Lawford Kidd, Personal Injury Solicitors

A builder has pleaded guilty to a contravention of Sections 3 and 33 (1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 at Haddington Sheriff Court, and was fined £15,000.

The builder had been contracted to rebuild the chimney on a property in Gifford but failed to ensure that it was fully cleared of any debris and masonry materials that had fallen in. The chimney was therefore still blocked when the family who lived there used the fire in the living room.

The blockage impeded the combustion process of the solid fuel fireplace, and caused the fumes from the fireplace to build up, causing an accumulation of carbon monoxide to which the three occupants of the house were exposed. A 60-year-old woman died as a result of the exposure.

A farm company in Northern Ireland (NI) has been fined a record £187,500, plus £13,000 costs for health and safety failings that led to the death of 45-year-old employee Robert Wilson.

The company is the first in Northern Ireland to be convicted under new Corporate Manslaughter legislation. Under this legislation, companies and organisations can be found guilty as a result of serious management failures resulting in a gross breach of a duty of care.

Mr Wilson, who was working at the meal-mixing plant on the farm, was killed after being struck by a metal bin which fell off a forklift. The forklift was being driven by one of the company directors. The investigation revealed that the bin had not been attached or integrated with the forklift. It was also revealed that it was not possible to insert the lifting forks into the sleeves of the bin as the forks were too large and incorrectly spaced.

A private healthcare provider managing a hospital in Ipswich has been fined for safety failings after an employee suffered a fractured kneecap.

Mrs Shelagh Allen was working in the clinic room of a ward, which was being wet-mopped by a housekeeper during the ward's busiest period. Mrs Allen went into the room after completing a patient drugs round and fell badly on her right knee causing a multiple fracture of her kneecap. Her knee was operated on at the hospital that same day and she was discharged two days later. She was fitted with a leg brace and was able to walk only with the aid of crutches for around four months.

A Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation found that the company had failed to ensure the safety of Mrs Allen and others whilst working in their hospital.

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.

These changes would ensure that the adverse effects of medicinal products will be better monitored, to prevent the recurrence of cases like the French diabetes medicine "Médiator" (benfluorex), which led to many deaths.

"Médiator" (benfluorex) was authorised to treat diabetes but was widely prescribed as an appetite suppressant. It was on the market for over thirty years, and caused between 500 and 2,000 deaths, showing the limits of the early EU pharmacovigilance system.

InjuriesBoard.ie has published a review of workplace accidents in Ireland in 2011 that shows compensation totalling €22.5million (2010: €25.1million) was awarded in respect of 830 (2010: 889 awards) personal injury workplace claims.

Accidents in the workplace accounted for 8.4% of all personal injury awards in 2011, compared to 11% of all awards in 2010. The decrease in the number of claims for workplace accidents last year reflects the reduced numbers in employment during the period.

Key findings of the review include:

• Men are twice as likely as women to receive an award for a workplace accident - accounting for 70% of all awards (2010: 75%) versus 30% of awards to women (2010: 25%). However, the number of women receiving awards has increased by 5% due to their increased presence in the workforce during the recession.
• Men received an average compensation award of €27,246 (2010: €28,924) compared to €26,771 (2010: €25,876) for women.
• Thursday is deemed the most dangerous workday while Sunday is considered the safest, due to the smaller proportion of people in the workplace at weekends.
• November is the most dangerous month for workplace accidents, while April is the safest.