Pages On: Workplace Injuries

Significant Drop in Safety Visits Spark Construction Fears

Posted: 25 April 2016

Posted in: Workplace Injuries

There has been a 50% drop in the number of safety visits to construction sites in Scotland in the last year, leading to concerns about the number of workers who could suffer serious injuries. In the UK alone, construction site injuries are one of the most common workplace accidents, with thousands of employees seriously injured as a result. However, according to figures, the UK government have drastically cut the number of inspections in Scotland and other areas of the country. Scotland had a cut of almost 50% with England having…

Carer Wins Landmark Case After Slipping on Ice Getting to Work

Posted: 7 March 2016

Posted in: Arm Injury, Workplace Injuries, Workplace Slip

A landmark case has seen the Supreme Court upheld a personal injury claim after a care worker was injured when she slipped on ice on her way to the home of a terminally ill woman. The ruling could have a severe impact on employers, as the case involved a woman obtaining an injury when on her way to work. Miss Kennedy seriously injured her wrist after a slip on icy conditions, with the Supreme Court ruling that her company, Cordia, was duty-bound to provide equipment to staff if they could…

Star Wars Production Firm Prosecuted After Harrison Ford Breaks Leg

Posted: 22 February 2016

Posted in: Leg Injuries, Workplace Injuries

A film production-company and a subsidiary of Disney has been charged with a number of health and safety breaches which led to Harrison Ford breaking his leg when filming Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Representatives from Foodles Production (UK) will appear in court in May to face four charges after the workplace incident which saw the actor, Harrison Ford, airlifted to hospital following a broken leg. The actor, who was 71-years-old at the time, was struck by a heavy hydraulic door when filming and required surgery and rehabilitation. The incident…

Construction Site Injury Claim Lawyer Glasgow

Posted in: Employer Negligence, Workplace Injuries

Construction sites can be extremely hazardous work environments. The Health and Safety Executive reported that last year there were 69,000 cases of construction site work related illness and 65,000 construction workers suffered a non-fatal injury. Building, construction and demolition sites are often very busy and can be extremely noisy due to the sounds of heavy machinery, drilling and hammering. Due to the dangers associated with this industry, employers are expected to meet a high standard of care for their employees, and there are strict regulations in place. If an employer…

Asbestos and Industrial Diseases: Making a Claim

Posted: 25 January 2016

Posted in: Asbestos Exposure, Industrial Deafness and Disease, Mesothelioma

Thousands of people are injured each year in the workplace with many more suffering illnesses later in life as a result of exposure to dangerous chemicals and substances in their place of work. Asbestos related illnesses and industrial illnesses can take between 10-40 years to develop but can have a lasting effect on your quality of life. Your employer has a duty of care to protect you and your fellow employees, however, if they fail to do this then you could be entitled to take legal action. Exposure to asbestos…

Office Injury Claims Glasgow

Posted in: Workplace Injuries

On the surface an office may appear to be a relatively low risk environment when compared to some other workplaces, like construction sites. However, each year a significant number of claims are sought by people who have been injured in the office. No matter where you work your employer has a duty to provide you with a safe working environment and your employer should act to help prevent accidents occurring in the workplace. If you have suffered an accident in your office that wasn’t your fault, contact our specialist personal…

Glasgow Slip, Trip and Fall Injury Claims

Posted in: Public Place Accidents, Workplace Injuries, Workplace Slip

Slips, trips and falls can happen anywhere and are among the most common types of claims in the UK. Thankfully, the injuries received from a fall are usually minimal. However, the worst cases can involve severe injuries such as back injuries, hip injuries, broken bones, paralysis or brain damage. If you suffered a slip, trip and fall as a result of the negligence of your employer, a supermarket or local council, you might be able to make a claim against them for damages. Contact our solicitors today on 01418 465 957 to…

