Accident Claims & Personal Injury Lawyers Scotland Blog

Proposed new changes to existing EU legislation, backed by the European Parliament's Public Health Committee, would trigger an automatic EU safety evaluation in the event of a safety alert about a medicinal product in any EU Member State.

A consultation has recently been launched by the UK Government on tightening the law on the criminal liability of partnerships. The consultation is also seeking views on reforming the law on unincorporated associations.

The Scottish Government has welcomed publication of an inquiry by HM Chief Inspector of Fire and Rescue Authorities into the unsuccessful attempt to rescue Alison Hume from a disused mineshaft in 2008.

Health and safety experts have called on landowners to take more care and responsibility when looking after trees on their land.

In light of recent fatalities and injuries sustained from falling trees and branches, members of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) are reminding landowners and managers of the potential risks that failing to look after trees on their land can pose to public safety.

Alan Plom, from the IOSH Rural Industries Group, said: “Every year across the UK members of the public are injured, or even worse killed when a tree falls on them.

“Landowners and managers need to step up to the mark and be aware of the risks that unsafe trees on their land pose to the general public – they could  be seriously hurt should a tree fall.”

There have been some high-profile incidents and widely reported civil cases relating to poor tree safety and management. Liability concerns amongst landowners have led to a defensive approach and often unnecessary felling of trees.

Mr Plom added: “Tree safety isn’t a laughing matter, it’s a must. Landowners need to balance the risks and benefits that having trees on their land can bring, and adopt a sensible, proportionate approach to tree safety.

“When assessing whether trees are safe it’s important that risks are considered without adopting an overly defensive approach that can have a harmful effect on tree stocks or individual trees.”

A demolition firm has been sentenced after knocking down a building in the Lake District containing hundreds of asbestos ceiling tiles, putting the lives of workers and local residents at risk.

IBT Contracting Ltd was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after carrying out the work at a former photography factory, despite not having a licence to remove asbestos.

Kendal Magistrates' Court heard IBT had been given a survey by the owners of the site ahead of the work taking place, which stated that the building contained 166 square metres of asbestos ceiling tiles.

But the company failed to arrange for a licensed contractor to remove the tiles safely, and instead released deadly asbestos fibres into the air during the building's demolition.

IBT Contracting pleaded guilty to three breaches of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006, for removing asbestos without a licence, exposing workers to asbestos fibres, and allowing the fibres to spread to neighbouring areas.

The company was fined £10,800 and ordered to pay £3,638.95 in prosecution costs. 

Asbestos was used in ceiling tiles up until the 1980s to help insulate buildings. The tiles only become dangerous if they are broken up and asbestos fibres are released into the air.

Fibres that are breathed in can become lodged in the lungs or digestive tract, and may lead to lung cancer or other diseases if large numbers of fibres are inhaled. However, symptoms may not appear for several decades.

Around 4,000 people die every year as a result of breathing in asbestos fibres, making it the biggest single cause of work-related deaths in the UK.

An Ammanford-based knitwear company and a cladding firm site foreman have been fined for putting workers and visitors at risk of exposure to asbestos.

Corgi Hosiery Ltd contracted Dragon Cladding Ltd to remove an asbestos cement sheet roof at their New Road branch in Ammanford, Carmarthenshire

Having received a complaint about the work, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) visited the site and found roofers had removed the asbestos sheets from the roof, but they had also removed plaster-like material from the underside of the sheets and structural steelwork.

HSE inspectors stopped the work immediately and tests confirmed the plaster-like material contained asbestos.

On further investigation it was found that Dragon Cladding Ltd's site foreman had instructed two workers to use a hammer and chisel to remove the plaster-like material from the building steelwork.

Merthyr Tydfil Crown Court heard no effort was made to establish what this material was prior to work commencing, and the debris was swept into domestic black bin bags and placed in open skips.

Throughout the duration of the work, Corgi Hosiery employees had continuous access to the main building, with one worker based in the area throughout the works. Visitors to the premises were not excluded from the works area and were also potentially exposed to asbestos.

HSE inspector Anne Marie Orrells said:

"Nowadays, the risks of exposure to asbestos are well known so this serious incident was inexcusable.

"Had Mr Phillips adequately assessed the risks prior to the start of the work, it would have been apparent that the work should have been carried out by an asbestos-licensed contractor, under controlled conditions.

"Corgi Hosiery Limited should have ensured measures were taken to exclude employees and visitors from the area while the roof work was being carried out overhead. As a result of these failings both workers and visitors to their premises were exposed to potentially deadly asbestos-containing materials."

When asbestos fibres are inhaled they can cause serious diseases which are responsible for around 4,000 deaths a year.

