Teenage workers seriously injured after falling from height

A Derbyshire manufacturing firm and its director have been fined after two teenage agency workers fell from a lifting platform.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) prosecuted the manufacturing firm and one of its Directors after one agency worker broke his back in the incident on 6 April 2009 at the firm's depot in Tibshelf. His colleague, another agency worker, broke both of his heels and needed pins and a metal plate put in his feet.

The agency workers were helping to put scrapped trolleys into a skip using a makeshift lifting platform designed by the manufacturing firms director to fit a fork lift truck. As the platform was bringing the two workers back down to the ground, it was caught and dragged off the truck's forks. The workers and platform fell four and a half metres to the ground.

HSE inspector Fiona Coffey said:

"The company should have considered if it was necessary to use a platform like this in the first place, and if it was, used something that was legal and safe - this arrangement clearly was not.

The manufacturing firm was fined £22,000 and ordered it to pay costs of £12,134 and a £15 victim surcharge.

The director was fined £3,500 and ordered to pay costs of £7,866 and a £15 victim surcharge.

The injuries suffered by the injured workers could have been prevented had his employers planned and implemented safety checks before such work was undertaken and followed guidelines and standards in the design of the platform.

If you or a member of your family has been involved in an accident which has resulted in you sustaining injury and would like a free and confidential discussion with one of our specialised Solicitors, please do not hesitate to contact us on 0800 389 1978 or visit our website at www.forsterdean.co.uk. You can also follow us on Twitter (@ForsterDeanLtd) and find Forster Dean Solicitors on Facebook

Mofozzul Hussain LLB (Hons) -Office Manager (Birkenhead) and Personal Injury Solicitor

Affordable Homes Statistics Argument

Affordable Homes Statistics Argument

2 polar opposite press releases have been reported recently.  On one side the Housing Minister Grant Shapps refers to the number of affordable houses being built as having undergone a “rapid and dramatic increase”.  On the other hand the Shadow Housing Minister Jack Dromey states that there has been a “disastrous collapse” in the number of affordable houses.

This appears to stem from the fact that statistics can be interpreted in several ways and often are.  In November of 2011 Labour stated that there had been a “97% fall in affordable new housing” in the first 6 months of 2011-2012.  This was due to the fact that during that period only 429 new affordable homes were built, obviously this is a worrying figure and caused concern about the future of housing.  However in the following 6 months 15,269 affordable houses were built.  If the previous figure of 429 is compared to this, this could be reported as being a 3,500% increase in the construction of affordable housing!!  This shows how difficult it is to use sets of statistics to give a realistic overview of a situation.

 The large fluctuation between these sets of figures was actually caused by a transition period from the previous policy for Labour’s affordable housing programme in which central Government money was used for funding  to the new system in which public money is used to encourage developers to make their own investments in affordable housing.  Furthermore the different position of the Housing Minister and the Shadow Housing Minister seems to have developed because  the Government believes that the contracts currently being signed will deliver 170,000 new affordable homes over the next couple of years, however the Shadow Housing Minister’s position is that these projections are impossible to achieve. 

Due to the lengthy timescale involved in implementing any new policies and new procedures it will not be possible to see which projections are correct for a number of years. Hopefully for the sake of the housing market we can look to the housing minister’s view of matters.

If you or a member of your family are looking to purchase or sell a property and you would like a quotation from one of our specialised Conveyancing Solicitors, please do not hesitate to contact us on 0800 100 2741 or visit our website at www.forsterdean.co.uk.  You can also follow us on twitter (@ForsterDeanLimited) and find Forster Dean Solicitors on Facebook.

Louise Lomax LLB (Hons)

Conveyancing Solicitor

Published 18th June 2012

Bike week starts today! For anyone that doesn’t know, bike week is the UK’s largest mass participation cycling event with almost half a million people getting involved in events across the country. Events include cycle rides for everyone from beginners to experts, reduced cost bike hire projects, bike clinics and Forster Deans very own ‘Recycle your Cycle’ project, to name a few.

Its very easy to get involved by visiting the Bike Week official website at http://www.bikeweek.org.uk/, clicking on the ‘events search’ on the left hand side and entering your post code which will bring up all of the events within your area. Alternatively, you could register your own event just like we have with 'Recycle your Cycle'! 

