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Britain Paying the price of a vibration injury
Britain Six digit payout for wrecked hand
Britain Employer ignored workers’ concerns
Britain Firm pays twice for firing injured worker
Britain Unite anger at compensation law delay
Britain Union wins gun trauma payout
Britain Firm failed to listen to union
Britain Six figure payout for serious leg injury
Britain Ankle break costs worker his leg
Britain Worker gets vibration payout

Britain: Paying the price of a vibration injury
A GMB member has received a £10,000 compensation payout after his hands were left permanently damaged by using vibrating tools at work. Keith Rowley, 55, a fitter from Stourbridge, was has the debilitating condition Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS), also known as vibration white finger.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Stourbridge News • Risks 411 • 20 June 2009

Britain: Six digit payout for wrecked hand
A GMB member who lost four fingers after his hand was mangled at work and who later had to have his thumb amputated has received a six-figure sum in compensation. His employer was also fined £50,000 for criminal safety breaches related to the incident. The 49-year-old worker, from Farnworth near Bolton was working as a waste disposal operative for Greater Manchester Waste Limited when his left hand was crushed in a machine in December 2005.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 409
Hazards news, 6 June 2009

Britain: Employer ignored workers’ concerns
Unsafe employers continue to pay compensation rather than remedy safety problems. Unite member Gerard Healey, 59, received a “substantial” sum in compensation after his former employer Mayr-Melnhof Packaging Limited failed to listen to employees’ health and safety concerns.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 409
Hazards news, 6 June 2009

Britain: Firm pays twice for firing injured worker
A major events organiser fired a worker after he broke his foot at work – but ended paying for both his unfair dismissal and his injury. BECTU member Tony Pike was dismissed from his job as a production manager for Dream Events Limited after he suffered a stress fracture in his foot.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 409
Hazards news, 6 June 2009

Britain: Unite anger at compensation law delay
The union Unite has reacted angrily after a Scottish law intended to create a fairer compensation system for victims of accidents and diseases was blocked this week by SNP, Conservative and Liberal Democrat members of the Scottish Parliamentary Justice Committee.
Unite news release •  Proposed Damages (Scotland) Bill [pdf] • Risks 409
Hazards news, 6 June 2009

Britain: Union wins gun trauma payout
The driver of the tube train on which an innocent member of the public was shot dead by anti-terror police has received £1,000 compensation for trauma because he was chased down an underground tunnel by officers in the aftermath of the incident. ASLEF member Quincy Oji had to take time off work with post traumatic stress after being caught up in the tragedy at London’s Stockwell tube station in July 2005.
ASLEF news release • The Guardian • BBC News Online • The Telegraph • Risks 409
Hazards news, 6 June 2009

Britain: Firm failed to listen to union
London Underground has paid “substantial” compensation to a Tube driver after it ignored union complaints about dirty, hazardous train carriages. Derek Walters, 45, is facing surgery on his hand after his finger was slit open by a piece of broken glass left in a train cab.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 408
Hazards news, 30 May 2009

Britain: Six figure payout for serious leg injury
A warehouse operative has been awarded a £359,717.62 payout for a workplace leg injury which may eventually result in amputation. Unite member Michael Crane, 62, received this interim compensation award from Lenham Storage one week ahead of scheduled High Court hearing.
Pattinson and Brewer news release • Risks 407
Hazards news, 23 May 2009

Britain: Ankle break costs worker his leg
A labourer who had to have a leg amputated after breaking his ankle in a three metre fall at work has received a six-figure sum in compensation. Unite member William Edge, 64, needed eight ‘agonising’ operations after the fall.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Plymouth Herald • Risks 405
Hazards news, 9 May 2009

Britain: Worker gets vibration payout
A GMB member has received a “substantial” out of court settlement after his hands were left permanently damaged by using vibrating tools at work. Alexander Simpson, 60, from Workington in Cumbria was left with debilitating Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) - also known as vibration white finger - after using vibrating at West Cumberland Engineering.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 405
Hazards news, 9 May 2009

Britain: College lecturer hurt in fall
A college lecturer who damaged his shoulder after slipping on a wheelchair ramp has received a “substantial sum” in compensation. UCU member Warren Spour, 36, suffered injuries to his wrist and shoulder in October 2006 when he fell on the ramp while entering a temporary classroom at South Tyneside College’s Hebburn campus.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Shields Gazette • Risks 403
Hazards news, 25 April 2009

Britain: Wrong step hurts bank worker
A bank cashier who fractured her ankle when she fell down a step has received almost £9,000 in compensation. Jackie Edwards was off sick for six months following the incident at Lloyds TSB’s Benfleet branch in Essex.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 403
Hazards news, 25 April 2009

Britain: Broken thumb caused by bad communication
A company changed the spec for a factory process – but didn’t tell the engineer doing the job, with painful consequences. GMB member Anthony Lacey, 59, was left in agony when his thumb was broken in two places in May 2007.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 402
Hazrads news, 18 April 2009

Britain: Slip leads to months off work
A school caretaker had to take five months off work after slipping on a spill on the dining room floor. Unite member Jean Simpson, a caretaker at Abbey Primary School in Bloxwich, Walsall, was awarded compensation at trial for the fractured ankle bone suffered in the slip.
Rowley Ashworth Solicitors news release • Risks 401
Hazards news, 11 April 2009

Britain: Firm fails but claim succeeds
A GMB member whose shoulder was injured at work has received compensation even though his employer subsequently folded. David Billingham, 40, from Halesowen, received £3,500 after injuring his right shoulder while working as a caster for G Clancey Ltd.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Halesowen News • Risks 401
Hazards news, 11 April 2009

Britain: Strain injury takes away a future
A concrete technician who developed a debilitating workplace strain injury fears he may never find work again after he was made redundant. GMB member Paul Flintoff, 46, from Selston in Nottingham was diagnosed with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), a painful lower arm disorder which can be caused by prolonged use of hand-held vibrating tools.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 401
Hazards news, 11 April 2009

USA: Docs lie and workers lose
A New York Times review of case files and medical records and interviews with workers’ compensation claimants indicate that the exam reports are routinely tilted to benefit insurers by minimising or dismissing injuries.
New York Times • Risks 400
Hazards news, 4 April 2009

Britain: School asbestos exposure killed teacher
The widow of a senior teacher who died after exposure to asbestos in school science labs has been awarded £290,000 in compensation. The former chemistry teacher, who taught at the same school in East Sussex for 34 years, died from mesothelioma in September 2007, aged 61, just a year after retirement.
The Argus • TES • Asbestos in Schools website • HSE mesothelioma statistics including breakdown by age • Risks 400
Hazards news, 4 April 2009

Britain: Heavy stuff will hurt you
Whether you are lifting it up or it is falling down, heavy stuff can hurt you. Two six figure settlements secured for Unite members show poor manual handling systems can be costly for employers too.
Rowley Ashworth Solicitors news releases on the beer keg and dishwasher cases • Risks 399
Hazards news, 28 March 2009

Britain: Prison officer gets payout after attack
A prison officer who was injured while trying to restrain a violent inmate has received £8,000 in compensation. GMB member Michael Blinkhorn, 42, was off work for five months following the incident at HMP Wolds in East Yorkshire.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 399
Hazards news, 28 March 2009

Britain: School stress cost head her job
A teacher who left her job because of stress and allegations of racism has been awarded six figure damages. NUT member Erica Connor, 57, a former teacher at New Monument Primary School in Woking, was awarded £407,781 for psychiatric injury suffered and loss of income.
BBC News Online • The Telegraph • Personnel Today • The Independent • Risks 399
Hazards news, 28 March 2009

Britain: Pupil attack ends teacher’s career
A teacher who was attacked by a 12-year-old pupil has had to take ill-health retirement as a result. NASUWT member Colin Adams, 51, who taught ICT at Kingswood Community School for eight years, was left with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and received a £275,000 payout.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 399
Hazards news, 28 March 2009

Australia: Execs get bonuses to deny payouts
Executives of Australia’s national postal firm are being paid bonuses for reducing worker compensation costs, a union has alleged. Australia Post has denied that doctors are being pressured to dismiss injury claims, but the Communications Electrical and Plumbing Union (CEPU) maintains Australia Post pressured doctors into writing medical reports dismissive of injury claims, while executives are receiving bonuses for cutting compensation costs.
Herald Sun • ABC News • Risks 398
Hazards news, 21 March 2009

Britain: Insurer fails to evade asbestos payout
Royal and Sun Alliance Insurance plc has failed in a courtroom bid to deny responsibility for an asbestos cancer payout. Colin Gardner, 66, was awarded £145,000 damages at London's High Court.
Irwin Mitchell Solicitors news release • Yorkshire Evening Post • Huddersfield Daily Examiner • Risks 397
Hazards news, 14 March 2009

Britain: Scots asbestos payout law passed 
Legislation to allow people in Scotland to claim for past exposure to asbestos has been passed by MSPs. The new law overturns a House of Lords ruling that said damages could not be claimed for pleural plaques, a benign scarring of the lungs.
Damages (Asbestos-related Conditions) (Scotland) Bill [pdf] • ABI news release • BBC News Online • Daily Record • The Scotsman • Sunday Herald • Risks 397
Hazards news, 14 March 2009

Britain: Union safety warnings not heeded
A union rep who had pressed for workplace safety improvements suffered an injury at work – using equipment the union had warned repeatedly was dangerous and should be made safe. GMB shop steward John Kitching, 48, jarred his shoulder as he disposed of clinical waste while working as an operating theatre orderly at Barnsley Hospital.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Wakefield Express • Risks 397
Hazards news, 14 March 2009

Britain: Injured nurse will not work again
A nurse from County Durham has been told she will never work again after damaging her back while trying to move a faulty hospital bed. UNISON member Jacqueline Crowe, 46, was forced to leave her job after the accident at South Moor Hospital, in Stanley.
UNISON news release • Newcastle Journal • Risks 396
Hazards news, 7 March 2009

Britain: Ladder fall forces baker to retire
A bakery worker who was forced to give up his job after falling from a ladder has received £80,000 in compensation. BFAWU member Jeffery Phillips, 59, from Clowne in Chesterfield needed a hip replacement after falling 14ft onto a concrete floor after the ladder slipped as he was cleaning machinery.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Sheffield Star • Risks 396
Hazards news, 7 March 2009

Britain: Bullying boss blamed for breakdown
An NHS hospital trust has been found liable for the nervous breakdown suffered by a hospital admin worker. UNISON member Nanette Bowen, 55, who has been unable to return to work after being bullied and harassed over a three-year-period, can now expect a six-figure settlement from Carmarthenshire NHS Trust.
UNISON news release • Morning Star • South Wales Evening Post • Risks 396
Hazards news, 7 March 2009

Britain: Nurse gets wrist injury payout
Health service union UNISON has helped a nurse claim damages after he seriously injured his wrist while attempting to open an old ward window. The union member from Sutton in Surrey was opening the window for a patient in the ladies toilets at St Helier Hospital, in Carshalton in 2002, when the injury occurred.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Sutton Guardian • Risks 395
Hazards news, 28 February 2009

Britain: Union sorts out van smash cash
A GMB member who was advised to accept just £800 in damages after being injured when her company van was involved in a road smash has received more than four times this amount thanks to help from her trade union.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 395
Hazards news, 28 February 2009

