Accident Claims & Personal Injury Scotland Blog

Construction sites are being put under the spotlight as part of an intensive inspection initiative aimed at reducing death, injury and ill health.

During February and March, inspectors from the Health & Safety Executive (HSE) will be visiting sites where refurbishment or repair works are being carried out. This is part of a national drive to improve standards in one of the Britain's most dangerous industries.

Their primary focus will be high-risk activity such as working at height and also 'good order' such as ensuring sites are clean and tidy with clear access routes.

The purpose of the initiative is to remind those working in construction that poor standards are unacceptable, and could result in enforcement action.

During 2010/11, 50 workers were killed while working in construction and 2298 major injuries were reported. Falls from height remains one of the most common causes of fatalities and major injuries in the construction sector in Great Britain, with more than five incidents recorded every day.

Philip White, HSE Chief Inspector of Construction, said:

"The refurbishment sector continues to be the most risky for construction workers, all too often straightforward practical precautions are not considered and workers are put at risk. In many cases simple changes to working practices can make all the difference.”

The High Court has awarded a former miner around £70,000 in compensation after he developed mesotheliomia caused by exposure to asbestos at work, reports the BBC.

The 92-year-old had worked as a miner in Nottinghamshire for over 20 years, and the Department of Energy and Climate Change has admitted that he was exposed to asbestos during his time there.

As a result of his illness, Dennis Ball had to move out of his home last year, and now lives in a nursing home.

According to the BBC, Mr Ball's lawyer said that the court decision "paves the way for further elderly sufferers to receive settlements which reflect the pain and distress the disease causes, regardless of their age."

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:

• Verify the designations of notified bodies to ensure that they are designated only for the assessment of medical devices and technologies that correspond to their proven expertise and competence.
• Ensure that all notified bodies in the context of the conformity assessment make full use of their powers given to them under the current legislation which including the powers to conduct unannounced inspections.
• Reinforce market surveillance by national authorities, in particular spot checks in respect of certain types of devices.
• Improve the functioning of the vigilance system for medical devices for example by giving systematic access for notified bodies to reports of adverse events; encouraging healthcare professionals and empowering patients to report adverse events; enhanced coordination in analysing reported incidents in order to pool expertise and speed up necessary corrective actions.
• Support the development of tools ensuring the traceability of medical devices as well as their long-term monitoring in terms of safety and performance, such as Unique Device Identification systems and implant registers.

Railcare Ltd has been fined £133,000 (reduced from £200,000 on account of their guilty plea) at Glasgow Sheriff Court for a breach of Section 2 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, following the death of one of their employees in December 2008. John Smith, a 53-year old employee of the company, died as a result of head injuries sustained whilst working at an axle lathe that had an unguarded chuck.

The company pled guilty to:

• failing to carry out a suitable and sufficient risk assessment of the risks to employees when cleaning axles on a lathe;
• failing to implement a safe system of work in that the chuck of the lathe was unguarded when employees were working close to it; and
• failing to provide adequate information, instruction, training and supervision on the use of the lathe.

Following the case, Elaine Taylor, Head of the COPFS Health and Safety Division, said:

“This case yet again demonstrates the crucial importance of employers carrying out suitable and sufficient assessment of risks to their employees in the course of their daily work, taking the steps necessary to identify such risks, and thereafter ensuring that safe systems of work are in place and dangerous machinery parts are properly guarded. Railcare failed in each of these respects in relation to the axle lathe.”

"As a result, Mr Smith lost his life in an entirely avoidable incident.”

Provisional figures released by the Department for Transport confirm that 1,690 motorcyclists were killed or seriously injured in July to September 2011.

This means 18 motorcyclists were killed or seriously injured every day between July to September 2011 - an increase of 2% compared to the same period in 2010 when 1,652 were killed or seriously injured.

While all casualties among car users have reduced by 7%, the figures for motorcyclists have remained stagnant. Around 5,630 motorcyclists were injured between July to September 2011, compared to 5,666 in the same period of the previous year (a 0.64% decrease).

The Institute of Advanced Motoring director of policy and research, Neil Greig, said: “The increase in motorcycling casualties is worrying especially while casualties among car drivers continue to fall. The government needs to ensure that education campaigns targeting motorcycling continue and funding is made available for local initiatives. The police and councils must continue to work together to improve high risk routes, encourage post test training and target bad riding behaviour through innovative enforcement techniques.”

The Government has announced an overhaul of victims’ services that will see up to £50 million generated from offenders to help create a speedier, more supportive system for victims of serious crime.

Under the new proposals set out by the Justice Secretary, Kenneth Clarke, criminals will be forced to fund victims' support services and those with unspent convictions could be banned from claiming compensation.

