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EL ‘trigger’ litigation – a victory for commonsense?
It took 41 days, an army of solicitors and barristers, and a 109-page judgment but finally the High Court made its decision in the employers’ liability (EL) policy triggers test litigation.
The judgment, in the words of one law firm,..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
Deep laceration injury compensation
A man has received £5,500 compensation after suffered a deep laceration injury to his little finger causing nerve and tendon damage. He was working as a machinist/turner when a piece sharp metal turning became caught in his machine. As he..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
Industrial deafness claim
A man has won £7,000 in compensation after an industrial deafness claim. He worked as a toughening operative and later as an inspector between 1971 and 1984. He was exposed to loud noise from toughening machines, furnaces, fans and compressed..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
£75,000 in compensation for mesothelioma
A former mechanic has received £75,000 in compensation after he was diagnosed with mesothelioma. He was exposed to asbestos when servicing large trailers and in particular, checking the brakes and changing the brake pads where required. To..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
£276,000 in damages for mesothelioma death
The widow of a man who died from mesothelioma has received £276,000 in damages. He was exposed to asbestos while working for a food manufacturer. He didn’t work directly with asbestos but was nevertheless exposed to this dangerous dust..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
Motorcyclist hit by car
A motorcyclist has received £18,500 in compensation after he was hit by a car when it drove directly into his path. The car hit the right hand side of his motorcycle and as a result, he was thrown from his bike and into the road. He was..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
£100,000 damages for deep laceration
A man who suffered a deep laceration to his wrist and bone in his hand whilst working in a plastics factory has received over £100,000 in respect of his injury, treatment costs and lost earnings. He was using a machine cutting unused plastic..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
Vibration White Finger damages
A man has been awarded compensation of £5,000 in an out of court settlement with his employer after suffering permanent injury to his hands from using vibratory tools. He worked for the council using compressors and jackhammers for most of his..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome settlement
A man has received £10,000 in an out of court settlement after his hands were left permanently damaged from using vibrating tools at work. The man was left with Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS), or Vibration White Finger, after using a..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
£140,000 in mesothelioma compensation
A man diagnosed with the mesothelioma has received £140,000 in compensation. He was exposed to asbestos dust while working as a lift engineer between 1962 and 1968. He installed lifts in hospitals, factories and commercial premises and worked..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
Back injury award
A harbour master who had to take early retirement after seriously injuring his back through slipping on dangerous stairs has received £6,000 in compensation. He fell on stairs that were slimy from decades of exposure to the sea. The stairs did..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
Injured rambler wins compensation
A rambler who was injured while crossing a bridge on a public footpath has won £3,000 in compensation from the local council. The 63-year-old woman was crossing the bridge in a nature reserve in East Sussex when part of the wooden planking..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
£175,000 award over stress
A social worker has been awarded £175,000 in compensation on account of his stressful working conditions. He worked as a manager of a team caring for people with physical disabilities. The team was understaffed and he regularly worked 12-hour..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
£20,000 in compensation for asbestosis
A man has been awarded £20,000 in compensation after being diagnosed with asbestosis. He was awarded compensation two weeks before a court was due to hear his case. He worked in a packing department and packed white asbestos. He was exposed to..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
Knee injury compensation
An HGV driver has been awarded £8,700 compensation following injuries sustained in an accident at work. He tripped over raised concrete and suffered an injury to his right knee. He was referred for physiotherapy and then for surgery. He..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
Damages for fall at work
A labourer has been awarded £15,700 for injuries to his foot he sustained in a fall at work. He was descending from a fork lift truck when his right foot stepped on to a bolt protruding from the floor. The bolt had previously held some..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
Unfair dismissal and disability discrimination award
A woman has won £8,448 for unfair dismissal and disability discrimination against her former employer that went into administration. She was suspended without pay when her employer claimed she had failed to comply with procedures on..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
£410,125 in damages over RTA
A man who was badly injured in a road traffic accident has won £410,125 in damages. The man was left permanently disabled after his campervan was hit by a trailer which had come free from a tractor. He sued the employer of the tractor driver...