Britain: Foot injury leads to six digit payout
A Unite member who was off work for more than two years after breaking his heel has received £120,000 compensation. The 60-year-old from Gateshead, who does not wish to be named, suffered the injury when he slipped on a ladder attached to his van while he was working in February 2007.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 395
Hazards news, 28 February 2009

Britain: Faulty stair trip caused disability
A woman who was left disabled after she tripped on a faulty step at work has received £20,000 in compensation. Jobcentre worker Alain Sargent, 50, received the compensation after she contacted her union the PCS following the fall.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 395
Hazards news, 28 February 2009

Britain: Sick sacked RMT activist wins round one
A train driver who is also a prominent activist in his union has won the first round of his battle to reverse his dismissal. RMT union rep Derrick Marr was fired by train-operating company National Express East Anglia, ostensibly on health grounds but the union argued he had been victimised for his union activities.
RMT news release • Risks 394
Hazards news, 21 February 2009

Britain: Employers must prove they did enough
The Court of Appeal has said employers must not only undertake risk assessments, they must make sure they take the necessary action to reduce risks. Overturning a county court ruling, it said that when hospital employee Donna Egan was injured using a mechanical hoist to move a patient, the burden was on the employer to prove that it had taken appropriate steps to reduce any risk to the lowest reasonably practicable level.
Egan v Central Manchester and Manchester Children’s University Hospitals NHS Trust before Lord Justice Sedley, Lord Justice Keene and Lady Justice Smith, Judgment December 15, 2008 • The Times • WLR Daily • Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 • Risks 393
Hazards news, 14 February 2009

Britain: Driver injured unloading his lorry
A Yorkshire delivery driver who was never given training in lifting heavy loads has received £3,300 in compensation after suffering a groin strain. Karl Liversidge, 42, from Castleford, was off work for six weeks after suffering the lifting related injury.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 393
Hazards news, 14 February 2009

Britain: Electric shock for council worker
A council worker who was seriously injured after a faulty machine failed to spot buried cables has been awarded a £6,000 payout at Manchester County Court. UNISON member Anthony Briars, 36, lost his sight for several days and suffered burns to his face and arm as a result of an electric shock.
UNISON news release • Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 393
Hazards news, 14 February 2009

Britain: Six figure payout for assaulted teacher
A teacher who was assaulted by a pupil has been awarded £280,000 after suffering physical and mental injuries that will stop her ever returning to teaching. NASUWT member Sharon Lewis, 31, was attacked by a 13-year-old pupil in 2004 while working as a special needs teacher at Woodlands School, Aspley, Nottingham.
NASUWT news release • BBC News Online • The Times • Risks 393
Hazards news, 14 February 2009

Britain: Machine fitter loses hearing, wins payout
A Unite member who was exposed to dangerous levels of noise in the workplace has received a £5,500 payout. The 50-year-old from Worksop, whose name has not been released, had worked for Dormer Tools as a machine fitter for over 20 years.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 392
Hazards news, 7 February 2009

Britain: Firefighter gets criminal injury cash 
A firefighter who was attacked by a group of youths while attending a blaze has been awarded compensation. Peter Woodhead, 41, was awarded the money by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Association (CICA) after his elbow was broken in the attack.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 392
Hazards news, 7 February 2009

Britain: Broken knee victory for rail worker
A Wolverhampton railway worker who broke his knee when trying to undertake emergency track repairs has received £20,000 in compensation – but only after turning to union solicitors for help. RMT member Edlin Linton, 54, had previously been advised by another law firm that he didn’t have a case for compensation.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 392
Hazards news, 7 February 2009

Britain: Tube driver gets bomb trauma payout
A London Underground driver has been awarded more than £4,000 compensation for the psychological trauma he suffered following the July 2005 attack on the tube network. Stuart Bell, 57, was driving a Piccadilly line train on 7 July when four bombs exploded on three trains and a bus, killing 52 people and all four suicide bombers.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • BBC News Online • The Independent • Risks 392
Hazards news, 7 February 2009

Britain: Union wins whiplash case
An insurer has been forced to pay up after a Unite member suffered whiplash in a road traffic accident. Edward Haddock, 31, suffered the injury in March 2007 when a vehicle pulled out in front of his car, causing a collision.
Beecham Peacock Solicitors news release [pdf] • Risks 390
Hazards news, 24 January 2009

Britain: Six figure settlement for attack trauma
A security guard who was severely traumatised in an assault has received £180,000 in compensation. GMB member James Maher, 56, was attacked while working as a security guard for the London Borough of Waltham Forest at the Low Hall Depot in Walthamstow.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 390
Hazards news, 24 January 2009

Britain: Payout after slip by a hole in the wall
A cash machine maintenance worker has received £10,500 in compensation after slipping outside a Tesco supermarket.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 390
Hazards news, 24 January 2009

Britain: Boots workers get back pain
Poor health and safety practices have left two GMB members with severe back problems. Nigel Williamson, 52, and Robert Cole, 56, were employed as depot workers for Boots.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 390
Hazards news, 24 January 2009

Britain: Double trouble leads back to compo
The union Unite is warning employers to make sure their manual handling procedures are safe after a member was forced to give up work after suffering a series of serious back injuries. Sean Wilson, 43, is in severe pain as a result of the injuries sustained while working for Sealed Air Limited based in Royston, Hertfordshire.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 389
Hazards news, 17 January 2009

Britain: Workers wary of compensation claims
Many workers avoid making compensation claims for workplace injuries, new research suggests. Reasons for this wariness include a fear of losing their job, according to the study for personal injury solicitors Hubbard Pegman & Whitney (HPW).
HPW news release [pdf] • Risks 388
Hazards news, 10 January 2009

Britain: Dockworkers win asbestos test case
Two former Liverpool dockworkers have won compensation from the government for asbestos-related diseases contracted under the auspices of the then National Dock Labour Board (NDLB).
John Pickering and Partners news release and full judgment • BBC News Online • Risks 388
Hazards news, 10 January 2009

Britain: Four ton weight leaves mark on head
A Unite member has been left with a deep 7cm scar on his forehead after machinery weighing four and a half tonnes fell on him. The 46-year-old from Pontnewydd in Wales, was trapped under a huge coal cyclone, a piece of machinery used to remove fine particles of coal, after it fell as he helped load it on a lorry.
Thompson Solicitors news release • Risks 388
Hazards news, 10 January 2009

Britain: Hospital fall leads to retirement
Health service union UNISON is calling for a crackdown on workplace hazards after a carpenter was forced to retire after a workplace fall. Michael Perrin received a five-figure payout at Swansea County Court after he lost the full use of his ankle as a result of a trip at Morriston Hospital, Swansea, in 2003.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 388
Hazards news, 10 January 2009

Britain: Work injury ends football career
A printer who also played semi-professional football has been forced to retire from the game after he was injured at work. Unite Neil Yapp, 27, seriously hurt his knee when he fell after a faulty stair gave way at Trinity Mirror Printing in Watford.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 388
Hazards news, 10 January 2009

Britain: Christmas cancelled due to slippery platform
A GMB member who was forced to cancel Christmas when she broke her leg on a slippery train station platform has received compensation, thanks to her union’s legal support. Margot Keats, 61, broke her leg when she slipped on a wet platform at Nottingham train station on November 2006.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 387
Hazards news, 20 December 2008

Britain: HGV worker driven to claim compensation
Employers are being urged by UNISON to clean up their acts after a worker was awarded thousands of pounds for injuries sustained in a fall. Gary Harper, 41, who worked for Quadron Services in Leicester, was forced to take a year off work after tearing cartilage in his knee as a result of tripping over a piece of timber that had not been cleared away.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 387
Hazards news, 20 December 2008

Britain: Small worker suffers serious strain injury
A petite shopworker has successfully sued her employer after developing a strain injury caused by reaching for the till and the shop's chip and pin device. Usdaw member Jill Hyndman, 51, who is only four feet nine inches tall, claimed her employer, the Co-op in Cinderford, did not take her small stature into account when they redesigned their till areas a few years ago.
The Sun • The Citizen • The Telegraph • Personnel Today • Usdaw healthy checkouts guide • Risks 387
Hazards news, 20 December 2008

Britain: Diver’s widow loses compensation battle
A Scottish widow whose husband was killed in a horrific North Sea oil rig incident 25 years ago has failed in a bid to win compensation from the Norwegian government. The decision is the latest blow to Ruth Crammond, who for many years wrongly believed her husband Bill, a diver, was responsible for the Byford Dolphin explosion in Norwegian waters in 1983.
Dunfermline Press • NSDA website • Risks 386
Hazards news, 13 December 2008

Britain: Rolls Royce to blame for vibration injury
A Unite member has received compensation after his hands were left permanently damaged by the vibrating tools he used while working for Rolls Royce. John Smith, 62, from Derby was diagnosed with Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) following years of using hand held air powered tools while working for the famous jet engine manufacturer.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Evening Telegraph • Risks 386
Hazards news, 13 December 2008

Britain: National Grid pays out for hearing loss
A retired GMB member who was exposed to dangerous levels of noise in the workplace for over three decades has been compensated, with support from his union. Stanley Owston from Hull now requires a hearing aid. The 67-year-old received £4,000 in damages after suffering occupational deafness caused by his job as an assistant distribution fitter for National Grid.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 386
Hazards news, 13 December 2008

Britain: Union protection for injured rep
A mechanical fitter and union branch secretary from Cumbria has received a £10,000 payout after suffered a slipped disc whilst attempting to lift a half tonne metal cover. GMB rep Gerard Mayne, 55, was manually moving the cover from lifting gear when he injured his back.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Times and Star • Risks 386
Hazards news, 13 December 2008

Britain: High price for ligament damage
A Unite member has received compensation after he tore his ankle ligaments in an unsafe workplace – but has seen his earnings limited and has had to ditch his hobby. 
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 386
Hazards news, 13 December 2008

Britain: UNISON calls for safer needles
Hospitals should be required to use safer needles to protect their staff, health service union UNISON has said. The call follows the case of a care assistant compensated after she was stuck in the leg by a needle at Kettering General Hospital.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Safer Needles Now • Risks 385
Hazards news, 6 December 2008

USA: Hateful tactics to deny death payout
The 11-year-old son of a US woman who was stabbed to death at her retail clerk's job is being denied his mother’s workers’ compensation death benefits by the store's insurance company. The insurer claims Taneka Talley was killed because of her race, not her job, so her dependants should receive nothing.
Contra Costa Times • Risks 384
Hazards news, 29 December 2008

Britain: Firm fined £3,000 for severed finger
A Yorkshire firm has been fined £3,000 after a worker’s finger was sheared off by an unsafe machine. Napier Brown & Company Ltd was also ordered to pay costs of £2446 at Wakefield Magistrates Court after pleading guilty to breaching the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations.
HSE news release • Building • HSE work equipment and risk assessment pages • Risks 384
Hazards news, 29 December 2008

Britain: Insurers check Facebook in compo claims
A personal injury law firm is warning injured workers that insurers are now trawling social networking sites in a bid to discredit compensation claims. Insurers have previously been caught using video surveillance and private eyes to monitor claimants, but probing personal webpages is through to be a new strategy.
Camps Solicitors news release • Risks 384
Hazards news, 29 December 2008

Britain: Plater shocked by faulty equipment
A plater who received a massive electric shock at work has received a “substantial” sum in compensation. GMB member William Vaughan, 55, recovered from his injuries he was left with post traumatic stress disorder.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 384 •
Hazards news, 29 December 2008