'Recycle your Cycle' is a project in partnership with the charity Cycling Projects which is based in Warrington. Staff at 11 local offices of Forster Dean are asking  members of the public to bring damaged or unwanted bikes in and the bikes will then be collected by Cycling Projects staff, mended and serviced by Cytech qualified mechanics before being sold at competitive prices to raise much needed funds for Cycling Projects.

The aim of Bike Week is to promote every day cycling for everyone and to get more people cycling more often. Bike Week wants to give everyone, young, and old, beginners to experts, the chance to discover all the benefits of cycling  such as better health, helping the environment and saving money on fuel.

Bike Week was started by the UKs national cyclists organization, CTC, in 1923 but really came to the  attention of the public in 1975 when Friends of the Earth and the British Cycling Bureau organization organized a National Bike Week. Bike Week has since gone from strength to strength.

Nearly everyone has cycled at some point in their life, but so many lose the habit. Bike Week is the opportunity for people to get back on the saddle, for commuting, recreation or just for the sheer joy of it! Why not use Bike Week as the kick start you need to get into the fresh air and enjoy the wonderful hobby that is cycling!

If you or a member of your family has been involved in a cycling accident or any other type of accident which has resulted in you sustaining injury and would like a free and confidential discussion with one of our specialised Solicitors, please do not hesitate to contact us on 0800 389 1978 or visit our website at www.forsterdean.co.uk. You can also follow us on Twitter (@ForsterDeanLtd) and find Forster Dean Solicitors on Facebook

Nicola Mawson LLB (Hons)

Office Manager and Personal Injury Solicitor

Published 16th June 2012

Firm fined after worker hurt in trench collapse

Nottinghamshire engineering company was fined £10,000 by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) for an incident which saw 36-year-old worker   buried up to his waist when a trench collapsed.

The worker was working on a small housing development just in, Lincolnshire when the incident happened.

He was laying drain pipes in a trench being dug by an excavator. It had been raining heavily during the day. While he was in the trench the digger operator noticed the walls beginning to crack and shouted a warning but before the worker could escape he was hit by the falling material, including a large lump of concrete, and was pinned down by his legs.

He dislocated and fractured his hip socket and shattered his pelvis. He needed 10 hours of surgery and is still off work. The worker, a former England kick boxer has had to give up the sport following the accident.

HSE investigations found that the company had failed to assess the ground conditions and the effect that the rain would have, and failed to install measures to prevent a trench collapse.

After the hearing HSE Inspector Tony Mitchell said:

"Excavation work is a high risk activity, but the risks are foreseeable and preventable.

"The site had previously been a farm. It had been demolished and the rubble spread on site as top fill. The subsoil beneath it was predominantly compacted sandy soil, so the ground conditions were poor. However, this was not properly identified as high risk before work started, the rain made the soil structure more unstable and the trench collapsed because it was not sufficiently supported.

The injuries suffered by the injured worker could have been prevented had the guilty company identified the foreseeable risk and planned and implemented safety procedure to prevent such accident before the work was undertaken. Instead, a man has been left with life-changing injuries.

If you or a member of your family has been involved in an accident which has resulted in you sustaining injury and would like a free and confidential discussion with one of our specialised Solicitors, please do not hesitate to contact us on 0800 389 1978 or visit our website at www.forsterdean.co.uk. You can also follow us on Twitter (@ForsterDeanLtd) and find Forster Dean Solicitors on Facebook

Mofozzul Hussain LLB (Hons) -Office Manager (Birkenhead) and Personal Injury Solicitor

HSE serves Improvement Notice on Edinburgh Cooling Tower

Following our earlier blog on the Legionnaires outbreak in Scotland we now understand that The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has served an Improvement Notice on an Edinburgh company for alleged failures to adequately control the risk of legionella in a cooling tower. They visited the company as part of their ongoing investigations in respect of the outbreak. Visits to other companies are ongoing.

The company however has chosen to take all three cooling towers out of operation.

The Notice was served for a failure to devise and implement a sustained and effective biocide control programme in one cooling tower.