Oil Rig Injury Claims Glasgow

Posted in: Workplace Injuries

Oil and gas is one of the most dangerous industries in the world. High profile accidents involving helicopter crashes, oil rig collapses, fires and explosions have highlighted the extreme risk that oil and gas workers are exposed to. The industry’s safety practices have come under an enormous amount of scrutiny, and a raft of safety regulations have been introduced over time as a result. Unfortunately, oil rig injuries still occur. Oil rig workers are of course vulnerable to the accidents that could occur in any workplace such as slips, trips…

Industrial Injury Claims Glasgow

Posted in: Workplace Injuries

Unfortunately, many employees suffer injuries as a result of workplace accidents. Any workplace holds the potential for a slip or fall, but employees working in areas such as steel mills, oil rigs, construction sites, power plants and factories are at much higher risk of being involved in a serious accident as a result of the dangerous nature of their jobs. Injuries which occur in these work environments are referred to as an ‘industrial injury’. Industrial accident claims can be made in the event of the loss of a limb from…

Close to £300,000 Paid out to Teachers in Injury Compensation

Posted: 11 January 2016

Posted in: School Accidents, Workplace Injuries, Workplace Slip

Around £290,000 was given to teachers who had been injured in the workplace in the last year, according to a new study carried out by the-the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS). According to the figures collected by the organisation, one teacher alone was offered £150,000 after slipping on ice outside a school. Slips, trips, and falls were the most common type of injury with the vast majority a result of dangerous, uneven or slippery surfaces. Other common injuries were due to objects falling onto teachers, with one being injured by…

The Most Common Office Injuries: Reasons to be Careful in Your Workplace

Posted: 6 January 2016

Posted in: Workplace Injuries, Workplace Slip

A number of personal injury claims following accidents in the workplace come from high-risk areas of employment, such as the construction industry or agriculture. However, while many do not believe that accidents are common in an office, there are many hazards in an office that can result in serious injury. Despite many initiatives to try and reduce the number of workplace accidents, there is still a substantial risk to employees who work in an office environment. Common Accidents in Office Environments When it comes to accidents in the office workspace,…

Dangers of the Construction Industry: The Most Common Accidents

Posted: 21 December 2015

Posted in: Falls from Heights, Workplace Injuries, Workplace Slip

Despite continued efforts to improve health and safety in the workplace, the vast majority of accidents still occur in workplaces or on the roads. Sadly, the construction industry remains one of the most dangerous workplaces, with some injuries being exceptionally common. In the last year, there were 35 fatal injuries to workers in construction, 22% lower than the five-year average. However, workplace accidents on construction sites are still exceptionally common. We take a look at some of the most common injuries and what you can do if you are involved…

Sole Trader Fined Following Life-Changing Injuries to Worker

Posted: 30 November 2015

Posted in: Employer Negligence, Falls from Heights, Workplace Injuries

A self-employed roofer has been sentenced for failing to employ proper health and safety guidelines that led to a worker falling from the roof of a house and suffering severe injuries. As a result of the injuries, Brian Honeyman will reside in a care home for the rest of his life after the 50-year-old suffered serious head and spinal injuries. Mr Honeyman had been helping Adam Menzies, a self-employed roofer from Falkirk, to help with the job in 2012 before he fell off the roof, suffering severe injuries. A subsequent…

New Construction Guide in Place to Prevent Workplace Accidents

Posted: 23 November 2015

Posted in: Workplace Injuries

A new guide has been published by the construction industry in an attempt to reduce the number of workplace accidents and improve health and safety in the sector. Despite the efforts of the Health and Safety Executive and other bodies, construction remains one of the most common professional sectors to have occupational deaths that occur as a result of construction accidents and illnesses. During the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) construction inspection officers issues more than 200 warnings to construction sites and firms. Hopefully, the new rules will be abided…

Glasgow Company Fined After Hand Injury

Posted: 17 November 2015

Posted in: Faulty Work Equipment, Finger Injuries, Hand Injuries, Workplace Injuries

A packaging and printing company based in Glasgow has been fined £40,000 after a worker severely injured his hand when using machinery. The long-term employee suffered horrific injuries after his right hand got pulled into an embossing and foiling machine he was working on. The Glasgow Sheriff Court heard that the worker had been attempting to prevent the machine from jamming, but could not prevent his hand from being drawn into the machine. As a result of the injury, the worker suffered severe lacerations to his hand and was taken…