Britain: Injury costs harbour master his job
A harbour master had to take early retirement after seriously injuring his back when he slipped on dangerous stairs that staff had complained about for years. UNISON member Michael Leggett, 58, said: “My colleagues and I had reported our concerns about the stairs to Waveney District Council several times over about four or five years but they did nothing to make them safer.”
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 384 •
Hazards news, 29 December 2008

Britain: Fight over grenade injuries goes on
Journalists’ union NUJ has released video and photographs that show a British photojournalist being blown up by a stun grenade thrown by a Geneva police officer. The images will form part of an appeal by photographer Guy Smallman against a Swiss court ruling that police were not to blame for the injuries he suffered while covering protests outside a G8 summit in June 2003.
NUJ video clip and news release • Photographs – NUJ warns the content is “extremely graphic” and shows Guy Smallman’s “horrific” injuries [pdf] • Risks 384 •
Hazards news, 29 December 2008

Britain: Vibration disease leads to payout
A GMB member has received £10,000 in an out-of-court settlement after his hands were left permanently damaged as a result of using vibrating tools at work. Frederick Roebuck, 61, was left with debilitating condition Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) - also known as vibration white finger (VWF) - after using a vibrating poker for up to five hours a day in his job at manufacturing firm Charcon Tunnels.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 382
15 November 2008

Britain: Meat inspector injured by escaped cow
A meat inspector trampled by an escaped cow has received a £6,000 compensation payout for his injuries. UNISON member Melvyn Treen, 62, who was working at Chitty Wholesale abattoir in Guildford, suffered injuries to his right shoulder, neck and back.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 382 •
15 November 2008

Britain: Blame admitted in road worker death
A family’s fight for justice has come to a close after the insurer of the driver of a car that hit a road worker accepted the driver was partly responsibility for his death. GMB member Tony Gate from Hartlepool suffered a severe traumatic brain injury after he was hit by a car in 2003 as he put out signs for road works, never coming out of a coma and dying three years later.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Hartlepool Mail • Risks 383
Hazards news 22 November 2008

Britain: Print payout leads to safety review
A major print company has reviewed its safety procedures after paying out £140,000 in compensation to an injured worker. Unite member Kenneth Blair suffered a broken wrist requiring three operations, including a bone graft from his hip and the insertion of a metal plate after a fall on a machine with which he was unfamiliar.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 383
Hazards news 22 November 2008

Britain: Plasterer paid out for loss of eye
A plasterer who lost the sight in one eye in a workplace incident has secured £32,000 damages from Cardiff County Council. GMB member David Perry, 52, was working in the council’s maintenance services department, when he caught his right eye on the handle of a cement mixer.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 379
Hazards news, 25 October 2008

Britain: Payout after work-related heart attack
A social worker who suffered a heart attack after becoming stressed at work has received £175,000 in compensation. Unite member David Walker, 63, was employed as a team manager by Northumberland Care Trust between 1995 and November 2004, working long hours on an under-staffed project for young people with disabilities.
Beecham Peacock news release [pdf] • The Journal • More on work and heart attacks • Risks 378
Hazards news, 18 October 2009

Britain: Wrong step led to elevator injury
A 45-year-old PCS member from Birkenhead has been awarded compensation of £3,250 after injuring her back, hip and knee when entering a lift at work. The social security worker’s claimed successfully against her employer and sub-contractors.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 377
Hazards news, 11 October 2009

Britain: Gloves off in vibrating tools campaign
Urgent action to protect workers from Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) is needed, with dozens of workers affected at one council alone, public sector union UNISON has said. The union was speaking out after securing £3,000 compensation for Joseph Beale, a council worker from Bridgend; a Freedom of Information request to Bridgend County Borough Council found that more than 40 staff had developed the condition working at the council.
Risks 376
Hazards news, 4 October 2008

Britain: Bonus scheme fingered in vibration case
A council roadworker who was forced out of his job aged 25 after developing two related occupational diseases has received a £262,000 compensation payout. UNISON member Adrian Bideau, now aged 28, developed Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS – also known as vibration white finger) and carpal tunnel syndrome, a painful repetitive strain injury, as a result of using vibrating tools such as breaker packs, whacker plates and saws.
Risks 376
Hazards news, 4 October 2008

Britain: Payout plans for injured officers
Proposals that would dramatically increase payouts to ‘totally disabled’ police officers but that could see many injured officers lose out have been announced by the government.
Review of Police Injury Benefits • Risks 371
Hazards news, 30 August 2008

Britain: Injury costs care assistant her job
A care assistant who was hurt whilst lifting a resident at a residential care home in Darlington has been awarded £8,000 compensation from her former employer after losing her job as a result of the injury.
Risks 371
Hazards news, 30 August 2008

Britain: Electrician gets £250,000 for back injuries
A Unite member working as a contract electrician has been awarded £250,000 for the back injuries he sustained when he fell at a Tarmac site in 2003. Union law firm Rowley Ashworth rejected the insurer’s offer of contributory negligence to agree liability on a 75:25 split in favour of the member and issued court proceedings; instead, a final settlement of £250,000 was achieved three weeks before the scheduled trial.
Risks 370
Hazards news, 23 August 2008

Britain: Nursery nurse gets back payout
A nursery nurse from Newcastle has secured £75,000 damages following a serious back injury at work. Gillian Scott, 42, a member of UNISON, was working at Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary when the contents of a box slipped as she was placing it in a cupboard, causing her to fall against the door which sprung back on her.
Risks 370
Hazards news, 23 August 2008

Britain: Work asthma caused mental problems
Electrical engineer Mark Lawrence has been awarded £100,000 – more than six times the original offer - after he developed occupational asthma which led to a psychiatric disorder. The Unite member was working for Lydmet Limited, now Federal Mogul Camshafts Limited, when he experienced shortness of breath at work in April 2001.
Risks 370
Hazards news, 23 August 2008

Britain: £12,000 compensation for shoulder injury
Kitchen appliance manufacturer Indesit, has paid £12,000 compensation to a factory Unite member injured at the firm's factory in Denbighshire, North Wales. Richard Williams, 60, was attempting to manually pull down a metal panel to secure it in place on a washing machine but the panel didn't move because it hadn't been positioned correctly; as a result he badly injured his left shoulder and his thumb.
Risks 369
Hazards news, 16 August 2008

Britain: Wembley horror witness denied payout
A worker who suffered a serious psychiatric injury after he saw a workmate die during the construction of the new Wembley Stadium has lost his claim for damages. The judge concluded that 43-year-old Stephen Monk was not a “primary victim” of the negligent conduct of the crane operator for which PCH had admitted liability, because he did not satisfy the conditions necessary to be regarded either as a rescuer or as an “unwilling participant” in the accident.
Risks 368
Hazards news, 9 August 2008

Britain: Six figure payout for drill injury
A production worker from Ashford has been awarded £220,000 compensation after being injured by a defective drill. Unite member Caroline May, 47, was working for Cohline (UK) Limited when she suffered serious arm injuries in May 2003. She did not know the drill she was using was defective. When she operated it, it kicked back striking her right arm.
Risks 366
Hazards news, 26 July 2008

Britain: £1 million payout for travel-to-work injuries
The value of union legal services inside and outside the workplace has been starkly illustrated by a £1 million payout to a union member seriously injured while cycling to work. The Unite member, whose identity has not been revealed, has been awarded £1,123,676.98.
Risks 366
Hazards news, 26 July 2008

Britain: Motor firm pays for wrecked knee
A Unite member from Maidstone has been paid £517,500 compensation after suffering a serious workplace knee injury when using faulty equipment. Glyn Davies, aged 62, was dismantling and re-erecting large industrial racking systems at automotive manufacturer Intier when he sustained the injury in November 2002.
Risks 366
Hazards news, 26 July 2008

Britain: Port worker gets payout at last
A Felixstowe port worker has received a compensation payout nine years after being seriously injured at a container terminal. Doctors said Alan Thorne, 49, from Felixstowe, would never be able to work again because of the back injuries he suffered.
Risks 364
Hazards news, 12 July 2008

Britain: Government extends meso benefits
The government has closed a loophole in the disease benefits system that meant that people developing mesothelioma but not exposed at work missed out. On 7 July, the House of Lords approved The Mesothelioma Lump Sum Payments (Conditions and Amounts) Regulations 2008 that mean from 1 October those with non-occupational mesothelioma – for example, through exposure to contamination on a relative’s work clothing – will be entitled to a lump sum compensation payout, in the region of £10,000 per case.
House of Lords report for 7 July 2008, Hansard • Risks 364
Hazards news, 12 July 2008

Britain: Government u-turn hits disease sufferers
Workers developing occupational diseases could lose out as a result of a government u-turn on retention of insurance records by employers. The government is pressing ahead with a move to drop the requirement on firms to keep their employers’ liability insurance records for 40 years – despite opposition from workplace health groups, lawyers, unions and insurers.
Asbestos Forum news release [pdf] and briefing [pdf] •
Employers’ Liability Compulsory Insurance, EDM 2010 • Has your MP signed the EDM? If not, ask why not: you can find out how to contact your MP here – all you need is your postcode • Risks 364
Hazards news, 12 July 2008

Britain: Six figure settlement for crushed hand
A factory worker whose hand was crushed at work and had to be rebuilt by surgeons has received a £130,000 settlement. A pallet had jammed in the machine Michael Pattison was operating at Carlisle firm Crown Bevcan.
Risks 364
Hazards news, 12 July 2008

Britain: Freelance gets injury payout
A freelance screen engineer from Bradford who was injured by a crane at Chester Race Course has secured £35,000 damages. Paul Bowling, a member of the entertainment union BECTU, was dismantling large video screens at the end of a race meeting when he was hit by a Crane Hire Direct Limited crane being used to move the equipment.
Risks 364
Hazards news, 12 July 2008

Britain: Payout from Boots for thigh injuries
Unite member Fred Stedham, 53, a Boots the Chemist warehouse worker who was forced to do a job despite raising safety concerns has received £8,000 compensation after it resulted in him being injured.
Risks 363
Hazards news, 5 July 2008

Britain: BP neglect caused asbestos cancer
BP Oil UK has been told it must pay compensation to the family of a former worker who died from the asbestos cancer mesothelioma. Unite member Wilf Human worked at the firm’s refinery on the Isle of Grain from 1957 until 1979.
Risks 363
Hazards news, 5 July 2008

Britain: Injured bus driver gets payout
A Newcastle bus driver who was medically retired following a vehicle smash while working has secured significant damages with the support of the GMB union’s Friends and Family scheme. Kenneth Lansley suffered debilitating injuries when a BMW drove into the side of his vehicle.
Risks 363
Hazards news, 5 July 2008

Britain: Dangerous plan to ditch insurance records
Workers who develop ‘long-tail’ diseases could miss out on compensation as a result of government plans to axe the requirement on firms to hold onto their insurance records for 40 years. The draft regulations also seek to remove the requirement on businesses to display a current employers’ liability insurance certificate.
DWP employers’ liability insurance proposals [pdf] • Employers’ liability insurance, EDM 1839, David Taylor MP • Retention of workplace insurance policies, EDM 1829, Andrew Dismore MP • Risks 362
Hazards news, 28 June 2008

Britain: Union cover protects injured cyclist
A former British Energy employee from Selby, who was knocked off his bike on his journey home from work and suffered a stroke, has secured over £200,000 in compensation.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 359
Hazards news, 7 June 2008