Issuing the Improvement Notice does not mean that this cooling tower has been identified as the source of the outbreak. What needs to be understood is that the source of the outbreak may never be conclusively identified.

HSE can issue an Improvement Notice if it believes that correct procedures are not being followed but there is not an immediate risk to workers or members of the public. It sets out what remedial action is necessary and a deadline for its completion.

If you or a member of your family has been involved in an accident which has resulted in you sustaining injury and would like a free and confidential discussion with one of our specialised Solicitors, please do not hesitate to contact us on 0800 389 1978 or visit our website at www.forsterdean.co.uk. You can also follow us on Twitter (@ForsterDeanLtd) and find Forster Dean Solicitors on Facebook

Mofozzul Hussain LLB (Hons) -Office Manager (Birkenhead) and Personal Injury Solicitor

Worst Legionnaires Disease Outbreak in Scotland since the 1980’s

I am saddened by the death of Mr Robert Air, a 56 year old man who died this week in Edinburgh, and the high numbers of those affected, as a result of what has been described as the worst outbreak of Legionnaires Disease in Scotland since the 1980’s

Legionnaires Disease is a potentially fatal disease, which is caught by breathing in small droplets of contaminated water, which causes a range of respiratory illnesses including, in its most serious form, pneumonia.

Outbreaks of the illness occur from exposure to legionella growing in purpose-built systems where water is maintained at a temperature high enough to encourage growth, e.g. cooling towers and hot water systems used in all sorts of premises (work and domestic). It is not a contagious disease which means a person suffering from Legionnaires Disease cannot pass it onto others.

Following the outbreak in Edinburgh, Scottish Health Secretary Ms Nicola Sturgeon said discussions were taking place between the City of Edinburgh Council and the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to determine what actions were appropriate. Ms Sturgeon said confirming the source of the outbreak was a "central priority" but it was "an extremely complicated process".

The HSE has increased efforts to find the source of the outbreak. But what must be understood is that it is not always possible to conclusively determine the precise source of an outbreak and in such cases, conclusions have to be reached about the source on the basis of the balance of probabilities.  As such several cooling towers in different sites in Edinburgh have therefore been tested and treated by the HSE.

Ms Sturgeon added "Every effort is being made to investigate the potential source of this outbreak”

"... relevant agencies continue to monitor the situation to ensure that all appropriate action is taken to minimise the risk of further infection."

Diagnosis of Legionnaires Disease is not always simple as the symptoms can have different causes. Symptoms can consist of high temperature, fever and chills, muscle pains, nausea, headaches, diarrhoea and more seriously signs of mental confusion. I would advise that if anyone has any concerns that they should consult their GP.

Organisations or self-employed individuals, who are responsible for the water system(s) in their premises, are responsible for ensuring that the risk of exposure to legionella in those premises is properly controlled.

If you or a member of your family has been diagnosed with Legionnaires Disease and would like a free and confidential discussion with one of our specialised Solicitors, please do not hesitate to contact us on 0800 389 1978 or visit our website at www.forsterdean.co.uk. You can also follow us on Twitter (@ForsterDeanLtd) and find Forster Dean Solicitors on Facebook

Mofozzul Hussain LLB (Hons) -Office Manager (Birkenhead) and Personal Injury Solicitor

RECYCLE THAT CYCLE!!

Forster Dean Limited are solicitors that don’t just help cyclists who have been injured in an accident get a compensation payment from the responsible party. They are also hoping to help people get on their bikes this summer to promote cycling, health, fitness, sustainability and environmental protection. Forster Dean’s aim and ambition is to assist more people to cycle more often.

 In partnership with the charity Cycling Projects which is based in Warrington, staff at 11 local offices of Forster Dean are asking  members of the public to bring damaged or unwanted bikes in. The bikes will then be collected by Cycling Projects staff, mended and serviced by Cytech qualified mechanics before being sold at competitive prices to raise much needed funds for Cycling Projects. 

Head of Personal Injury at Forster Dean, Nadia Kerr said “ It is important for us at Forster Dean to put something back into the local communities who have supported us as a business over the years – if we can raise money for a worthwhile charity, Cycling Projects, at the same time, then so much the better.”

Cycling Projects is a charity whose aims are to make cycling accessible to all.