Health and Safety Executive Reveal Workplace Accident Figures

Posted: 21 July 2015

Posted in: Workplace Injuries

The Health and Safety Executive have released figures that indicate that the number of accidents in the workplace the UK have risen in the last year.  Provisional annual data released by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) reveals 142 workers were fatally injured at work between April 2014 and March 2015 in comparison to the all-time low of 136 seen in the previous year.  Despite the small rise, the figures confirm that the UK remains one of the safest places to work. Although the figures indicate a rise, there is…

Asbestos in School Must be Eradicated

Posted: 13 July 2015

Posted in: Asbestos Exposure, Industrial Deafness and Disease, Mesothelioma, School Accidents

A senior Union member has called for the government to eradicate asbestos from schools once and for all following a report into the conditions of education centres. According to a report, asbestos remains present in 86% of schools leading to “unnecessary deaths”.  The National Union of Teachers has accused the Government of failing “to address the legacy of asbestos in schools” and said it is a “scandal” that the Government have failed to address the serious issue that affects teachers and young children.  Asbestos Illnesses Statistics from the Health and…

Workplace Accidents: What Must Employers Do

Posted: 22 June 2015

Posted in: Employer Negligence, Workplace Injuries

Thousands of people lose their life or are seriously injured every year across the UK due to accidents in the workplace. The number of injuries affects workers, employers and the British economy with many having to take time off of work as a result of their injuries.  With many in Glasgow employed in some of the most dangerous areas of work, such as manufacturing or construction, it is important to make sure you are protected when in the workplace. Whether you work at height or in an office, your employer…

Glasgow Window Cleaner Without Safety Equipment Sparks Concern

Posted: 1 June 2015

Posted in: Falls from Heights, Workplace Injuries

A video of a Glasgow window cleaner working on the fourth floor of a tenement building without any safety equipment has sparked fears over people working a height. The video, which was captured by an onlooker and published by The Telegraph sparked fears over employees working at height. The video shows a window cleaner with no harness or ladder precariously standing on a ledge to clean windows.  HSE Concern The Health and Safety Executive stated that they could not comment as it was unknown if the man was connected to…

Scottish Fire Service In Fatal Safety Failing

Posted: 30 March 2015

Posted in: Workplace Injuries, Wrongful & Accidental Death

The Scottish Fire and Rescue (SFRS) service has been fined £54,000 for failing to ensure proper health and safety procedures were in place, resulting in the death of a firefighter. The SFRS admitted to breaches in their health and safety procedure which resulted in the workplace death of Ewan Williamson in 2009. He is the only firefighter to die fighting a fire in the history of Lothian and Borders Fire Brigade.  “Co-operation of the Highest Degree.”  The SFRS had pled guilty to a charge that was brought forward from the…

Asbestos Victim's Family Take Up Legal Fight Against Factory

Posted: 24 March 2015

Posted in: Asbestos Exposure, Industrial Deafness and Disease, Mesothelioma, Wrongful & Accidental Death

The family of a woman who died from cancer caused by workplace asbestos are trying to contact former workers at the same factory to take up legal action. Frances Hamilton died last year after being diagnosed with mesothelioma, a form of cancer caused by consumption or exposure to asbestos fibres and chemicals. The 75-year-old had worked at the Templeton carpet factory in Glasgow from the late 50s for around 15 years, and her family believe that it was at this factory that she was exposed to the poisonous fibres that…

Lack of Safety Procedures Responsible For Construction Death

Posted: 10 March 2015

Posted in: Workplace Injuries, Wrongful & Accidental Death

A sheriff has ruled that safety failings when reversing a roller on a construction site was responsible for the death of a man following a fatal accident in the workplace in Perthshire.  David McClorey died from blunt force trauma during a reverse operation after he became trapped between a roller and a digger. Mr McClorey had been working on a site to raise electricity pylons.  Despite receiving CPR and paramedics arriving, Mr McClorey died at the scene. Fatal Accident Inquiry  A fatal accident inquiry into the death of the 31-year-old…