Britain: Paramedic gets vehicle crash payout
A paramedic who was injured after a van driver overshot a red light and collided with his ambulance has received a £62,856 payout. North East Ambulance Service paramedic David Fenwick, 55, suffered a serious shoulder injury that required two operations.
Thompson Solicitors news release • Risks 358
Hazards news, 31 May 2008

Britain: Payouts for stone dust disease
Two foundry workers who developed silicosis, one of the longest recognised occupational lung diseases, have received compensation. The Unite members, who both worked in the melting department of Federal Mogul’s Southwick factory on Wearside, have received “substantial” payouts in an out of court settlement.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Sunderland Echo • Risks 358
Hazards news, 31 May 2008

Britain: Rubbish slip leads to rail payout
A train driver has secured nearly £6,000 compensation from Northern Rail following a serious back injury caused as he stepped onto discarded rubbish. As ASLEF member Peter Kelly, from Selby, North Yorkshire, boarded a train, he stepped on rubbish that had been thrown onto the train but not cleaned up; the 49-year-old fell backwards onto the platform and badly injured his lower back.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 356
Hazards news, 17 May 2008

Britain: Widow gets six figure asbestos payout
The widow of a Unite member has secured £120,000 in an out of court compensation settlement after her husband died from the asbestos related cancer, mesothelioma. The unnamed 71-year-old from Mold in Wales was exposed to asbestos while working for the Metropolitan Vickers Electrical Company in Trafford Park, Manchester, now known as AEI.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 354
Hazards news, 3 May 2008

Britain: Payout deal for stressed teacher
A teacher who said his job ruined his health has been paid a “substantial” sum as compensation for his ordeal. NUT member Andrew Massey, 54, has been unable to work since going sick with stress from New College in Leicester.
BBC News Online • Leicester Mercury • Hazards suicide report • Risks 353
Hazards news, 26 April 2008

Britain: Six figure settlement for explosion stresses
A gas worker whose career was wrecked when he was traumatised by an explosion has received a £230,000 payout. GMB member Danny McLoed, 50, a Transco employee, received the payout from Schememade Limited, which admitted liability for cutting through the gas pipe when laying cable.
GMB news release • Risks 352
Hazards news, 19 April 2008

Britain: Lung cancer survivor gets payout
A man who developed lung cancer after being exposed to asbestos in the workplace has been compensated by his former employers. Widower, Joseph Douglas, 66, from Ellesmere Port has received £65,000 in damages after he was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2004.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 351
Hazards news, 12 April 2008

Britain: MoD ignored work injury warnings
A Ministry of Defence (MoD) stores assistant who suffered a serious back injury due to continuous heavy lifting and whose employer then failed to shift her to lighter work has received £60,000 in compensation.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 351
Hazards news, 12 April 2008

Britain: Hit-and-run firefighter gets £280k damages
A firefighter knocked from his bike on his journey home from work has received over £280,000 in damages. David Frith, a member of the firefighters’ union FBU from Leicester, received the award via the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (MIB) untraced drivers scheme after the hit-and-run incident.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 350
Hazards news, 5 April 2008

Britain: Six figure payout for asbestos death
A Yorkshire widow has received a six-figure compensation payout after her husband died of an asbestos cancer. Sylvia Worth, 54, was awarded £122,000 in damages.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Find your local asbestos group on the Asbestos Forum website • Risks 349
Hazards news, 29 March 2008

Britain: Death threat kitchen assistant gets payout
A kitchen assistant who was eventually forced to leave her job following a violent incident has been awarded £40,000 compensation. Diana Gruber, 60, received the payout from Leicestershire County Council after a verbal attack at Coalville Resource Centre.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 349
Hazards news, 29 March 2008

Britain: Latex payout but no job for young nurse
A young nurse who had to give up the profession after developing a potentially deadly latex allergy has received a six figure payout. UNISON member Tanya Dodd, 25, was a trainee nurse at Scarborough General Hospital when she developed type 1 latex allergy from gloves she wore routinely as part of her job.
UNISON news release • BBC News Online • Risks 348
Hazards news, 22 March 2008

Britain: Injury destroys young worker’s dream
A construction site injury has crushed the dreams of a Barnsley man who has lost the opportunity to play semi-professional football. James Smith was 20 and working as a steel fixer for Century Reinforcement Services when he was injured in 2004.
Irwin Mitchell news release • Risks 347
Hazards news, 15 March 2008

Britain: Union pushes for slipped disc payout
A support worker who slipped a disc while pushing a client in a wheelchair, and subsequently had his employment terminated, has secured damages from his former employer. UNISON member Malcolm Herbert from Croydon secured a one off settlement of £15,500 from Choice Support, which provides services for adults with learning disabilities.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 347
Hazards news, 15 March 2008

Britain: Firm pays £25,000 for broken arm
A Telford confectionery company has been fined after a Polish worker's arm was broken when it became trapped in a conveyor system. Magna Specialist Confectioners Ltd (MSC) was fined a total of £25,000 and ordered to pay costs of £4,928 at Shrewsbury Crown Court.
HSE news release • Risks 346
Hazards news, 8 March 2008

Britain: Attacked journalist wins police payout
Photojournalist and NUJ member Marc Vallée has accepted an apology and out-of-court settlement from the Metropolitan Police. The union had issued proceedings against commissioner of police Sir Ian Blair for “battery” (assault) and breaches of the Human Rights Act, relating to freedom of expression and assembly.
NUJ news release • Risks 346
Hazards news, 8 March 2008

Britain: Labourer gets payout after face injury
A Sheffield labourer has been awarded compensation of £19,000 after being injured at work when a piece of scaffolding fell three storeys, hitting him in the face. Neil Ringrose, 42, was working for Rowland Scaffold Company Ltd at a Woolworths Store in Redcar when the incident occurred.
Risks 345
Hazards news, 1 March 2008

Britain: Hot oil burns firm to pay £8,750
A teenager was left badly scarred after slipping into a pan of extremely hot oil left on the floor of a busy restaurant. A year later Claire Swainger can still not stand for prolonged periods because of injuries sustained in the accident at Hull restaurant The Omelette.
Risks 345
Hazards news, 1 March 2008

Britain: Bus driver attacked and sacked
Bus driver Robert Latimer, 63, attacked by a drunken passenger then sacked for taking time off while injured has been awarded £75,000 in compensation. Tommy Brennan, GMB Northern secretary, said: “He was a victim of a serious crime and yet not only did they try to paint him as the aggressor, they refused to talk to the GMB or to give our member the right of a grievance hearing and to appeal against his sacking.”
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 345
Hazards news, 1 March 2008

Britain: Payout after oven cleaner attack
A residential social worker who was sprayed in the face with oven cleaner has received thousands of pounds in compensation from Newport City Council. Miss Rudi Meszaros, 33, suffered long term chemical damage to her eyes after being attacked by a young person in her care.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 344
Hazards news, 23 February 2008

Britain: Insurers press for low payouts
The conduct of insurers who deal directly with accident victims will be investigated following accusations they put pressure on victims to waive their right to compensation or to settle claims for less than the proper rate. Trade unions and claimant lawyers have handed a dossier of evidence against the insurers to the Financial Services Authority (FSA) for investigation.
Risks 344
Hazards news, 23 February 2008

Britain: Dock leap wore out man’s knee
A boatman whose right knee was wrecked by jumping on and off boats for two decades has received undisclosed damages in an out-of-court settlement. GMB member William Lively, 55, worked as a boatman on the Norman Forster passenger boat in Tyne Dock.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 344
Hazards news, 23 February 2008

Britain: Tube driver gets RSI compo go-ahead
A Tube driver has been granted permission to sue London Underground (LUL) after developing a debilitating wrist injury. RMT member Latona Allison developed the repetitive strain injury tenosynovitis in her right wrist and now cannot work as a driver.
Ms Latona Allison (Appellant) and London Underground Ltd, [2008] EWCA Civ 71, Case No: B3/2007/0536, 13 February 2008 • Risks 343
Hazards news, 16 February 2008

Britain: Man loses fingers and wins compensation
A Coventry man whose hand was crushed in an inadequately guarded machine has been awarded more than £40,000 in damages. Parlvin Moyo, 37, who had to have two fingers amputated as a result of his injuries, was employed as a machine operative for Hydro Aluminium Extrusion Ltd in Warwick.
Risks 341
Hazards news, 2 February 2008

Britain: Engineer ousted after rupturing bicep
An engineer from Cumbria who rupturing the bicep in his right arm at work has received compensation, but has lost the job he loved. Unite member Geoffrey Loftus, 63, secured £95,000 compensation after being forced to retire on medical grounds as a result of the injury, sustained as the blow moulding engineer tightened a bolt.
Risks 341
Hazards news, 2 February 2008

Britain: Six figure miner payout but no job
Negligence at a Welsh mine has led to a £105,000 pay out for a collier who had to be medically retired after a falling stone broke a vertebrae in his neck. NUM member Alun Finney, 55, worked as a collier for Energybuild Limited at their
Risks 341
Hazards news, 2 February 2008

Britain: Strain injury leads to forced retirement
A factory worker from Port Talbot who was medically retired after suffering a repetitive strain injury (RSI) has received almost £17,000 in compensation. Unite member Barbara Newall’s job was to bag the accessories that accompanied a DVD player; this included a remote control, a battery pack, an RF cable and, in some cases, an additional RF lead - she would pack approximately 4,500 bags per day.
Thompsons Solicitors new release
RSI Action Day, Friday 29 February: Unions can order a special 'Repeat after me' RSI day poster from the Hazards Campaign • 'Repeat after me' poster • Email the Hazards Campaign for poster order details • Risks 341
Hazards news, 2 February 2008

Britain: Vibration ruling fails injured miners
A High Court ruling has shattered hopes of compensation for many miners with the debilitating occupational disease vibration white finger (VWF). Roger Maddocks of law firm Irwin Mitchell said the way the government handles some claims under the British Coal VWF Claims Handling Arrangement (CHA) has meant miners are routinely missing out on compensation, and criticised claim processing company Capita, “who have assumed the role of judge and jury on the claims.”
Risks 340
Hazards news, 26 January 2008

Britain: Shoulder injury forces retirement
A GMB union member from Gloucestershire has secured “substantial” damages after he fractured his shoulder, forcing his medical retirement from his maintenance job. Former Transco employee Kevin Meek from Cinderford, Gloucestershire was employed as a maintenance worker by Wales & West Utilities Limited, (WWU) - formerly part of National Grid Transco.
Risks 340
Hazards news, 26 January 2008

Britain: Welder gets lung cancer payout
A former welder diagnosed with lung cancer after being exposed to asbestos has been paid provisional compensation. The unnamed former welder, 73, received the £20,000 payout after being diagnosed with lung cancer in August 2006.
Global unions zero work cancer campaign • Risks 340
Hazards news, 26 January 2008

Britain: UNISON wins asbestosis payout
A retired member of the union UNISON has been awarded a £25,000 payout after contracting the lung scarring disease asbestos. Albert Flood, a 79-year-old former joiner, worked for a number of different firms during the 1950s and early 1960s and was regularly exposed to asbestos without warning or breathing protection.
Risks 340
Hazards news, 26 January 2008

Britain: Miners hit by compensation failures
Sick miners and their families have lost out on compensation because of administrative failures, according to an official report. Legal Services Complaints Commissioner Zahida Manzoor said different awards were being made depending on a “bewildering array” of circumstances, such as support from a local MP and conduct of solicitors involved in taking claims under the government scheme for miners’ respiratory diseases and vibration white finger.
OLSCC news release [pdf] and special report [pdf] • Risks 339
Hazards news, 19 January 2008