The manager of Cycling Projects, Ian Tierney commented “We are truly looking forward to working in partnership with Forster Dean Limited. Through a number of our community initiatives we will be able to renovate and bring the cycles back to their former glory. Cycles will then be offered to community members who have the most need for the cycle – they could be part of a mental health cycle initiative, a weight management programme, or just wanting to return back to work and are using the cycles as an affordable, healthy and active way of commuting through their communities.

The participating offices are at Warrington, St Helens, Leigh, Wigan, Eccles, Old Swan, Prescot Street, Tuebrook, County Road, Ellesmere Port and Bootle.

For the address of your nearest office visit: www.forsterdean.co.uk/list-of-forster-dean-offices/

For further information please contact Nicola Mawson on  0161 707 4000 or  0800 389 1978 or email nicolamawson@forsterdean.co.uk

Forster Dean Limited contact telephone number 0800 389 1978 or visit our website at www.forsterdean.co.uk. You can also follow us on Twitter (@ForsterDeanLtd) and find Forster Dean Solicitors on Facebook

Nadia Kerr

Head of Personal Injury
Forster Dean Limited

Active Travel (Wales) Bill

In April there were campaigning bike rides in London and Edinburgh in an attempt to call on the English and Scottish Parliaments to take action on cycle safety. Wales, however, seems likely to become the first Country in the world to make it compulsory for local authorities to provide safe and integrated routes for walking and cycling.

In May the Welsh Assembly took their first active step towards this in The Active Travel (Wales) Bill.

The White Paper sets out a number of plans such as making Local Authorities in Wales identify and map the network of routes within their areas that are safe and appropriate for walking and cycling and identify the changes that would be required to create a fully integrated network for walking and cycling.

The Bill will not become an actual law in Wales until the end of 2013 however an £11 million annual fund already exists in Wales to help with the planned changes.

The Ramblers charity who represent walkers have said that they will probably oppose most attempts to convert footpaths so that cyclists can use them. 

I understand that the charity are trying to look after what they think are the best interests of walkers but I couldn’t disagree more with their opposition to this Bill. They have projects aimed at making people with low levels of physical activity start exercising and surely this Bill goes hand in hand with what they are aiming for? It shouldn’t matter whether people get fit on foot or on a bike because the outcome will be the same. I would imagine there are  some areas where it would be unsafe to expect cyclists and walkers to share facilities and campaigning groups can help to inform the decision makers about these issues. But I wholeheartedly support any extension to the current facilities in Wales for cyclists and for walkers.

There are many benefits to this proposed legislation. Local Government Minister Carl Sargeant thinks that the policy will improve public health, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, help address poverty and reduce congestion and I can only agree and hope that the English and Scottish Parliaments follow the lead of the brilliant steps being taken in Wales.

If you or a member of your family has been involved in a cycling accident or any other type of accident which has resulted in you sustaining injury and would like a free and confidential discussion with one of our specialised Solicitors, please do not hesitate to contact us on 0800 389 1978 or visit our website at www.forsterdean.co.uk. You can also follow us on Twitter (@ForsterDeanLtd) and find Forster Dean Solicitors on Facebook

Nicola Mawson LLB (Hons)

Office Manager and Personal Injury Solicitor

Published 7th June 2012

Jubilee Open Day at Forster Dean - June 2012

On Friday 1st June 2012 the Harpurhey office at Forster Dean took the lead and organised a ‘Jubilee Open Day’. Many of our other offices followed suit. We gave out free cakes and nibbles to the public and we offered free legal advice

The Open Days began at 8:45am and lasted until close of business.  The Open Days were a great success!  People chatted with  our solicitors and information was handed out on the day.

All in all, the Jubilee Open Days were a fantastic opportunity to meet the public.  There was a great atmosphere around the offices.

In some towns the celebration was even more special with the arrival of the Olympic torch.

We will be planning further open days soon! Do come and join us.

Office of Fair Trading Refers Motor Insurance Industry To Competition Commission Over Increased Premiums

In recent years personal industry solicitors have taken much of the blame for increased car insurance premiums.  Insurance companies have consistently argued that increasing personal injury claims and costs are the reason for increased car insurance premiums.  So successful were their media campaigns and political lobbying that a few years ago the Government reformed the procedure for road traffic accident claims, part of which reduced the legal fees recoverable by personal injury solicitors.