The proposals have now been put out to public consultation, which will run until 22nd April 2012. The proposed reforms include:

• Ending payments for minor injuries such as sprained ankles, cuts and grazes and speeding up payments for serious injuries;
• Greater funding for victims' support services, better targeted at those most in need;
• Stopping criminal injuries compensation payments to people with unspent convictions - totalling at least £75million over the past decade;
• Banning criminal injuries compensation payments to people who have been resident in the UK for less than 6 months (except for UK and EU/EEA nationals);
• A new statutory Victims' Code including the right for victims to make a personal statement and to request a meeting with their offender;
• A simpler route of complaint and redress for victims.

Justice Secretary, Kenneth Clarke, said:

'Victims in this country must be able to rely on a justice system which punishes offenders properly and ensures that victims who suffer serious consequences are properly helped and supported.

'Cash compensation should be better focused on blameless victims of the most serious crimes and more support for victims should be funded by offenders rather than taxpayers.”

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.”

A 21-year-old woman from Fife has been awarded just under £62,000 in compensation for a medical error that led to the loss of her two front teeth as a child, reports STV.

The woman had attended the Victoria Hospital in Kirkcaldy when she was six for a routine operation to remove her tonsils. When she woke up after the surgery, she found her two front adult teeth had been knocked out. Attempts were made to re-root the teeth, but these were ultimately unsuccessful.

Since then, she has undergone a number of different treatments, and faces the prospect of more treatment in the future. She also claims she was bullied as a child because of her teeth.

The health authority had admitted liability for the incident, but disputed the £100,000 damages claim. According to STV, a civil jury at the Court of Session awarded her £38,000 for her pain and suffering, £8500 for services and £15,300 for future dental costs.

The Department of Health has published the terms of reference for two reviews established following the recent concerns about PIP implants.

The first review, led by Lord Howe, the Minister for Quality, will establish what happened in the UK when the MHRA and Department of Health learnt about the situation with PiP implants in France. Lord Howe will submit a report to the Health Secretary by the end of March.

The second review will be led by Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, the NHS Medical Director, and will look at whether the cosmetic surgery industry needs to be more effectively regulated. This review will take around a year to complete given the complexities of the issues. He will aim to give a report to the Health Secretary by March 2013.

In particular, it will look at:

• whether the regulation of the products used in cosmetic interventions is appropriate;
• how best to assure patients and consumers that the people who carry out procedures have the skills to do so;
• how to ensure that the organisations which deliver such procedures have the clinical governance systems to assure the care and welfare of people who use their services;
• how to ensure that people considering such interventions are given the information, advice and time for reflection to make an informed choice;
• whether there should be a statutory requirement for such organisations to offer redress in the event of harm, and if so how this could be funded;
• what improvements are needed in systems for reporting patient outcomes, including adverse events, for central analysis and surveillance.

The review will consider issues of governance, data quality, record keeping and surveillance, as well as ensuring that sufficient information is provided to secure patients’ informed consent. It will include consideration of the feasibility of an outcomes-based register of commonly implanted devices.

The Office of Rail Regulation (ORR) has announced that it has begun criminal proceedings against Network Rail for a breach of health and safety law which caused a train to derail near Grayrigg in 2007.

On 23rd February 2007, the 17.15 Virgin Trains service from London Euston to Glasgow Central derailed on the West Coast Mainline near Grayrigg in Cumbria. There were 109 people on board. One passenger, Mrs Margaret Masson, was killed and a further 86 people were injured, 28 seriously.

Ian Prosser, Director of Railway Safety at ORR, said:

“ORR has conducted a thorough investigation into whether criminal proceedings should be brought in relation to the train derailment near Grayrigg on 23rd February 2007, which caused the death of Mrs Masson and injured 86 people. Following the coroner’s inquest into the death of Mrs Masson, I have concluded that there is enough evidence, and that it is in the public interest, to bring criminal proceedings against Network Rail for a serious breach of health and safety law which led to the train derailment.

“The railway today is as safe as it has ever been but there can be no room for complacency. The entire rail industry must continue to strive for improvements to ensure that public safety is never put at risk.” 

Network Rail is facing a charge under section 3(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. This results from the company’s failure to provide and implement suitable and sufficient standards, procedures, guidance, training, tools and resources for the inspection and maintenance of fixed stretcher-bar points.

An experienced technician at a plastic products factory in Cornwall was killed after he was crushed between the plates on a machine used to make plastic lids.

The Health and Safety Executive prosecuted Curver UK Ltd (formerly Contico Europe Ltd) for failing to provide adequate safety measures.