Britain: Collapsing chair cost train driver his job
A train driver who was forced to give up work after falling off a chair at a station has been awarded nearly £80,000 compensation. ASLEF member Martin Syms, 51, from Porth, Rhondda, was sitting in a plastic chair in the mess room at Cardiff Central Station when it collapsed and he fell.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 339
Hazards news, 19 January 2008

Britain: Slip up costs bus firm £14,000
A bus driver from St Albans has been awarded £14,000 compensation after suffering a back injury in a workplace slip. Unite member Douglas Peacock was leaving the office at Metroline’s Potters Bar bus garage when he slipped on a spillage on the garage floor.
Pattinson & Brewer news release • Risks 339
Hazards news, 19 January 2008

Britain: Hand injury caused mental injuries
A Preston man who suffered severe physical and psychological injuries after his hand was trapped in a machine at work has secured a six figure payout from his former employer. The unnamed Unite member, aged 47, trapped his hand in an unguarded slitting machine and sustained a serious ‘degloving’ injury, where the skin is stripped from the hand.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 339
Hazards news, 19 January 2008

Britain: Five years to deafen a worker
A 40-year-old Lancashire man has been deafened by just five years of periodic exposure to excessive workplace noise. Mark Bulcock received £5,000 in damages after he lost his hearing because of the noisy machines at the sock manufacturer where he worked.
Irwin Mitchell news release • Risks 338
Hazards news,12 January 2008

Britain: More vibration, more payouts
A boilermaker from Port Talbot whose hands have been permanently damaged from regular use of vibrating tools has been paid compensation from four employers with the support of his trade union GMB. The man, aged 50, whose name has not been released, has been employed by four different companies during his working life and has been regularly exposed to excessive vibration from tools such as grinders, pistol drills, large drills, needle guns and impact wrenches.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Risks 338
Hazards news,12 January 2008

Britain: Rise in Scottish teacher compo payouts
Scotland's schools and colleges spent more than £250,000 on compensation payments to teachers last year, figures from the union EIS have revealed. Claims ranged from £38,000 for distress caused by a wrongful prosecution based on false allegations to £750 for a teacher who slipped on a stairwell.
EIS news release • BBC News Online • Risks 338
Hazards news,12 January 2008

Britain: Another Corus worker gets deafness payout
A factory foreman who was exposed to excessive noise at work which left him with severe hearing difficulties has been awarded undisclosed compensation by his former employer, Corus. GMB member Martin Bourne, 70, was employed as a mechanical foreman at the Corus UK Llanwern Works in Newport, Gwent.
Thompsons Solicitors news release
Hazards news, 22 December 2007

Britain: More time plea for compensation cases
The Scottish Law Commission is calling for people who are injured in accidents to be given more time to claim compensation. The commission recommended a five-year window of opportunity instead of the current three-year limit in place throughout the UK.
Scottish Law Commission news release [pdf] and report 207 [pdf] • BBC News Online
Hazards news, 15 December 2007

Britain: Dawson’s driver develops diesel dermatitis
A delivery driver who developed irritant contact dermatitis when diesel splashed on his hand is to receive £1,800 compensation. Dawson Holdings plc employee William Smith, 54, was filling his work van with diesel using a hand held nozzle, when diesel blew back from the tank of the van and went directly onto his hands.
Thompsons Solicitors news release
Hazards news, 15 December 2007

Britain: Vibration permanently harms man’s hands
A 24-year-old crack tester from Doncaster who says he was forced out of his job after vibrating tools permanently damaged his hands has received a £30,000 compensation settlement. Unite member Dean Grice was employed by MSI Forks Ltd, a firm making forks for forklift trucks, and developed vibration white finger and carpal tunnel syndrome.
Thompsons Solicitors news release
Hazards news, 15 December 2007

Britain: Hub floors cement mill worker
A Unite member received compensation of £50,000 when he was struck on the leg by a coupling hub. The 53-year-old member, identified as Mr Earney, was employed as a mechanical craft worker for Blue Circle Industries plc at their factory premises in Westbury, Wiltshire.
Thompsons Solicitors news release
Hazards news, 15 December 2007

Britain: Payout for security officer injured in burglary
A University of Manchester security guard who suffered a broken collar bone and finger during a burglary in a campus launderette, has received a compensation payout of over £13,000. UNISON member Gerard Darlington, 48, was working the night shift when a report came in that there were noises heard in the launderette.
Thompsons Solicitors news release
Hazards news, 15 December 2007

Britain: Unions make unsafe employers pay
Trade union legal services continues to provide crucial support for injured workers.
Pattinson and Brewer news releases on lorry driver, home carer and panel beater settlements Thompsons Solicitors news releases on tomato slip and hernia settlements
Hazards news, 8 December 2007

Britain: Six figure payout for job ending injury
A Merseyside man whose life has been seriously impaired as a result of a serious back injury at work has received a 250,000 payout from Glen Dimplex Cooking. The 61-year-old Unite member from Prescot, worked as a facilities engineer for the firm and sustained a serious back injury when he fell down a damp sloping grass verge whilst reading meters at one of the firm’s factory buildings.
Thompsons Solicitors news release
Hazards news, 24 November 2007

Britain: Drivers get slip up payouts
A bus driver and a lorry driver, both members of the union Unite, have received compensation after slipping at work. London bus driver Stephen Jacobs received £6,000 compensation after falling on a wet floor after leaving a toilet at a terminus and Simon Omer, an HGV driver with supermarket chain Sainsbury’s received £5,250 after slipping and injuring his left knee.
Pattinson & Brewer news releases on the Jacobs and the Omer cases
Hazards news, 24 November 2007

Britain: Port worker receives asbestos settlement
A retired Port of London Authority (PLA) worker has received £23,500 compensation after being diagnosed with asbestos-related pleural thickening. Unite secured the compensation for Terence O’Connell, 84, who worked for the PLA from 1937 until 1975, save for the wartime years when he served in the RAF.
Pattinson & Brewer news release
Hazards news, 24 November 2007

Britain: UK gripped by ‘no compensation’ culture
The number of workplace personal injury claims are low and falling fast, new research for the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has found. The study by researchers from the University of Warwick’s School of Law has undermined the popular view that UK citizens are engaging in a spiralling ‘compensation culture’ with ever increasing claims against allegedly negligent companies and organisations.
University of Warwick news release • A survey of changes in the volume and composition of claims for damages for occupational injury or ill health resulting from the Management of Health and Safety at Work and Fire Precautions (Workplace) (Amendment) Regulations 2003, RR593, HSE, 2007 [pdf]
Hazards news, 17 November 2007

Britain: Settlement For severed finger
A Kent warehouse worker has received over £4,000 compensation after losing the tip of his finger in an incident at work. Unite member Keith Deehy was working for MBL Thamesmead when as he attempted to close the roller shutter door of a vehicle it moved forward, trapping his fingers and slicing off the top of his left middle finger.
Pattinson & Brewer Solicitors news release
Hazards news, 10 November 2007

Britain: Rigger gets broken wrist payout
A ship’s rigger from Plymouth has been awarded £12,000 damages after breaking his wrist helping HMS Somerset to dock. The Ministry of Defence (MoD) and Devonport Royal Dockyard Ltd agreed the payment to Unite member Kevin Renyard, 44.
Thompsons Solicitors news release
Hazards news, 10 November 2007

Britain: Union delivers knock out service
A worker knocked out by a flying crate has been awarded £9,500 compensation. Unite member Roger Loughran, 37, was employed as a sweeper/driver by Onyx. He was loading bread crates, which were left on a pavement, on to an open caged lorry when he was hit in the face by a crate thrown by his work colleague.
Pattinson & Brewer Solicitors news release
Hazards news, 10 November 2007

Britain: Six figure payout for devastating injuries
A painter and decorator has received a settlement worth up to £5m after safety failings led to an incident that left him with brain damage. The High Court in London heard how Alan Miah, 45, from Luton, was left seriously injured after he fell through scaffolding in October 2003.
BBC News Online
Hazards news, 3 November 2007

Britain: Metal firm pays for deafness
A worker who suffered serious hearing loss as a result of exposure to noise in a metal extrusion firm has received a compensation payout. GMB member Stuart Capell, aged 61, brought his claim after realising that his hearing had become impaired after working at Alcoa Extruded Products (UK) Ltd, of Banbury and received a £3,500 settlement.
Thompsons Solicitors news release
Hazards news, 3 November 2007

Britain: Workplace visit leads to costly slip up
A Birmingham woman who injured her back and knee after slipping on vomit on the floor of a college nursery has received damages of £8,500. The woman was on maternity leave from Birmingham’s City College and was visiting her manager to finalise her return to work.
Thompsons Solicitors news release
Hazards news, 27 October 2007

Britain: Grass cutting caused vibration injury
A council gardener has developed debilitating vibration white finger (VWF) as a result of cutting grass with strimmers and mowers. GMB member Robert Llewellyn received £3,000 compensation from Cardiff County Council.
Thompsons Solicitors news release
Hazards news, 27 October 2007

Britain: Health workers may be due extra payouts
The British Medical Association (BMA) says an NHS work-related injury and ill-health compensation scheme has been under-paying some claimants. It is advising any member who has received compensation for an injury at work since 1972 to check they are receiving their full entitlement.
BMA news release • Guide to the NHS Industry Benefits Scheme [pdf]
Hazards news, 20 October 2007

Britain: Pleural plaques ruling “a disgrace”
Thousands of workers with an asbestos-related condition will not be able to claim compensation following a ruling by Law Lords. Union leaders and lawyers attacked the decision to end claims for pleural plaques, usually caused by exposure to asbestos.
Unite news release • Prospect news release • Asbestos Victims Support Groups Forum news release • House of Lords appeal judgment, 17 October 2007
Hazards news, 20 October 2007

Britain: Payouts only ease financial misery
Construction union UCATT has secured six figure payouts on behalf of the families of two workers killed at work, but says cash is no real recompense and can only ease the financial misery. In May 2002 the two steeplejacks, Paul Wakefield and Craig Whelan, were killed in a chimney fireball at the Metal Box plant in Bolton.
UCATT news release
Hazards news, 20 October 2007

Britain: Attacked healthcare assistant gets payout
A healthcare assistant injured trying to assist a colleague who was being attacked by a patient, has received almost £5,000 in compensation. The unnamed UNISON member, aged 53, received the payout from Dorset Healthcare NHS Trust as a result of the thumb injury sustained in the incident at Kings Park Community Hospital.
Thompsons Solicitors news release
Hazards news, 13 October 2007

Britain: Golf clubbed worker get crime payout
A council driver has received an £8,575 criminal injuries payout after being attacked with a golf club. The award made to Calderdale council worker William Roberts, a member of the union Unite, was almost seven times the amount originally offered by the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA).
John Pickering and Partners news release
Hazards news, 13 October 2007

Britain: Mum wants action not compensation
The daughter and girlfriend of a steeplejack killed by a fireball as he worked demolishing a 60-metre high chimney have received £335,000 compensation in a UCATT-backed case. Father-of-one Craig Whelan – whose mother, Linda, is a founder member of Families Against Corporate Killers (FACK) - was just 23 when he died while working on the chimney at Carnaud Metal Box Plc's Bolton factory in May 2002.
FACK news release
Hazards news, 13 October 2007