Construction Deaths in the UK Expected to Rise For 2014

Posted: 27 January 2015

Posted in: Employer Negligence, Workplace Injuries, Wrongful & Accidental Death

A poll from construction union Ucatt has revealed that more than half of construction workers in the UK are concerned that there has been no improvement in health and safety, The damning results come as workers believe that there has been no effort in the last year to improve on health and safety issues resulting in more accidents in the workplace. Furthermore the poll found that 21% of workers believed their boss did not take health and safety seriously.  Rise in Deaths The damning poll from the union comes prior…

Thousands of NHS Staff Injured in Work

Posted: 19 January 2015

Posted in: Criminal Injury and Assault, Workplace Injuries, Workplace Slip

Just under 10,00 NHS staff workers were injured at work in the Glasgow area between 2011-13 according to figures uncovered recently, representing a third of all NHS injuries throughout Scotland. Between 2011-2013, there were over 35,000 injuries across Scotland varying from slips, trips and falls, violent assaults, staff being knocked out, punctures on dirty needles and infections. Despite the alarming figures NHS Scotland insists that the numbers represent a decline on the number of injuries seen in the past. The figures were uncovered by the Liberal Democrats and showed a…

Grieving Family Call for Awareness of Construction Health & Safety Laws

Posted: 16 December 2014

Posted in: Employer Negligence, Workplace Injuries, Wrongful & Accidental Death

The family of a Sheffield worker have called for more awareness regarding health and safety laws in the workplace in the UK to prevent others losing their lives.  Michael Dwyer, was killed when a steel casting fell on him which resulted in him being crushed against a shipping container. An inquiry into his death found that he had not been instructed properly about what he was doing that day and was not properly prepared to undertake the task. The family of Mr Dwyer has called for a raised awareness of…

New Bill Aims to Punish Negligent Work Practices Resulting in Fatalities

Posted: 1 December 2014

Posted in: Employer Negligence, Workplace Injuries, Wrongful & Accidental Death

A new Bill proposed by the Scottish Government could see negligent bosses face life in prison following a fatal accident in work, under new plans to tackle health and safety malpractice. Comes after evidence The bill has been backed by by the UK’s biggest trade union Unite following evidence from the HSE which showed that 40% of construction sites fell below health and safety standards with mismanagement and failure to plan and comply with health and safety regulations being one of the major problems in the Scottish workplace. The move…

How Safe Are Employment Standards in The UK's Construction Sector

Posted: 13 November 2014

Posted in: Asbestos Exposure, Employer Negligence, Falls from Heights, Workplace Injuries

Around 40% of construction sites fail to meet health and safety standards according to the national regulator for workplace health and safety, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Almost half of the close to 1,750 sites were found to have unacceptable conditions with some workers partaking in dangerous working practices. The report comes weeks after analysis from the HSE found that there were just under 2000 accidents and injuries in construction across the UK last year, with manufacturing having 3159 reported. Enforcement Action The latest findings from the HSE report found…

Statistics Reveal Workers Still at Risk in the UK

Posted: 4 November 2014

Posted in: Employer Negligence, Workplace Injuries

Recent statistics from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) show that whilst Britain remains one of the safest places to work in Europe, there is still a worrying percentage of those injured or made ill through their employment, with construction, manufacturing and agriculture topping the list of jobs in which staff are most likely to suffer a serious injury. Injury Statistics Figures from the HSE found that in 2013/14: 1.2 million people suffered from an illness due to work related issuesThere were 133 fatalities in the workplace, down from 2012/13…

Your Employer is Under a Legal Duty To Ensure Your Saftey

Posted: 29 October 2014

Posted in: Workplace Injuries

Employers have a duty to protect the health, safety and welfare of their employees and also anyone else who could other people who might be affected by their business. Employers are obliged to do whatever is reasonably practicable to ensure this. Employers must asses risks in the work place and take steps to mitigate them, this includes:  making employees and others aware of potential risksProviding adequate trainingProviding safety equipmentMaking sure the working environment is kept safe and free of hazards If your employer fails to meet these duties and you are injured…