Truro Crown Court heard that in preparing the machinery Mr O'Dwyer needed to access the plastic mouldings machine's plates. This was normally done via a guard which, when opened, prevented the machine from operating. However in this case one of the conveyors on the machine had been removed and Mr O'Dwyer was able to access the machine through an unguarded gap. Whilst he was inside the press started to operate and the plates closed crushing him at a pressure of over 1,000 tonnes.

Curver UK Ltd pleaded guilty to committing a breach of Regulation 11 (1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations under Section 33(1) (c) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and was fined £160,000 and ordered to pay £32,000 costs.

A 15-year-old boy has been awarded £6.5 million to meet the costs of his care requirements after a hospital error led to him suffering severe brain damage shortly after birth, reports the BBC.

Ewan Waker was sent home from hospital by midwives at Harold Wood Hospital in Havering, despite blood tests revealing that he had very low blood sugar levels. The severity of his condition was only picked up when a community midwife visited him and his mother at home.

The error led to Ewan suffering severe brain damage and needing specialist care for the rest of his life.

Fifteen people lost their lives while at work in Scotland last year and 2,645 suffered a major injury, according to the latest statistics.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has issued a fresh warning about workplace safety after the number of deaths rose across Great Britain in 2010/11. It is urging employers to make the safety of workers their top priority for 2012, and is reminding them of their legal responsibility to ensure lives are not put at risk.

A total of 171 people were killed at work in Great Britain last year, compared to 147 deaths during 2009/10. More than 24,700 workers also suffered a major injury in 2010/11.

The 15 deaths and 2,645 major injuries across Scotland compare to 22 deaths and 2,655 major injuries in 2009/10. Another 7,598 workers suffered an injury or ill health which required them to take at least three days off work in 2010/11, compared to 8,137 in 2009/10.

The latest provisional figures show that, on average, six in every million workers were killed while at work between April 2010 and March 2011.

High-risk industries include construction which had 50 deaths last year, agriculture with 34 deaths, and waste and recycling with nine deaths, making up more than half of all workplace deaths in Great Britain during 2010/11.

Dr Paul Stollard, HSE Director in Scotland, said:

"These statistics highlight why we need good health and safety in British workplaces. Employers should spend their time tackling the real dangers that workers face rather than worrying about trivial risks or pointless paperwork.”

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.

Patricia O'Donnell, who sustained a soft tissue injury to her ankle that left her unable to work for three weeks, was awarded £7,500 at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

The wet floor had been caused by a leak coming from an upstairs flat. The leak had been happening for a number of months, and bank staff had tried to contain it by placing a bucket undeneath the drips.

The Bank tried to argue that if Ms O'Donnell had paid more attention she would have noticed the floor was wet, and therefore she was partly to blame for her own injury. However, this was rejected by the Sheriff, who commented that the Bank had become “overly complacent” with regard to the presence of the leak.

A recent resolution passed by the European Parliament has called for new technologies to be covered by current EU health and safety rules.

The resolution notes that every year, 168,000 EU citizens die from work-related accidents or diseases and seven million are injured in accidents.

The potential risks of new technologies and harmful substances must be assessed, and legislation drafted to ensure that nanomaterials are covered by the current European Occupational Health and Safety regulation.

Furthermore, individuals who legitimately warn of risks at work should be protected from any pressure to remain silent, say MEPs, who are calling on the European Commission to propose a directive to protect these workers.

MEPs also would like to see more steps taken to tackle the problem of work-related stress, which is a major obstacle to productivity in Europe. They have called on the Commission to take measures to ensure that the EU Framework agreement on work-related stress of 8th October 2004 is duly implemented in every Member State. They are also asking employees' and employers' organisations to raise awareness among employers, workers and their representatives of the need to reduce work-related stress.

Members of the public and young people in particular are being urged to take a zero tolerance approach to drink-driving this festive season to help prevent devastating Christmas tragedies.

A survey of young drivers, released by Brake and Direct Line, finds a shocking three in ten (29%) are willing to take the deadly gamble of driving after drinking alcohol. An even bigger proportion – 53%, up from 45% four years ago – risk driving drunk the day after a heavy night, suggesting widespread complacency about how long alcohol stays in your system.

In 2010, one in seven road deaths involved drink drivers. Around 250 road deaths and 1,230 road casualties occurred when someone was over the drink drive limit. Many more drink-drive crashes are caused by drivers who only have small amounts of alcohol in their blood. A further estimated 65 road deaths per year are caused by drivers who are under the drink-drive limit, but who have a significant amount of alcohol in their blood. Research shows that even very small amounts of alcohol significantly increase reaction times and therefore the risk of crashing.