Britain: Worker floored by rubber door
A hospital clerical officer who was injured when a large, heavy door fell on top of her has been awarded damages of £5,350. UNISON member Amy Whitcombe, 26, was working at the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend when the incident occurred.
Thompsons Solicitors news release
Hazards news, 6 October 2007

Britain: Collapsing cab seat compo payout
London Underground is to pay damages to a train driver who was injured when his cab seat collapsed. Train drivers’ union ASLEF secured the compensation for the unnamed member.
Thompsons Solicitors news release
Hazards news, 29 September 2007

Britain: Six figure payout for dental nurse allergy
A dental nurse who had to pack in work after developing occupational dermatitis has received a £200,000 payout. The 50-year-old UNISON member, who has not been named, worked for the Central Manchester Primary Care Trust and developed the debilitating skin condition as a result of using latex gloves between 1980 and 2004.
Thompsons Solicitors news release
Hazards news, 29 September 2007

Australia: Work rights attack is hurting safety
There has been an alarming growth in the number of workers whose health and safety rights are at risk as a result of reforms introduced by the Australian federal government, unions have warned. National union federation ACTU says the Howard government’s poorly resourced workers’ compensation and inspection scheme, Comcare, it being pushed as a cut price, second class alternative to much more comprehensive state-based systems.
ACTU news release
Hazards news, 22 September 2007

Britain: Finger injury leads to payout
A poorly training packaging worker who suffered a serious finger injury has been awarded a £5,500 payout in a union backed case. Unite member Ian Brown, 25, suffered the injury when his finger became trapped in a machine that had no protective guard in place.
Thompsons Solicitors news release
Hazards news, 22 September 2007

Britain: Injured jockey gets £85k compensation
Jockey Andrew Ball has won an £85,000 payout for an injury sustained when he was kicked y a horse and that put an end to his career.
Wiltshire Gazette and Herald • Hazards compensation webpages
Hazards news, 15 September 2007

Britain: Tesco pays out to injured employees
Supermarket giant Tesco has had its safety approach called into question after two workers were compensated for workplace injury. The Unite members worked at a Tesco Distribution Centre in Purfleet, Essex.
Thompsons Solicitors news release
Hazards news, 18 August 2007

Britain: Attacked nurse gets £21,500 compensation
A staff nurse at Broadmoor Hospital has received a £21,500 payout following two assaults by a patient. Trade union UNISON secured the compensation for Lucia Johnson, after she was assaulted in December 2002 and July 2003.
Thompsons Solicitors news release
Hazards news, 18 August 2007

Britain: Upped work rate caused clerk's strain injury
The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has paid out almost £500,000 after an RAF computer clerk developed a chronic repetitive strain injury caused by an increased work rate. A total of £484,000 in compensation and legal costs was awarded following the onset of the condition in the hand of the unnamed employee.
Birmingham Post
Hazards news, 4 August 2007

Britain: Nestlé pays out for tennis elbow cases
Nestlé UK Ltd has paid compensation to four workers at the coffee making giant's site at Burton on Trent after each of them developed tennis elbow – mirroring the experiences of workers at another of the company’s plants in Brazil. Steven Davis, received £11,000, a colleague £4,000 and two other workers undisclosed sums after developing the occupational strain injury.
IUF news release
Hazards news, 28 July 2007

Britain: Miner compensation delays criticised
A Government department has been accused of delaying compensation to ex-miners whose health suffered as a result of working down pits because of “significant weaknesses” in planning the payouts. A report by the National Audit Office (NAO) also identified additional costs to the two schemes, which have so far paid out £3.6 billion to 575,000 claimants for an occupational lung disease (430,000 cases of Chronic Obstructive Airways Disease settled by 31 March) and for vibration white finger (145,000 VWF claims settled).
NAO news release • Coal Health Compensation Schemes: Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, HC 608 2006-2007, 18 July 2007, executive summary and full report [pdf]
Hazards news, 21 July 2007

Britain: Retired driver gets skin rash payout
A retired machine driver has successfully claimed compensation for an uncomfortable work-related skin rash that could easily have been prevented. James Quinn, 68, from Leeds, was employed with Mone Brothers Civil Engineering Limited from 1985 to 2004 and was required to fill up machines and this meant he came into contact with diesel, hydraulic and engine oils, along with lubricant grease on a daily basis.
Irwin Mitchell Solicitors news release
Hazards news, 14 July 2007

Britain: Groundsman gets payout for lost limb
A Kent groundsman has secured an undisclosed compensation payout after losing a limb in an accident at work. UNISON member Roger Adams, from Dartford, Kent, who works as a groundsman for North West Kent College, was using a tractor mower to cut grass in October 2003 when the mower became blocked.
Thompsons Solicitors news release
Hazards news, 14 July 2007

Britain: Rail firm pays for safety slip up
Chiltern Railways has been ordered to pay compensation of £10,000 to PCS member Richard Wilmot after he broke his right shoulder on the station concourse as he approached the ticket barrier at Marylebone station. He slipped on a wet floor – the company had not repaired a leaking roof.
Thompsons Solicitors news releases on the Wilmot case
Hazards news, 7 July 2007

Britain: Firm fails in bid to block injury payout
The firm operating the Newcastle metro system has failed in a bid to block an injury payout to metro train driver. An appeal by transport executive organisation NEXUS at Newcastle Upon Tyne Law Courts was rejected, and the company must now pay the £7,300 damages it owes the metro train driver, who was injured following the failure of an overhead line.
Thompsons Solicitors news releases on the Richardson case
Hazards news, 7 July 2007

Britain: Modern miner gets deafness payout
A miner and GMB member whose hearing was severely damaged working for just 11 years in modern coal mines has received a £4,500 payout. UK Coal Ltd is to pay the damages to former employee David Burns, 49.
Thompsons Solicitors news release
Hazards news, 23 June 2007

Britain: Harassed worker secures settlement
A building attendant who suffered from bullying and harassment at work has been awarded damages. Shaun Kernon, 38, will receive the undisclosed out-of-court settlement from his employer, Gateshead Council.
Thompsons Solicitors news release
Hazards news, 23 June 2007

Britain: Poor training led to disfiguring injuries
A Rotherham man has been awarded £15,000 in an out-of-court settlement after suffering a serious workplace injury to his face which has resulted in permanent disfigurement. Sean Blanchard, 35, a married father of two wo had been employed by Avery Berkel based in Sheffield for 16 years, had not been properly trained for the job.
Irwin Mitchell solicitors news release • Hazards compensation news and resources
Hazards news , 16 June 2007

Britain: Jarvis pays for knee injury
Construction firm Jarvis is to pay £8,000 damages to a rail worker injured as a result of safety breaches. RMT member Eric Barker tripped over a brake handle at a York depot in October 2004, sustaining knee injuries that required several weeks off work.
Thompsons Solicitors news release
Hazards news , 16 June 2007

Britain: Powertrain workers in legal victory
More than 20 former Powertrain workers struck down by work-related breathing difficulties have won the fight to lodge industrial disease benefit claims. The workers, members of the TGWU section of Unite, triumphed in a long-running battle to allow sufferers of extrinsic allergic alveolitis - EAA, also known as hypersensitivity pneumonitis - to lodge disability claims.
Birmingham Mail • Hazards compensation webpage
Hazards news, 9 June 2007

Britain: Scarred worker gets compensation payout
A Royal Mail worker who suffered multiple injuries and scarring in a loading bay fall has received a £15,000 compensation payout. Michael Cleary, 48, a member of Unite’s Amicus section, was standing on a scissor lift at Cardiff Mail Centre when he slipped into a gap between the bridge flap and a TNT lorry, sustaining injuries to his knee, back, chest and groin.
Thompsons Solicitors news release • Hazards compensation webpage
Hazards news, 9 June 2007

Britain: Redundant worker receives ligament support
A GMB member has secured substantial compensation in a case settled on the court steps. The damages were agreed following an incident at work which left Mark Stewart with a ruptured knee ligament; the injury affected his future working capacity and he was made redundant by the firm on 27 May.
Thompsons Solicitors news release
Hazards news, 2 June 2007

Britain: Union wins hearing damage payout
A worker from Goole, Humberside, who is suffering two debilitating health problems caused by exposure to excessive noise at work has received a £4,000 compensation settlement. Malcolm Goddard, 60, a member of Unite’s Amicus section and former Corus employee, suffers from severe occupational deafness and tinnitus, a ringing in the ears.
Thompsons Solicitors news release
Hazards news, 12 May 2007

Britain: Payout for artist after slip in pigeon poop
A London artist has secured £20,000 compensation following injuries sustained when she fell on wet pigeon excrement whilst walking under a railway bridge in Battersea in May 2003. Lois Matcham, aged 64, secured the damages with the support of her union UNISON, despite the injury not being work-related and her being a retired member.
Risks 301, 7 April 2007

Canada: Firefighter won final cancer battle
A Toronto fire captain who died of work-related colon cancer this month was laid to rest last week with full honours. Gary Allen Wilson, 48, was found to have died in the line of duty after the Workplace Safety Insurance Board (WSIB) declared his cancer to be related to the chemicals and smoke he was exposed to on the job.
Risks 300, 31 March 2007 • Hazards work cancer webpages

Australia: ABC breast cancer victims in compo bid
Eight of the 13 women who developed breast cancer in the last 11 years while working at the ABC's Toowong studios, in Brisbane, Australia, have filed workers' compensation claims.
Risks 300, 31 March 2007 • Hazards work cancer webpages

Britain: Union legal protection pays off
Unions continue to offer the best free legal support around, representing thousands of members suffering as a result of poor workplace health and safety standards.
Risks 300, 31 March 2007

Britain: Family’s payout fight after shredder death
The family of a recycling plant foreman who died when he was pulled through a paper shredder in front of his teenage son have launched a High Court battle for more than £400,000 compensation. Father-of-three Kevin Arnup, 36, was working alongside his son Jason at the MW White Ltd recycling plant in Station Road, Ketteringham, near Norwich.
Risks 299, 24 March 2007

Britain: Payouts for workers injured in work falls
Two workers injured in workplace falls have received substantial compensation payouts.
Risks 299, 24 March 2007

Britain: Car mechanic gets asbestos payout
A car mechanic has been awarded £300,000 compensation from former employers after he contracted the asbestos cancer mesothelioma as a result of working on cars with asbestos brake and clutch pads. Jonathan Hutchinson, 50, was diagnosed with mesothelioma in 2003, after working as a garage mechanic for a range of firms in the 1970s and 1980s and stripped out brake pads which contained asbestos dust.
Risks 298, 17 March 2007 • Action Mesothelioma • Hazards asbestos webpages

Britain: Soap firm settles for scaly skin
Toiletries giant PZ Cussons has paid out £10,000 to a former employee who developed occupational dermatitis. The 35-year-old TGWU member from Nottingham was required to wear latex gloves to protect his hands from workplace chemicals and went on to develop latex allergy.
Risks 298, 17 March 2007 • Hazards work and health webpages

Britain: Health service slip leads to payout
A nursing auxiliary who suffered injury to her back after falling down a steep and slippery slope at work has been awarded compensation by her employer, the Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Trust. UNISON member Jennifer Allso, 55, of Cowes on the Isle of Wight, sustained the injury in April 2005.
Risks 298, 17 March 2007