Tighter crowd controls must be introduced at many music and sports events in the UK to safeguard spectator safety, the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) has warned.

Formal safety training for stewards, the retention of all-seater stadiums and better management of crowd flows are among measures urged by IOSH after its poll of sports and music fans revealed many had been hurt at an event or involved in a crowd surge.

Most big gigs or matches are well-organised with health and safety the number one priority, said IOSH, but there are still events being held across the UK every year which fall well below the necessary safety standards.

Nearly one in three people feared for their safety at a major sports or music event, according to the poll of 3,000 fans. Of those who felt unsafe, half blamed overcrowding, while many cited drug or alcohol misuse (18%), fighting (13%) and rowdiness of crowds (16%).

More than one in ten said they had been injured or hurt at an event, and a third had been caught up in a crowd surge – where people push forward en masse.

The Institution wants to see music event organisers provide competent on-site training for all stewards employed, and better management of crowds once inside a venue.

IOSH’s call to action comes in the wake of a number of disasters over the past decade in which people have been crushed to death in crowds. IOSH’s Sports Grounds and Events Group also reiterated its call to maintain all-seater stadiums in Premier League and Championship football stadia – a call backed by the Hillsborough Family Support Group.

European Health and Consumer Policy Commissioner John Dalli has called on Member States for immediate action to be taken at national level to ensure full and stringent implementation of the current legislation on medical devices.

Following the discovery of the use of non medical grade silicone in breast implants manufactured by the Poly Implant Prothèse (PIP) Company in France, the priority now is for the Member States and the Commission to act together to tighten controls, provide a better guarantee of the safety of medical devices and to restore patient confidence in the law that protects them.

Commissioner Dalli has written to Member States asking for their co-operation within the existing legal framework to tighten controls, in order to provide a better guarantee of the safety of medical technology, especially high risk devices. The actions proposed include the following:

Lanarkshire Health Board has been fined £24,000 at Hamilton Sheriff Court for a breach of Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, which led to the serious illness of a hospital patient.

Over the course of November 2008, the 64-year old female patient at Hartwoodhill Hospital became gravely unwell.

She was admitted to Wishaw General Hospital, where it was discovered that she was suffering from pneumonia and severe sepsis and was diagnosed as having Legionnaires’ Disease. She was treated with intravenous antibiotics, but required to undergo a tracheotomy on 1st December 2008. She returned to Hartwoodhill Hospital on 23rd December.

An investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) identified that legionella bacteria was present in three sources in the water system at the hospital. Two of those sources, including the shower used by the patient on a daily basis, matched the strain of legionella bacteria that had caused her illness.

The HSE investigation also established that a suitable and sufficient assessment of the risks from the potential presence of legionella bacteria to persons using the facilities had not been carried out, nor was there a safe scheme in place to manage and control the risks of exposure to that form of bacteria in the water system at Hartwoodhill Hospital.

Following the case, Elaine Taylor, Head of the COPFS Health and Safety Division, said: “Legionnaires’ disease is a very dangerous illness and those who fail to manage their systems adequately and expose persons to risk of contracting it, whether private companies or bodies such as Health Boards, can expect to be prosecuted.”

The Royal Bank of Scotland has been found liable for an injury sustained by a woman who slipped on a wet floor in one of its branches in Edinburgh, reports the BBC.

The Scottish Law Commission has published its Report on the Criminal Liability of Partnerships.

A report published by the Gas Safety Trust has revealed a dramatic rise in the number of deaths resulting from carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning in the UK since 2010.

A dressage rider with a promising career ahead of him is suing for damages after his legs were badly damaged in a car crash, reports the Telegraph.

‘Supervision of minors and extra vigilance can save lives and prevent injuries this August’, according to InjuriesBoard.ie and Children’s University Hospital Temple Street (CUH). Injuries Board data shows that accidents to minors (in a public place) are five times more likely to occur in August than in December, making it the most dangerous month of the year.

A woman who was injured after diving into a friend's swimming pool in 2006 has lost her £6million damages claim, reports the BBC.

The Damages (Scotland) Act 2011 is now in force. It is intended to overhaul the system of obtaining damages for wrongful death - where a person suffers injury or disease as a result of the wrongful actions or omissions of another.

Castle Point Borough Council has been fined following an incident where a seven-year old girl was trapped by a water outlet at a swimming pool.

Recent research from Ireland has shown that children aged 3 - 7 years are over three times more likely to have an accident that results in a personal injury claim than infants aged 3 or less. The study, carried out by InjuriesBoard.ie, also found that childhood accidents were more than twice as likely to occur in April and August, than in December, making these the most dangerous and safest months respectively.