disease
A new study has revealed that gardeners and farmers who use pesticides as part of their job are up to three times more likely than others to develop Parkinson’s disease. The study, “Occupation and Risk of Parkinsonism — A..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
EU survey on work-related accidents and health problems
Initial findings from the recently published 2007 European Union (EU) Labour Force Survey reveal that in the EU, 8.6% of workers had experienced a work-related health problem in the 12 months up to the survey. The figures are broadly the same for..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
Berrymans hires new catastrophic injury partner
Berrymans Lace Mawer (BLM) has strengthened its catastrophic injury team with the appointment of new partner Joe Wakeford.
Mr Wakeford has joined the firm’s Southampton office from Beachcroft where he was a consultant in the healthcare team,..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
APIL pulls out of fixed costs talks
The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) has pulled out of talks with the Civil Justice Council (CJC) on fixed costs and fast tracking. In a statement, APIL said that following discussion with the executive committee, “APIL has..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
MRSA and C. difficile latest figures
The latest figures on MRSA bloodstream infections and C. difficile infections show a continued decline in cases. The figures come from the Health Protection Agency (HPA) which has published its latest quarterly figures on MRSA (meticillin-resistant..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
International Casualty
By Tony Hardy, Lockton
The insurance market is calmer and less volatile than in recent months. The established markets are fighting to retain market share, and the new markets are struggling to make budget. This has had the effect of preventing the..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009
Construction
By Michael Lewis, Lockton
Accident and Investigations
Construction site deaths in the UK fell 26 percent in 2008/2009 according to the HSE, but there were still 53 fatalities in the sector. A separate HSE study showed non-fatal construction..
Online Published Date:
16 October 2009
Appeared in issue:
230 - 01 October 2009