Britain: Vibrating injury victim secures compensation
A production worker has secured £7,000 compensation after developing debilitating hand and arm conditions caused by exposure to vibrating tools. The union GMB has secured the payout from two former employers of John Coggon, 52, who was diagnosed with vibration white finger (VWF) and carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) in September 2005 following his employment with National Power from 1977 to 1992 and then Newells from 1992 to 2002.
Risks 298, 17 March 2007 • Hazards work and health webpages

Britain: Widow gets £355,000 asbestos payout
The widow of a former Vickers employee who died from mesothelioma has received a £355,000 payout. Jean Allen, 69, secured the compensation following the death of her husband Keith from the asbestos-related cancer in 2004.
Risks 297, 10 March 2007

Britain: Most reportable work accidents not reported
New research for the Health and Safety Executive suggests most legally-reportable workplace accidents, including major injuries, are not being reported. Researchers from the University of Liverpool interviewed 581 patients at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital who had suffered reportable work-related injuries and found only 30 per cent of reportable accidents to employees were in fact reported.
Risks 296, 3 March 2007 • work and health webpages

Britain: Payout for road work vibration injuries
A road worker from Derby has secured £42,000 compensation for injuries caused by exposure to vibrating tools. The UNISON member secured the compensation from Derbyshire County Council after developing vibration white finger (VWF) and carpal tunnel syndrome, both potentially disabling occupational diseases.
Risks 294, 17 February 2007

Britain: Six figure payout for man infected by sick parrot
A man left debilitated after catching a disease from a parrot at work has received a £700,000 out-of-court settlement. Glyn Atherton, 35, was working at Focus Do It All in Nottingham in March 2000 when he caught psittacosis, an occupational lung disease similar to pneumonia, from a parrot belonging to Petworld, a pet store renting space on the premises.
Risks 293, 10 February 2007

Britain: Huge payout for Corus blast survivor
An Amicus member who suffered 43 per cent burns in a steel blast furnace explosion which killed three other workers has received a “huge” six-figure payout. Peter Clement, 54, was one of 12 workers injured in the blast at the Port Talbot steelworks in November 2001.
Risks 293, 10 February 2007 • More from Hazards on Corus safety

Britain: Six figure payout in disability discrimination case
A council worker who was sacked by fax while on sick leave has received a reported £130,000 in compensation in an out-of-court settlement. Elizabeth McDonald had claimed disability discrimination and unfair dismissal against Walsall Council, but settled her case when the offer was made during tribunal proceedings.
Risks 292, 3 February 2007

Britain: NHS to get work accident payback
The NHS could claim back over £150m a year for treating employees injured at work, the government has said. The money would be recovered from insurance companies in cases where personal injury compensation has been paid to workers.
Risks 292, 3 February 2007

Britain: Work injury and disease benefits to be reviewed
The TUC has said an official review of the occupational injury and disease benefits system must improve and extend its scope. The review of the Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit (IIDB) scheme “is part of the government’s commitment to help more people move off benefits and back into work,” says DWP.
Risks 292, 3 February 2007

Britain: Real concern over school safety, union warns
Scotland’s schools and colleges are not doing enough to make schools safer, teaching union the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) has warned. The union’s figures show that last year, injuries to teachers and lecturers resulting from accidents or assaults during working hours led to a compensation and legal bill of around a quarter of a million pounds.
Risks 289, 13 January 2007

Britain: Kitchen assistant awarded £60,000 after fall
A kitchen assistant who fell after being distracted by a faulty hot drinks machine has been awarded more than £60,000 in compensation. Helen Given, 61, broke her hip and right wrist in the fall, spent 10 weeks in hospital and was bed-ridden for six months.
Risks 288, 23 December 2006

Britain: Six figure payout after injury travelling home
An electrical worker who suffered career-ending injuries on a ferry when travelling home after working away has been awarded £140,000. Amicus member George Shimmans, an electrical craftsman from Denbighshire, received the payout after being medically retired as a result of back injuries sustained on the Condor Ferries’ craft.
Risks 288, 23 December 2006

Australia: Self-insurance for firms to hurt workers
A new Australian government move encouraging big businesses to self-insure for workers’ compensation could mean substantially reduced payouts for injured workers and could significantly lower the national standard of workplace health and safety, union federation ACTU has warned. It said the federal government is supporting moves by large businesses to withdraw from state-based schemes linked to enforcement, and instead sign up as self-insurers under the national Comcare scheme.
Risks 287, 16 December 2006

Britain: Insurance firms aim to add insult to injury
New research has shown that four out of five personal injury victims don't trust insurers to compensate them fairly without legal representation and over three quarters are not confident of bringing a claim themselves. The Law Society says it research shows an insurance industry proposal to increase the current limit of £1,000 for personal injury cases on the small claims track, where people are expected to represent themselves, will effectively leave thousands of victims unable to pursue justified claims, making insurance companies the big winners.
Risks 287, 16 December 2006

Britain: New warning on insurers
Injured people should not be pursued and pressured by third party insurers who offer them upfront cash to “deal direct,” the president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) has warned. Unions have also raised concerns about their members, who are entitled to union legal cover for workplace and frequently out of work accidents, getting poor treatment at the hand of no-win/no fee outfits.
Risks 285, 2 December 2006

Britain: Firefighter sees off compensation threat
An injured Surrey firefighter has defeated a Court of Appeal challenge which could have overturned his compensation payout. Surrey Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS), which had argued John Pennington “should not have attempted to save a driver’s life”, lost its appeal which would have stripped the firefighter of £3,115.
Risks 284, 25 November 2006

Britain: Uninsured boss fined £11,500 after teen injury
A company owner who did not have the legally required injury insurance has been told to pay up £11,500 in fines, costs and compensation after a teenage mechanic was injured. Andrew Richardson was found guilty of not having Employers Liability Compulsory Insurance after 17-year-old mechanic Yana Jones, who he paid £3 an hour, suffered injuries to her left leg resulting in a hospital stay and permanent scarring.
Risks 284, 25 November 2006

Britain: Work injury forces octagenarian’s retirement
A Sheffield octogenarian has had to give up work after sustaining a serious workplace injury. John Moffatt, 80, received a £5,000 out-of-court settlement from his former employer after suffering the shoulder injury at work in January 2005.
Risks 283, 18 November 2006

Britain: Union cuts traffic accident deal for teenage butcher
A teenage TGWU member from Devon has secured £4,000 in compensation after being hit by a car as he used a zebra crossing. Butcher James Broom, 19, was injured in August 2004 when a driver failed to give way at the crossing.
Risks 283, 18 November 2006

Britain: Poisonous package leads to payout
A TGWU member who was taken ill after being exposed to toxic fumes at work is to receive £1,200 compensation. Tony Green from Solihull was employed as a stock controller by Yuasa of Birmingham, one of the world’s largest manufacturers and suppliers of valve regulated lead-acid batteries.
Risks 283, 18 November 2006

Britain: Paralysed refuse worker, 21, gets £3.75m payout
A 21-year-old refuse collection worker has been awarded £3.75m compensation after an accident which left him paralysed. Birmingham High Court heard Richard Taylor was in a refuse lorry which overturned last year.
Risks 282, 11 November 2006

Britain: Granddaughter gets asbestos cancer
A 45-year-old woman dying as a result of exposure to asbestos from her grandfather’s work clothing has been awarded a £145,000 payout. Michelle Campbell said she loved sitting on granddad Charles Frost’s knee and enjoying a chat when he popped in to visit on his way home from his job at Portsmouth dockyards.
Risks 282, 11 November 2006

Britain: Welder receives £100,000 in injured hand case
A welder who suffered an horrific hand injury leading to the amputation of a finger has received a £100,000 payout. Amicus member Donald Ford received the out-of-court settlement from Langley Holdings plc after suffering a serious injury to his left hand in December 2003.
Risks 282, 11 November 2006

Britain: Ladder fall victim lands £90,000 payout
A GMB member who suffered a serious wrist injury in a workplace fall has received £90,000 compensation. Ian Mitchell suffered “terrible injuries” in a fall from a ladder caused by dangerously uneven flooring.
Risks 282, 11 November 2006

Britain: Vibration plus repetition equals compensation minus job
A worker who suffered career-ending ill-health caused by exposure to vibration and repetitive work has received a £20,000 compensation payout. Amicus member Michael Jones, 63, developed vibration white finger (VWF) then carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS) while working at a GE Engine Aircraft Services plant near Caerphilly, and received compensation for both.
Risks 281, 4 November 2006

Britain: Student job leads to flattened thumbs
A Sheffield student has had both his thumbs crushed during a part-time construction job. Neil Goodchild, 22, received an out-of-court settlement of £6,250 after sustaining severe crushing injuries to both his thumbs leaving him with residual numbness.
Risks, 271, 26 August 2006

Britain: Six figure settlement after rail worker’s death
The family of a rail worker killed by a train near Purley Oaks station have received £160,000 compensation. Nurani Kassim, 36, was part of a maintenance team checking rails for defects just months after the Hatfield rail disaster in October 2000.
Risks 264, 8 July 2006

Britain: White finger sufferer gets four digit payout
A Leeds man has been awarded a £7,500 compensation payout after he contracted the industrial disease vibration white finger (VWF). Barry Wallis, 47, was awarded the sum following a claim against Insituform Technologies Ltd, based in Wakefield.
Risks 261, 17 June 2006

Britain: £600,000 for man crushed by truck
An adventure guide left paraplegic after a trucked toppled on him is to receive £600,000 compensation. Brian Thomson, 38, from East Lothian, sued his former employer, Exodus Travel, for failing to provide adequate equipment.
Risks 261, 17 June 2006

Britain: Broken leg payout after 8 foot fall
An Amicus member has been awarded an £77,178 payout after suffering a broken leg in a fall from a ladder. Alan Arthur, a moulding machine operator, fractured his shin bone when he fell from an 8ft ladder at Lectroheat Industrial Heating Limited's plant in Bedwas in March, 2004.
Risks 261, 17 June 2006

Britain: Lords slash asbestos payouts
Thousands of widows will not receive full compensation for their husbands' deaths from asbestos-related cancer, Law Lords have ruled. The 3 May majority decision will mean there will be a compensation limit in cases involving several employers, none of whom can be blamed categorically for the onset of the fatal illness.
Risks 255, 6 May 2006 • Barker (Respondent) v. Corus (UK) plc (Appellants) (formerly Barker (Respondent) v. Saint Gobain Pipelines plc (Appellants)) Murray (widow and executrix of the estate of John Lawrence Murray (deceased)) (Respondent) v. British Shipbuilders (Hydrodynamics) Limited (Appellants) and others and others (Appellants) Patterson (son and executor of the estate of J Patterson (deceased)) (Respondent) v. Smiths Dock Limited (Appellants) and others (Conjoined Appeals. Full House of Lords judgment

Britain: High pice paid for poor school conditions
Figures released at teaching union NASUWT’s conference show the union won a record £7.6m compensation last year in personal injury payouts and employment tribunal awards. Over £1.8m was awarded to members in personal injury claims last year.
Risks 253, 22 April 2006

Britain: Gruesome jail death inquiry call
A solicitor has called for a public inquiry into events surrounding a Hannibal Lecter-style killing of a prisoner by his cellmate. The call came after six warders, members of the prison officers’ union POA, were awarded over £1m in compensation for witnessing the aftermath of the attack.
Risks 249, 25 March 2006

