Maria Penny (Associate & Personal Injury Solicitor)
I read yesterday that a company has been fined after one of their workers suffered acid burns to his face and neck as he tried to unblock a sink. The full story can be read here.
Every employer is under a duty to ensure that risks are assessed and that adequate training is provided to employees. Clearly in this case the necessary risk assessment was not conducted to ensure Mr Kelly was carrying out his duties in a reasonably safe manner and furthermore the clothing he was provided with was completely inadequate considering he was working with sulphuric acid.
Whilst we all have a duty to take reasonable steps to ensure we do not unduly expose ourselves to risk it is difficult to see what Mr Kelly could have done in this case, he used the paper overalls provided and presumably carried out the task in the usual way. What is clear is that his employer did not ensure that he was carrying out the task safely by providing adequate training and failed to protect him, where possible, by providing suitable overalls.
We all know that accidents can and do happen, and whilst I am not advocating a ‘nanny state’ simple steps must be taken to protect us all where possible at work. Had the company concerned carried out a risk assessment, provided training and suitable clothing the accident may have been prevented or at the very least Mr Kelly’s injuries may have been less severe. Such steps do not cost very much to carry out and certainly would amount to much less than the fine levied by the HSE and any additional costs which may follow from a civil claim for personal injury.
Martin Coyne - Managing Partner
By Martin Coyne – Managing Partner
In January 2010 the Report by Sir Rupert Jackson was published recommending far reaching reforms of the civil justice system. An election was looming, and this topic was not contained within either the long or short manifesto of the Conservative Party. The generally feeling was that the Jackson Report would be confined to the long grass and would not be on the top of the political agenda.
Astonishingly, in the early summer of 2010, the Prime Minister had a pop at the none existent “compensation culture” and wheeled out Lord Young to investigate reform of health and safety legislation and this alleged culture. The Young Report was published in November 2010 almost contemporaneously with the Civil Justice Green Paper which echoes many of the suggested reforms of Lord Justice Jackson.
At a private dinner during the MASS conference in Manchester, the Access to Justice Action Group (AJAG) was formed. Andrew Dismore was hired. Andrew was an MP for 13 years and a solicitor and partner for over 20 years at Thompson’s and Russell Jones and Walker. He was available, and together with Tom Lavelle, set about with myself and principally Darren Werth and others in establishing AJAG. Read more »
Richard Biggs - Associate & Personal Injury Solicitor
Victoria Pendleton, Olympic cycling champion recently criticised the state of Britain’s roads – saying potholes are putting cyclists in danger. Please see the full article here.
We wholeheartedly endorse Victoria Pendleton’s backing to the campaign encouraging local authorities to repair pothole-littered streets. Unfortunately there seems to be precious little money for councils to do anything at the moment and maintaining streets may well be low down on their list of priorities.
One function of personal injury litigation often ignored by the media is its role in ensuring that certain levels of safety standards are met. A potential defendant, be it an employer or public body, must comply with their legal responsibilities or face being held accountable in a court of law. Read more »
James Reilly, Associate at Ralli, gives his views on Naomi Campbell’s recent case.
James Reilly, Partner & Personal Injury Solicitor
The most obvious comment is that the Mirror Group lost the original action.
“We are disappointed to have lost the breach of confidence claim on a story which everyone agrees was in the public interest and which we have fought to defend for 10 years.”
They blatantly feel aggrieved that they lost as they have been fighting for such a long time and have clearly deployed significant resources to do so. As the Defendant took the case to a trial and lost, they are obliged to pay a success fee of 100%. The Defendant believed they would win the original action and I would wager the fact that they could still print articles regarding a high profile case was more than a passing consideration in their motivation to defend.
The conduct of the litigation was in the Defendant’s own hands; it is a hugely profitable organisation and could have settled this matter at any stage. Read more »
James Reilly - Personal Injury Partner
The Mirror recently published an article regarding personal injury including an old quote by David Cameron. The full article can be found here: http://tinyurl.com/4c9b7un
However he regretfully still wasted public money in commissioning the heavily discredited Lord Young of “you’ve never had it so good” infamy to report on health and safety and the ‘compensation culture’.
The reports only accurate statement was that the ‘compensation culture’ in terms of personal injury claims is a myth based around media hype generated by the insurance industry and TV adverts. It is not a crime for any private industry to advertise. The increased advertising is merely a sign of a competitive market as the number of claims has diminished. Read more »
Maria Penny - Personal Injury Solicitor
In repsonse to the Law Society Gazette article Personal injury solicitors rebuff ABI claims over ‘excessive’ costs
I am astounded at the comments made by the ABI.
The entire system of handling low value RTA cases has been overhauled so as to implement a fixed costs system which will not take account of “claims management companies… racking up high legal costs”. If a claim is worth less than £10,000 to include general damages (the compensation for the actual injury) and special damages (other financial losses excluding vehicle damage) and settles without the need for litigation base profit costs have been limited to a nominal figure agreed following consultation between Claimant representatives and the insurance industry.
We have all had to change our system of work to accommodate the new process to include in most cases new IT systems and staff recruitment/retraining. The cost of the same has not been recoverable and has had to be swallowed by individual firms at a time when some practitioners are struggling to survive. I would not be surprised if the cost of updating their own systems and processes is a factor which has driven up premiums. Read more »
Richard Biggs (Personal Injury Solicitor)
This unusual story raises several important legal issues.
Firstly, it is likely that Sainsburys will find themselves liable to customers for injuries they sustained due to the machine’s explosion. Sainsbury’s, as owner/occupiers of the supermarket, have a duty to all customers to take reasonable steps to ensure they are reasonably safe when shopping. Read more »
Tags: hampshire coffee accident, personal injury solicitor, richard biggs, sainsburys accident, sainsburys coffee explosion, sainsburys coffee injury, sainsburys hampshire accident, supermarket accident compensation, supermarket coffee injury claim, supermarket injury claim
Personal Injury | Ralli | 
September 14, 2010 4:32 pm | 
Comments (6)
Richard Biggs (Personal Injury Solicitor)
Details of this interesting case broke in the media yesterday.
It concerned a group action by many hundreds of injured customers who managed to prove, on the ‘balance of probabilities’, that horrific symptoms they were suffering, which included breathing difficulties, were in fact being caused by their sofas. Read more »
personalinjury.co.uk launch iPhone app
Accident victims can get free on the spot information about possible compensation claims using a dedicated iPhone app launched by specialist website www.personalinjury.co.uk.
Using the latest technology, advice on compensation claims can be downloaded at the touch of a button to give instant guidance. The app gives jargon-free information on the claims process using frequently asked questions. Read more »
Maria Penny (Personal Injury Solicitor)
The Jackson review and report is not, as yet, law but the report highlights several areas likely to be subjected to reform.
The main areas of concern for a Claimant are the suggested ban on recoverability of success fees from the opponent. Read more »
Subscribe