Edinburgh Company Fined for Crush Injuries
An Edinburgh based pharmaceutical company has recently appeared in Edinburgh Sheriff Court, where it pled guilty to failing to ensure the health and safety of an employee who was crushed by a reversing lorry. The incident occurred in September 2011, at the company’s premises on Wheatfield Road in Edinburgh. The employee in question was attempting […]
Lawford Kidd win £2500 claim for client injured at work
Lawford Kidd are delighted to report that we have been successful in securing compensation for an employee injured in a fall at work. The pursuer, our client, was employed by Advanced Stairlifts and was tasked with measuring the dimensions of a client’s stairwell. Our client was given unsuitable equipment. She had to overextend to use […]
Is Driving Part of Your Job? Occupational Road Accidents Remain a Problem in the UK
The number of road deaths and serious injuries involving at-work drivers and riders in the United Kingdom shows that improving occupational road safety should be priority. These were the findings of a recently compiled strategic review into the management of occupational road risk, which was undertaken by the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) together with the Centre for Transport Studies at […]
Health & Safety Deregulation Causing Concern
Government plans to deregulate areas of health and safety, have been criticised by Members of the House of Lords. As explained in our blog from last week – “Certain Self-Employed Persons to Become Exempt from Health & Safety Law?” – under current UK Government plans, all self-employed workers, with the exception of those undertaking ‘prescribed activities’, will become […]
Certain Self-Employed Persons to Become Exempt from Health & Safety Law?
Under current Health and Safety Executive (HSE) proposals, self-employed people in the United Kindgom (UK), whose work activities pose no potential risk of harm to others, are to become exempt from Section 3(2) of the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HSWA). Self-employed persons undertaking activities on a prescribed list however, will continue […]
How Many People in the UK are Killed at Work Each Year?
According to new figures recently published by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), between April 2013 and March 2014, 133 people in Britain died in workplace accidents – 17 less than the previous year, 42 less than 2010/11, 46 less than 2008/09 and the lowest number since records began. With the number of fatal injuries now at 133, the […]
Changes to workplace accident reporting
Changes to the mandatory reporting system for work related injuries came into force on 1st October. The changes had been the subject of a consultation exercise that ran from August to October last year. RIDDOR The rules on injury reporting are contained within the Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations (RIDDOR) 1995, which place a […]
Company fined after worker’s hand crushed
A Wellingborough firm has been fined for safety breaches after a worker’s hand was crushed in an unguarded laminating machine. Michael Taylor suffered serious injuries when his right hand and forearm were drawn into gluing rollers of the machine. Mr Taylor has had four operations and extensive physiotherapy but it is unlikely he will ever regain full […]
Chemical firm fined after fireball engulfs employee
A chemical firm has been fined £120,000 after an employee sustained severe burns when he was engulfed by a fireball at a factory in Wirral. The 45-year-old was kept in an induced coma for seven weeks following a chemical explosion at the plant on 28th February last year. The company was prosecuted by the Health and Safety […]
TUC launches updated workplace safety guide
The latest edition of the TUC’s safety publication ‘Hazards at Work’ has been published amid growing concerns over cuts to workplace safety inspections. The guide, now in its 30th year, warns of a ‘hostile’ political climate to health and safety that has resulted in the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) being prevented from making proactive […]