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
Compensation for fall at supermarket
A man who worked as a Large Goods Vehicle driver for a supermarket has been awarded £52,816 for a shoulder injury he sustained in a fall at a store. He was unloading goods from the trailer of the vehicle onto the scissor lift when he slipped..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
Finger injury award
A man working as an operative has been awarded £20,000 after his hand was injured by a drilling machine. The man was cleaning and relining sections of water mains when the incident occurred. He was disconnecting and connecting the rods on the..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
Equestrian centre not liable under Animals Act
The claimant fell from a horse supplied by the defendant during a hack escorted by one of its representative. The claimant fell, suffering injury when the horse gave two or three large bucks as it was beginning to canter. When the claimant was..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
MoD pays £186,896 in compensation
A lesbian soldier who sued the Ministry of Defence (MoD) for sex discrimination and sexual harassment has been awarded £186,896 in compensation. She alleged that a sergeant had harassed her for sex but she rejected his advances. He then..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
£8.26mn in damages for brain damage at birth
A boy who suffered brain damage at birth after an epidural was wrongly administered has been awarded more than £8.26mn in damages. He will get a lump sum of £2.23mn, annual payments of £42,000 to the age of 19 and £105,000 each..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
£400,000 for sacked whistleblower
A police officer has won £400,000 in damages after he was unfairly dismissed as a whistleblower. The officer had accused a fellow officer of having a piece of human skull which had allegedly been removed from an accident site. The amount..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
Transient physical symptoms not injury
Transient physical symptoms caused by stress or anxiety did not constitute either psychiatric or physical injury so as to amount to material damage for the purposes of the tort of misfeasance in public office.
The Court of Appeal so held,..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
“As soon as practicable” notification
Where a professional indemnity insurance policy required the insured to notify to the insurers of any potential claims against the insured “as soon as practicable” the insured could satisfy the policy requirement if he made an attempted..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
Reasonably foreseeable risk of impact
As a result of a skiing accident the claimant sustained injuries which rendered him tetraplegic. He alleged that the ski instructor to whom he was assigned for the duration of his holiday should not have permitted or encouraged him to ski in the..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
TUC wants prosecutions over cancer-causing chemical exposure
The Trades Union Congress (TUC) has said that employers who risk the future health of their employees by exposing them to cancer-causing chemicals at work should be prosecuted under UK safety laws.
The TUC has launched a campaign to raise awareness..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
Solvent link to leukaemia
An Italian study has found a link between the industrial solvents benzene, xylene, and toluene, and chronic lymphatic leukaemia. The research was led by scientists from the Unit of Environmental and Occupational Epidemiology, Center for Study and..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
Disabled face hostility in workplace
Disabled people and those with long term ill-health are facing higher levels of hostile and negative treatment in the workplace according to new research published by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.
The British Workplace Behaviour Survey..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
No indication of suffering from stress
The claimant had been employed by a Police Authority since 1979. Since 1985 he had been the estate manager of the Authority’s headquarters. In September 2004 he suffered a nervous breakdown and did not return to work. He alleged that he..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
Which? concern over nanomaterials in cosmetics
A report by consumer association Which? has found that nanomaterials are being used in a wide range of cosmetic products despite what it calls “unresolved issues” surrounding their safety.
Leading brands are developing materials in nano..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
EFSA consults on nanomaterials
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) has launched a public consultation on its draft scientific opinion in relation to nanoscience and nanotechnologies and food and feed safety. The draft opinion focuses on engineered nanomaterials that could..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
Mobile phones causing allergic skin disorder
The British Association of Dermatologists (BAD) has warned doctors to be alert to a new allergic skin disorder caused by mobile phones. A new phenomenon called “mobile phone dermatitis” has been discovered, according to the Association,..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
Scots more likely to whistle blow
Scots say they are more likely to blow the whistle and expose unsafe working, according to YouGov research commissioned by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH). Scottish employees tend to see workplace health and safety as..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
US “Ten Worst Toys” list published
The annual US “Ten Worst Toys” list has been released by WATCH (World Against Toys Causing Harm), an organisation made up of members of the American Association for Justice (AAJ).
According to the AAJ, a large majority of products - 85%..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
Defective foreign products study in the US
A study by American University’s Washington College of Law has found that “foreign manufacturers easily evade responsibility and accountability for producing hazardous products which can cost consumers and other third parties billions..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
Call for urgent regulatory action on nanomaterials
The Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution has called for urgent regulatory action on the different nano-scale materials widely used in industry. Although the materials have so far shown no evidence of harm to people or the environment, the..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
TUC response to Black review
The TUC has welcomed the Government’s response to the Dame Carol Black review but has said it could have gone much further. TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: “This goes some way towards addressing the health problems faced by..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
Government responds to Black Review
The Government has responded to Dame Carol Black’s review “Working for a Healthier Tomorrow” which was published in March 2008, by announcing a package of initiatives.
According to the Government, the focal point of the package is..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
Injury at work investigations decline
New research published by trade union, Unite, has shown that investigation levels into major injuries to workers have declined by 43% between 2001/2 and 2006/7. In 2006/7, the last year when statistics are available, only 10.5% of major injuries..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
IOSH condemns health and safety “mudslinging”
The new president-elect of the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) John Holden has said he is tired of the “continual mudslinging” being aimed at the profession.