Ayrshire Recycling Firm in Court Over Employee Losing Arm

Posted: 8 October 2014

Posted in: Arm Injury, Faulty Work Equipment, Workplace Injuries

A waste recycling firm in Ayrshire was in court today (6 October) after safety failings resulted in a worker losing his arm.  Steven Dawson was an agency worker who was working as a line supervisor for Lowmac Alloys Ltd, in Irvine when the workplace accident occurred. His left arm was severed at the shoulder whilst he was clearing a conveyor belt blockage on 8 February 2011. The case was heard at Kilmarnock Sheriff Court, where it was described that Mr Dawson was alerted to a problem with the conveyor belt…

Three Quarters of Workers too Intimidated to Report a Health and Safety Issue

Posted: 10 September 2014

Posted in: Employer Negligence, Workplace Injuries

Protecting, the risk assessment company, have published research that shows that 74% of UK workers fear reporting poor health and safety in their work place. These employees fear that complaining about health and safety in their work place may single them out as being a problem employee and cost them their job or hinder promotion plans. This concern for job security and proseperity means that many dangerous health and safety violations in factories, construction sites, shops and offices go unreported for too long, if at all.   The survey by Protecting…

Mesothelioma: Not a Problem of the Past

Posted: 2 September 2014

Posted in: Asbestos Exposure, Industrial Deafness and Disease, Mesothelioma

James Cant, head of British Lung Foundation Scotland has made clear that the effects of asbestos are still very much a part of Scotland and should be afforded greater attention.  Mr Cant outlined that while the shipyards, coal-mines and steel works have long gone, the legacy of industrial disease lives on. At the height of Scotland’s industrial period, thousands of young workers were exposed to the dangerous substance asbestos without and protective equipment.  In previous years very little was known about the disease and we are only now beginning to…

Edinburgh Company Fined £12,000 After Employee is Crushed by Lorry

Posted: 25 August 2014

Posted in: Employer Negligence, Head and Brain Injuries, Workplace Injuries

Macfarlan Smith Limited, a pharmaceutical company based in Edinburgh has pled guilty to failing to ensure the health and safety of an employee in relation to an incident where a reversing lorry crushed the employee’s head and chest. Alexander Mackenzie, was emploed at Macfarlan Smith Limited and was working at the company’s Wheatfield Road premises in Edinburgh when the incident occurred. Mr MacKenzie attempted to signal a reversing lorry into a loading bay however the driver did not see him, as he was watching another employee who was also signalling…

Company Fined £240,000 After Worker is Crushed to Death By Grain Bin

Posted: 15 August 2014

Posted in: Employer Negligence, Head and Brain Injuries, Workplace Injuries, Wrongful & Accidental Death

An animal feed company has been fined £240,000 for safety failings after a lorry driver died of fatal injuries after being crushed by a two-tonne, fully-loaded grain bin falling from a fork-lift truck. David Leslie was employed by a feed services firm and was picking up a load from East Coast Viners Grain in Stonehaven, when the workplace accident occurred in March last year.  Mr Leslie sadly passed away after suffering crush injuries to his head, neck and chest. The accident was investigated by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE)…

Mesothelioma Compensation to be Reviewed Again After "maladroit" Consultation by Government

Posted: 6 August 2014

Posted in: Asbestos Exposure, Industrial Deafness and Disease, Mesothelioma

The Justice Committee has condemned the Government’s review of mesothelioma claims and called on the Government to carry out the consultation again. The consultation carried out under section 48 of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act 2012 (LASPO) was not prepared in a thorough and even-handed manner according to the Justice Committee, and thus they have called on the Government to undertake a fresh consultation. Furthermore the Justice Committee have commented on other matters to do with the mesothelioma claims process; The Committee urges expedition of the…