Julie Townsend, Brake campaigns director, said:

“Christmas is a time for family and friends to get together and celebrate. But for some of the families Brake supports, it’s a sad time when they remember loved ones who have been killed in crashes caused by drink-drivers – in many cases young, inexperienced drivers who didn’t think through the consequences. Their deaths were preventable, and we all – young and old – have a responsibility to do what we can to prevent further drink drive deaths and injuries.”

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

A failed prosecution following the fatal fire at the Rosepark nursing home in 2004 highlighted a problem with the law: a partnership could not be prosecuted once it had been dissolved. The Commission's report addresses this problem and recommends that it should remain competent to prosecute a partnership during a period of five years following its dissolution.

The Report also includes a draft Bill which would give effect to its recommendations.

Patrick Layden QC, who was the lead Commissioner on this project, said:

"The Commission's Report recommends a simple targeted solution to the problem thrown up by the Rosepark fire. While we would very much prefer to deal with this matter as part of the comprehensive reform of partnership law which we (and the English Law Commission) have recommended, these limited provisions will address the dissolution issue pending general reform."

The report and draft Bill can be downloaded here.

A National Enquiry has found that only half (48%) of high risk surgical patients received good care in UK hospitals; this is a group of patients who are already known to be at an increased risk of death and post-operative complications.

'Knowing the Risk', the latest National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death (NCEPOD) report, shows that 79% of the patients who died came from the high risk group.

Data collected at the time of surgery found that 21% of patients undergoing elective surgery had not been seen in an assessment clinic before their operation and in only 8% of patients defined as ‘high risk’ was risk of death stated on the patient’s consent form.

Following surgery only 22% of the high risk group were cared for in a critical care unit, with the remaining 78% of patients returning to the ward.

NCEPOD Chairman, Mr Bertie Leigh, said that this report provided a disturbing explanation for the apparently poor results achieved by the NHS:

“People die because we do not give them the level of care they are entitled to expect,” he said.

“Today’s patients are more challenging than those the NHS dealt with even ten years ago. The difficulty is that the NHS does not seem to be rising to the challenge. Our report suggests that the NHS has not caught up, and that the distance between what we are achieving and what we aspire to achieve is showing no signs of getting narrower. Poor care is also leading to longer hospital stays, putting further strain on already stretched hospital budgets.”

As the festive party season approaches the road safety charity Brake has welcomed a police crackdown on drink and drug drivers. 

Ellen Booth, Brake senior campaigns officer, said:

“We fully support this vital crackdown on deadly and selfish drink and drug drivers. Every Christmas, and indeed every week of the year, many families are confronted by the death of a loved one, or a terrible injury, caused by drivers wilfully taking these appalling risks. We urge drivers to imagine the consequences for a second and realise it’s never worth chancing your life and other people’s.”

The breath-testing campaign carried out by police over the summer indicated a rise in drink driving, with more drivers found over the limit compared to last year.

In 2010, provisional figures suggest there were 250 deaths, 1,230 serious injuries and 9,700 total casualties directly related to drink and drug driving collisions in Great Britain.

Brake is calling on drivers to pledge to not drink a drop of alcohol or take any amount of drugs before getting behind the wheel, to help prevent needless and devastating casualties.

The Scottish Government has published terms of reference for an inquiry to be conducted by the Chief Inspector of Fire and Rescue Authorities. The independent inquiry will report to Ministers by 31st March 2012.

The inquiry was announced by the First Minister following the publication of a Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) into the death of Allison Hume. Ms Hume died after falling down a disused mineshaft in Ayrshire.

The FAI, led by Sheriff Leslie, found that her death may have been avoided had a number of reasonable precautions been taken.

This Inquiry should review the manner in which Strathclyde Fire and Rescue is now carrying out its functions in relation to the issues raised in Sheriff Leslie's report. It should review whether appropriate steps have been taken, or require to be taken, by Strathclyde Fire and Rescue and across the Scottish fire and rescue services to address the findings of the report, thereby minimising the likelihood of this kind of tragedy happening again.

In particular, the Inquiry will report on:

• whether the policies, procedures and practice now in place in Strathclyde Fire and Rescue adequately address the issues raised in the Sheriff's report;
• whether the conclusions of the Sheriff's report gives rise to concerns affecting wider emergency operational response arrangements in Strathclyde Fire and Rescue and if so the steps taken by it to address these;
• whether the Sheriff's findings have implications for the Scottish fire and rescue service as a whole; and an assessment of whether lessons have been learned; and
• any other recommendations as to action which should be taken by the current eight Fire and Rescue Services and the proposed new single fire and rescue service.