He told the IOSH annual dinner: “The trouble is..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
APIL attacks Law Commission proposal
The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) has said that a Law Commission proposal, which will make proving negligence against public bodies such the police or local authorities much tougher, will seriously undermine injured peoples’..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
New PI products from DUAL
DUAL Corporate Risks has launched a new range of professional indemnity (PI) products. DUAL, an underwriting agency specialising in liability insurance for mid-market companies, said it has revised its wordings “to better reflect the..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
New PI manager for Brit Insurance
Brit Insurance has appointed Steven Pollock to the newly-created role of UK Portfolio Manager-Professional Indemnity. He takes up his new position immediately and will report to UK Underwriting Director Ray Cox. Mr Pollock joins Brit Insurance from..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
Law Society acts over PII renewals
The Law Society has launched the first phase of an action plan which aims to assist solicitors in relation to their professional indemnity insurance (PII) renewals. The plan was formulated at a special meeting of the indemnity insurance sub-group..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
Premier Medical Group takes over MRS
Premier Medical Group (PMG), a UK provider of medical reports, is to take over the operations of E-Reporting Group subsidiaries Medical Report Services (MRS), a medico-legal reporting operation, and Remedy Matters, a rehabilitation and triage..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
Healthcare workers exposure to bloodborne viruses
Healthcare workers are still being put at risk of bloodborne viruses through occupational exposure and a significant number of these incidents are preventable, according to a report released by the Health Protection Agency.
“Eye of the..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
NHS Trust sued over lost sperm samples
Six men are suing an NHS Trust for damages after their frozen sperm samples were destroyed. The men, all of whom have cancer, had had their sperm frozen over fears that their treatment might make them infertile. One of the men has since died. The..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
Loss adjuster promotes value of liability audits
Liability audits can reduce time and money spent on claims, according to Cunningham Lindsey UK. Any organisation involved in claims handling can improve customer service, drive down lifecycle times and reduce claims spend by identifying problems..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
New claims management regulatory documents
The Ministry of Justice’s Claims Management Regulation Monitoring and Compliance Unit has produced a number of new and revised documents. The new documents include an Accountant’s Report form, and a Reporting Accountant’s..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
UK suffering from whiplash epidemic says ABI
Nearly 1,200 people claim for whiplash following a motor collision, every day, according to new research published by the ABI (Association of British Insurers). This is the first time that the scale and cost of the UK’s whiplash epidemic has..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
Law firm appoints professional negligence partner
Berrymans Lace Mawer has appointed Sarah Elderton to its professional negligence practice in Manchester. She joined the firm as a partner from Robin Simon. She specialises in professional negligence litigation and acts for a wide range of..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
Cost of litigation is the No.1 concern for UK PLCs
Research into the main concerns of FTSE350 in-house counsel has found that the cost of litigation is the No.1 concern. The research was carried out by Ipsos MORI, on behalf of Addleshaw Goddard, with individuals who were required to have..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
Annual increases in tribunal awards
The Government has announced the annual increases in tribunal awards. The Employment Rights (Increase of Limits) Order 2008 comes into force on 1st February 2009. The Order increases the limits applying to certain awards of employment tribunals,..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
Catlin recruits product recall underwriters
Catlin Group Limited has recruited two experienced product recall insurance underwriters. Steven Ward will join Catlin Australia in Sydney early in 2009 as a dedicated product recall class underwriter. In addition, Ian Bailey has joined..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
Monthly Quota
“The uncertainty created by Bolton, coupled with the size of the problem confronting the insolvents, set the stage for this legal ‘bonfire of the (EL) wordings’.” - Peter Taylor, a partner at Lovells, on the Employer’s..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
What is stopping Personal Injury Mediation?
15 January 2009, 4.30pm - 6.00pm The CII Insurance Hall, 20 Aldermanbury, London, EC2V 7HY
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
Personal Injury Mediation
Thursday 15 January 2009, 1.30pm - 3.30pm Bond Pearce, New London House, 6 London Street, London EC3R 7LP
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
Clinical negligence teams move to Beachcroft
Beachcroft is to take over Eversheds’ clinical negligence teams in Leeds and Newcastle under a deal for an undisclosed sum. Beachcroft, which announced the acquisition of clinical negligence partners, David Weatherburn, Paul Taylor and Neil..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
Publicly boasting of fraud – not too bright
A law firm recently put out a press release complaining about the lengths that some insurance companies will go to track down claimants who they suspect may be inventing or exaggerating their symptoms.
Apparently, those rotten insurance companies..
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008
Improving Access to Justice
Contingency Fees - A Study of their operation in the United States of America
Online Published Date:
10 December 2008
Appeared in issue:
220 - 01 December 2008