Lawyers Take Mesothelioma Case To High Court

Posted: 30 July 2014

Posted in: Asbestos Exposure, Employer Negligence, Mesothelioma

A group of lawyers have begun a High Court challenge this week in response to the government’s decision to make mesothelioma sufferers pay from their awarded damages, legal and insurance costs. Previously, an exemption had preserved claimants’ rights to reclaim after-event premiums and success fees from the losing party in their case, however the government decided to remove this exemption. The enforcement of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act in April 2013 confirmed the abolition of recoverability for other injury claims.  The exemption was created subsequent to…

Academics Criticise HSE Safeguards against toxic workplace dust

Posted: 24 July 2014

Posted in: Employer Negligence, Industrial Deafness and Disease

A failure by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to introduce adequate safeguards against toxic workplace dust mean workers are being put at risk of contracting lung cancer or other respiratory diseases say experts. The Scottish university academics have the HSE regarding its recommended safe level of exposure to the substance crystalline silica, a powder created when working with bricks, concrete and plaster. Silica is second biggest cause of occupational cancer deaths after asbestos and exposure to the substance can cause a range of other illnesses including silicosis, tuberculosis, kidney…

New Figures Show Workplace Fatalities at All Time Low

Posted: 7 July 2014

Posted in: Workplace Injuries

Figures released on 2 July reveal that the number of workers killed in Britain in workplace related incidents last year has fallen to the lowest annual recorded rate. The provisional data which was released by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) indicated that 133 workers were fatally injured between April 2013 and March 2014 – 17 fewer fatalities than the year before. Health and Safety Executive Chair, Judith Hackitt, said: “The release of the annual statistics always leads to mixed emotions. Sadness for the loss of 133 lives, and sympathy…

Employee Paralysed After Suffering Fall at Work

Posted: 12 June 2014

Posted in: Employer Negligence, Falls from Heights, Spine & Back Injuries, Workplace Injuries

Inex Works Ltd, a landscaping and gritting company, has pled guilty to breaching the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and fined £13,500 for failing to provide suitable safety protection for their workers. In 2010, one of Inex Works Ltd’s workers, Mr Shields, suffered permanent damage to his spine having climbed on top of a gritter and subsequently fallen 3 metres. He was attempting to help colleagues clear compressed grit salt from the interior of a machine used to treat icy roads. Since the fall, he has been paralysed from the…

Glasgow Company Sentenced After Employee’s Fall

Posted: 6 June 2014

Posted in: Arm Injury, Employer Negligence, Falls from Heights, Leg Injuries, Workplace Injuries

A firm of contractors in Glasgow was fined at Glasgow Sheriff Court earlier this week (4 June 2014) in relation to Health and Safety failings that caused an employee to fall five metres through a roof light. David Jack, aged 53 at the time of the workplace accident, was sub-contracted to work in his capacity as a painter and decorator when he fell through a fibreglass roof light. He suffered a cut leg requiring stitches, a blunt force abdominal injury and his wrist was sprained. These injuries resulted in an…

Health & Safety Breaches Result in Employee's Paralysis

Posted: 23 May 2014

Posted in: Employer Negligence, Falls from Heights, Spine & Back Injuries, Workplace Injuries

A construction firm has been fined and ordered to pay costs after breaches of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 resulted in a worker being left paralysed from the waist down. The employee of Habitat Construction LLP was working as a part of a property refurbishing team when he fell eight metres from an unguarded window space into a basement. He landed on a concrete floor, causing severe damage to his spinal cord. After a hearing that resulted in the firm being fined £110,000 and ordered to…

Dangerous Skip Hijinks Caught on Video Result in Fine for Company

Posted: 16 May 2014

Posted in: Employer Negligence, Falls from Heights, Workplace Injuries

A skip hire firm owner has been fined £5,000 and ordered to pay £1,039 costs after he put an employee’s life in danger by lifting him in a digger bucket. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted him after a member of the public videoed the incident (available to view on YouTube here) that involved an employee trying to remove a small piece of damaged plywood above the main shutter doors. The owner had received a previous warning from HSE only two months before the incident after the same employee…

