Lawford Kidd's Blog

The European Parliament has approved the European Commission’s proposal for two new Regulations on medical devices that aim to ensure better protection of public health and patient safety.

Changes to the Discount Rate applied to personal injury compensation payments in England and Wales have been announced by the Lord Chancellor.

The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) has spoken out against new plans to delete the details of defunct businesses from Companies House records after six years.

New 20mph zones have been introduced in Glasgow as the city follows Edinburgh’s lead in attempting to reduce the number of road traffic accidents and injuries to vulnerable road users.

Edinburgh announced that a speed limit would be put in place in some areas of the city centre in March 2015 and Glasgow has now introduced a similar speed policy in a number of “high-risk” areas.

The Glasgow 20mph area covers a number of danger areas for vulnerable road users covering much of the South bank of the Clyde. While the new speed limit will not be enforced by speed cameras, police will be monitoring the areas to make sure that the new limits are adhered to, with new warnings also in place for drivers. The decision to implement a new speed limit was approved following a six-week public consultation, with 69% of the respondents being in favour of introducing a significantly reduced speed limit.

Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson has been ordered by a US court to pay around $51 million in compensation to the family of a woman who suffered from ovarian cancer, allegedly caused by regular use of the company’s talcum powder.

The case was heard in St. Louis, Missouri where the jury determined that the company had failed in their obligation to warn users of the potential risks of using the product, despite the American Cancer Society raising concerns about the product in 1999. Many US manufacturers have since switched to using corn starch as a result of the concerns. However, a number of manufacturers in the UK continue to use alleged cancer- causing substance talcum.

Johnson & Johnson is now facing 1200 lawsuits in the United States as a result of the ruling, with users claiming they were not adequately warned about the risks of using the product.