However, a recent investigation into rising premiums by the Office of Fair Trading has revealed an altogether different explanation for increasing premiums.

The OFT has provisionally decided to refer the motor insurance industry to the Competition Commission after it discovered “dysfunctional” practises committed by the insurance companies, said to increase car insurance premiums by £225 million per year.

To read the full OFT article please visit the below link:

www.oft.gov.uk/news-and-updates/press/2012/44-12

The OFT found that, when acting for “not at fault” drivers involved in accidents, insurance companies are free to generate increased costs through work referral deals and rebates, payable by the insurer of the “at fault” driver.   The OFT suspects that such practises may be a key reason for increased premiums and has therefore referred the matter to the Competition Commission for full investigation.

Personal injury solicitors have taken much of the blame in recent years over increased insurance premiums but are all too aware of the dysfunctional and wasteful approaches adopted by insurance companies when dealing with claims.  Whether it’s denying liability for a claim in which there is no prospect of a successful defence, or making unrealistically low offers to settle claims, personal injury solicitors see costs, and time, increased needlessly at every turn.

I believe that if claims are dealt with sensibly and efficiently costs, and therefore premiums, will decrease.  Hopefully the OFT’s findings will lead to reform throughout the insurance industry and allow the victims of road traffic accidents to be compensated quickly and fairly, and without unfair blame for increasing premiums.

If you or a member of your family has been involved in an accident which has resulted in you sustaining injury and would like a free and confidential discussion with one of our specialised Solicitors, please do not hesitate to contact us on 0800 389 1978 or visit our website at www.forsterdean.co.uk. You can also follow us on Twitter (@ForsterDeanLtd) and find Forster Dean Solicitors on Facebook

James Winterbottom LLB (Hons)

Office Manager and Personal Injury Solicitor

Published 6^th June, 2012

Multinational recycling firm prosecuted over worker's death

A recycling company has been fined £200,000 after a 21-year-old employee died from head injuries at its paper baling site in Tipton.

On the day of the incident, the employee had been working on his own to load scrap paper onto a conveyor. After finishing the job, he stopped the loader and raised the safety bar from across his lap to isolate the machine, before leaning out of the front of the vehicle. However, the machine failed to isolate, the loader’s arm dropped and crushed his head against the machine, killing him immediately.

HSE’s investigation found that the employee had not been formally trained, assessed or supervised in the use of the vehicle and a self-employed maintenance engineer had also used it over several months with no training.

It was also found that the loader had not been maintained in the eight months before the incident. It should have been serviced at least twice during this time.

HSE inspector David Evans said:

"Mark Bate was a young man who should have had a long life ahead of him. Instead, he was killed in an entirely avoidable tragedy.

"Despite knowing his lack of experience, SITA left him unsupervised to operate the loader. Furthermore, the vehicle was dangerous because it had not been properly maintained.

"The company’s risk assessment should have identified these issues but did not cover the use of this machine.

"Transport at work is one of the biggest causes of deaths in the workplace, often through insufficient training or poorly maintained vehicles. There is no excuse for such basic failings, especially as free advice is available from HSE."

The company was also ordered to pay costs and reimburse the employees family of funeral expenses.

The tragedy could have been prevented had his employers provided him with formal training and supervision in respect of the use of the vehicle. Employers are also legally obliged to make sure that work equipment, including vehicles, is in good working order. It is important that vehicles are maintained so that they remain mechanically sound. Preventive maintenance is also needed to help avoid failures during use. This should be thorough, regular and frequent enough to meet the manufacturer's guidelines and working practice.

If you or a member of your family has been involved in an accident which has resulted in you sustaining injury and would like a free and confidential discussion with one of our specialised Solicitors, please do not hesitate to contact us on 0800 389 1978 or visit our website at www.forsterdean.co.uk. You can also follow us on Twitter (@ForsterDeanLtd) and find Forster Dean Solicitors on Facebook

Mofozzul Hussain LLB (Hons) -Office Manager and Personal Injury Solicitor