Company Held Accountable for Employees' Permanent Nerve Damage

Posted: 9 May 2014

Posted in: Hand Injuries, Industrial Deafness and Disease, Workplace Injuries

A firm has been fined for failing to protect its workers from exposure to high levels of hand arm vibration (HAV) resulting in permanent vibration-related conditions and health issues. Babcock Flagship Ltd hadn’t properly assessed the vibration risks faced by staff carrying out ground maintenance at a naval base in Cornwall and failed to implement controls to limit exposure to machinery such as hedge cutters and strimmers. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that employees could regularly work eight hours a day using the same tools, which aggravated their…

Debunking The UK's "Compensation Culture" Myth

Posted: 23 April 2014

Posted in: Personal Injury, Workplace Injuries

A report was published earlier this month seeking to debunk the idea that Britain has a growing compensation culture for injuries suffered at work. The Compensation Myth is a joint report published by the Trades Union Congress (TUC) and Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) that challenges the contention that personal injury claims are stifling innovation and growth. The report examines ten ‘compensation myths’, some of which are detailed below, questioning criticisms that personal injury claims for work related injuries or illnesses create problems for society and UK business. ‘Compensation…

How can employers reduce occupational road risk?

Posted: 28 March 2014

Posted in: Car Accidents, Employer Negligence, Road Traffic Accidents

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) has called on employers to consider how they could make a positive difference to the safety of their employees who drive for work. It is estimated that up to a third of road traffic accidents involve someone who is using the road for work purposes. In 2012, this means that up to 7,679 people across Great Britain could have been killed or seriously injured because of an “at work” road accident. RoSPA is encouraging employers to think about the impact that…

Gov plans support for asbestos industrial disease victims

Posted: 14 March 2014

Posted in: Asbestos Exposure, Industrial Deafness and Disease, Mesothelioma

Sufferers of a deadly industrial disease in England and Wales will be the focus of work to improve the compensation claims process for them, the Government has announced. The Government has responded to its consultation on measures to help victims of mesothelioma – a condition which often develops decades after the sufferer has been exposed to asbestos but usually kills within months of being diagnosed. The response follows the consultation last year on improving the compensation claims process for mesothelioma victims. Justice Minister, Lord Faulks said the Ministry of Justice…

Salvage firm fined after mechanic seriously crushed

Posted: 7 March 2014

Posted in: Employer Negligence, Faulty Work Equipment, Hip Injuries, Spine & Back Injuries, Workplace Injuries

A vehicle salvage firm in Stalybridge has been fined over multiple safety failings after a car weighing more than half a tonne fell from a forklift truck, crushing a young mechanic underneath. The 22-year-old suffered severe injuries including broken bones in his back and ribs, a fractured pelvis and a partially collapsed lung. The firm was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after an investigation found the forklift truck was not safe to use, and the employee had been allowed to climb under the car while it was…

Occupational Hazards Resulting in Industrial Disease

Posted in: Industrial Deafness and Disease, Workplace Injuries

Industrial diseases are illnesses that you contract as a result of long-term exposure to an occupational hazard in the workplace. The key to a successful industrial disease claim is the fact that your employer has been negligent in leaving you exposed to something that has destroyed your health and quality of life. Often through a lack of PPE or training. Examples of industrial disease include but are not restricted too: Asbestosis Mesothelioma Secondary exposure to asbestos Pleural Plaques Diffuse Pleural Thickening Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) Vibration White Finger (VWF)…

Workplace Accident Compensation Glasgow

Posted in: Workplace Injuries

Although steps are taken to prevent and avoid employees being injured in a workplace accident, they are sadly still a common occurrence. The recent Health and Safety Executive (HSE) report on workplace accidents estimated that over 600,000 workers are injured in the workplace each year, and over 1.2 million workers suffer from a work-related illness. If you have been injured at work, speak to our solicitors on 01418 465 957 to make a no win, no fee* compensation claim. Unsurprisingly, accidents are much more common in certain kinds of workplaces. The HSE…