Britain: TUC warning on compensation reforms
The TUC is urging the government not to undermine the existing personal injury compensation scheme. A new TUC report, 'Personal injury claims: Proposals for change', says that the current system is working well by and large and says that recent criticisms have been from those attempting to reduce the ability of injured or ill workers to claim against negligent employers.
Risks 249, 25 March 2006

Britain: Worker gets £33,750 for bouncy castle injury
A youth centre worker accused by his employer of faking a back injury has been awarded £33,000 in compensation in a union-backed case. UNISON member Dean Gibbon, 51, received the payout from Durham County Council after being injured putting away a deflated bouncy castle.
Risks 246, 4 March 2006

Britain: No compensation for lost leg
A Swansea man who lost a leg in a forklift accident when still in his teens has lost his battle for compensation. John Paul Jones was just 19 when in July 2000 his leg was crushed in an accident after he collected pallets in the factory yard.
Risks 245, 25 February 2006

Britain: £1m payout after 11-storey fall
A lift engineer who fell 150ft down a lift shaft at London's Canary Wharf has been awarded almost £1m in compensation. Solicitors for Gary Smith, 40, said he had undergone more than 20 operations since the accident in 2001 yet he was still videoed by Zurich, insurer for lift firm Kone, and was accused of being a “malingerer”.
Risks 244, 18 February 2006

Britain: Payout after faulty seat causes permanent injury
A Sheffield man has been awarded £47,000 in an out-of-court settlement with his former employer after injuring his back at work and sustaining a permanent disability. Robert Hopkinson, 45, damaged his spine in January 2002 whilst working as a driver for waste disposal company Onyx UK.
Risks 244, 18 February 2006

Britain: Injured yes, compensated no
A labourer engulfed by an explosion during slum clearance work in Liverpool has left the Appeal Court empty-handed after failing for the second time to secure a damages payout from his former employers. James William Brown, 41, was part of a gang clearing derelict council houses on 6 November 2003, when an exploding object in a small fire lit on the site left him with horrific injuries to his face and eyes.
Risks 244, 18 February 2006

Britain: Six figure payout for teacher after death threat
A teacher who quit her job at a Birmingham special school after being threatened by a thug has won a £330,000 payout from Birmingham city council. Anna Mongey, who was 43 at the time of the attack in 2001, received the out-of-court settlement after the intruder confronted her at Lindsworth Special School.
Risks 243, 11 February 2006

Britain: Northern Electric pays for ladder fall
A company that failed to provide a safety aid or required safety training has agreed to a compensation settlement after a worker was injured. Amicus member Kevin Noble, 52, received the undisclosed sum from Northern Electric Plc.
Risks 243, 11 February 2006

Britain: Injured TV freelance gets injury payout
A freelance location manager who broke a knee cap and elbow after safety warnings were ignored on the set of a TV drama has been awarded compensation. Chris Hordley, a member of the TV and theatre union BECTU, was working on David Jason's directing debut, ‘The Quest’.
Risks 243, 11 February 2006

Britain: Amicus wins compensation for sacked print worker
A print worker targeted for redundancy after winning compensation for a disabling strain injury has received a £45,000 payout for unfair dismissal.
Risks 242, 4 February 2006

Britain: Company pays out £75,000 for work asthma
A former factory worker struck down by asthma caused by exposure to workplace chemicals has been awarded £75,000 in damages. David Simms began working for Wolverhampton-based Schenectady Europe Ltd as a teenager and remained with them for 15 years until 2003, when the company relocated to France.
Risks 240, 21 January 2006

USA: Court upholds welder’s $1m Parkinson’s award
A US court as upheld a US$1m (£580,000) compensation award to a welder who developed Parkinson’s disease he believes was caused by exposure to manganese in welding fumes. Defendants in the case included UK company BOC Group, which described the verdict as “an aberration”.
Risks 238, 7 January 2006

Britain: Firm gets five digit fine for thumb injury
SmithKline Beecham plc has been fined £15,000 at East Berkshire Magistrates Court after a worker's thumb was partially severed by machinery. Parent company GlaxoSmithKline reported a before tax profit of £6.1 billion in 2004.
Risks 238, 7 January 2006

Britain: Union tots up schools compensation
More than £180,000 has been paid out to education workers in Scotland who have been victims of attacks or industrial accidents, Scottish teaching union EIS has revealed. Legal costs took the total bill for local authorities and educational establishments to almost £250,000 in 2005.
Risks 238, 7 January 2006

Britain: Amicus secures huge payouts for injured workers
A foundry worker who lost his right arm at work in 1985 is now facing amputation of his left arm as a result of a second industrial injury at the same firm. His union Amicus has secured a £1,450,000 compensation settlement. In a second case settled by the union, a Nissan employee, 46-year-old Mike Gregg, was awarded an out-of-court settlement of £85,000 as a result of a neck injury sustained at work.
Risks 238, 7 January 2006

Britain: Lawyers and insurers clash on compensation
Insurance industry proposals to speed up and reform the personal injury system could result in more profits for insurers and lower payouts for claimants, lawyers have warned.
Risks 237, 17 December 2005

Britain: Compensation for minor injuries nurse
A nurse at Newquay's minor injuries unit has been awarded compensation after slipping on a wet floor and breaking her knee. Alison Romback, who was working at the unit in June 2005 when the accident happened, received an undisclosed sum.
Risks 236, 10 December 2005

Britain: Committee recommendations would hurt claimants
The TUC is warning that the recommendations of a top Commons committee would have a damaging impact on workplace compensation claimants and on prevention.
Risks 236, 10 December 2005

Britain: TUC Compensation Bill briefing
The TUC has published an online briefing on the government’s planned Compensation Bill, which seeks to restrict the activities and claims farmers and proposes weakening rules on negligence.
Risks 234, 26 November 2005

Britain: Seven figure payouts for injured workers
Two workers who sustained devastating injuries in workplace incidents have been awarded seven figure payouts at the High Court.
Risks 234, 26 November 2005

Britain: Teachers secure payouts after violent attacks
A teacher who was hit on the head when a child from another school hurled a brick has been awarded a £130,000 payout after a five year fight by her union NASUWT. The unnamed former head of religious education was left unable to work and still has blackouts.
Risks 232, 12 November 2005

Britain: Safety call after teacher payouts
Teachers' union NASUWT is calling for a review of health and safety rules in schools after winning hundreds of thousands of pounds in compensation for members injured or made ill at work.
Risks 231, 5 November 2005

Britain: Airport masseuse with RSI awarded £109,000
A masseuse who worked in Virgin Atlantic's Upper Class lounge at Heathrow has been awarded £109,000 in damages after developing repetitive strain injury. Elizabeth King, 28, first developed problems in the lead-up to Christmas 2000 during an increase in passengers and staff shortages.
Risks 230, 29 October 2005

Britain: Injured shipyard worker in payout battle
A welder who has been left brain-damaged after an accident at a Clyde shipyard is still awaiting compensation 10 years after receiving the horrific injuries at work. Arthur Thomson and wife Jean are angry they have received no compensation, despite the once fit and active man's life being ruined.
Risks 223, 10 September 2005

Britain: Six figure payout for wood dust disease
An arts and crafts teacher has been awarded nearly £150,000 compensation after being forced into early retirement by a chronic wood dust related occupational disease. The 52-year-old teacher suffered nasal obstruction, headaches, nasal discharge and the eventual diagnosis of rhinosinusitis.
Risks 219, 13 August 2005

Britain: Injured worker is awarded £250,000
A factory worker whose arm was mangled in an accident plans to use his damages of £250,000 to escape his boring job. A court heard injuries to plastic injection moulding engineer Adrian Stewart's hand and wrist left him unable to do manual work.
Risks 218, 6 August 2005

Britain: Compensation for nurse after brutal attack
A nurse who was brutally attacked three years before her colleague was killed in a similar assault on the same ward, has been awarded compensation from her bosses. Corinne Clarke was working alone in 2000 on Springfield Hospital's John Meyer ward - notorious as the scene of fellow nurse Eshan Chattun's violent death in 2003 - when she was attacked from behind.
Risks 218, 6 August 2005

Britain: Drivers get laptop injury payouts
Transco drivers who suffered back injuries as a result of using the ill-positioned laptops fitted in their vans have received compensation payouts. The GMB members took claims against the company, which had refused to admit it was responsible.
Risks 218, 6 August 2005

USA: Worker gets $3 million for “popcorn lung”
A former popcorn plant worker in the US has been awarded nearly $3 million (£1.7m) after claiming he suffered severe lung damage from a harmful chemical used to make butter flavouring. Current and former workers at the Jasper Popcorn Co. are suffering from bronchiolitis obliterans, a rare lung disease which can require a lung transplant.
Risks 217, 30 July 2005

Britain: Road accident victim gets £390,000 payout
A UNISON member who was seriously injured in a car smash on his journey home from work has received a £390,000 payout.
Risks 217, 30 July 2005

Britain: TUC demolishes 'compensation culture' myths
The UK is not in the grips of a US-style compensation culture, nine out of every 10 workers injured or made ill by their jobs never receive a penny, and the best way for employers to ensure they stay out of court and keep costs down is to make their workplaces safer, according to a new TUC report.
Risks 217, 30 July 2005

Britain: Sick miners are dying before receiving payouts
Miners are dying before receiving compensation for serious industrial health problems, an MP has said.
Risks * Number 216 * 23 July 2005

Britain: £450,000 asthma payouts for Jus-Rol workers
A union asthma compensation case has led to a series of large settlements for workers at a Tweedmouth factory whose health suffered because of exposure to flour dust.
Risks * Number 216 * 23 July 2005

Britain: Tesco fined after worker loses finger
Supermarket chain Tesco has been ordered to pay £50,000 after a court heard of a “culture of carelessness” led to a worker losing a finger at its Norwich store.
Risks 213, 2 July 2005

Britain: £1m damages for injured window cleaner
A window cleaner who suffered devastating injuries when he fell from an unguarded flat roof, has been awarded more than £1 million compensation at London's High Court.
Risks 212, 25 June 2005

Britain: Campaigners fight for medical exam centres
A massive cutback in the number of medical examination centres where people are assessed for industrial injuries benefits is being opposed by union and welfare rights campaigners. The closures, which are the result of government outsourcing of the centres to a private company, are scheduled to take place by 31 August 2005.
Risks 211, 18 June 2005

Britain: Steel firm pays £3,300 for a finger
A Sittingbourne steel company has been fined £3,300 after a worker lost a finger in a machine that had been faulty for six years. Milton Pipes Ltd pleaded guilty at Sittingbourne Magistrates' Court, Kent to breaches of health and safety legislation.
Risks 207, 21 May 2005

Britain: TUC shatters compensation culture myth
Fewer than one in 10 people made ill or injured by their work ever receive any compensation from the state or from their employers, reveals a new report from the TUC.
Risks 207, 21 May 2005

New Zealand: Company doc censured for denying health problem
A doctor involved in an employer “partnership programme” that assesses New Zealand occupational disease victims for compensation has been found guilty of professional misconduct for refusing to accept a hospital diagnosis of a “classic” work-related disease.
Risks 206, 14 May 2005

Britain: Cabin crew call on airlines to clear the air
Cabin crew union TGWU has called on the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) to end the airline industry’s silence about contaminated aircraft air. The union is calling on the HSE to require British registered aircraft are fitted with “bleed air filtration systems” so that crews and passengers can be protected from contaminated air.
Risks 203, 7 May 2005

Britain: Asbestos cancer kills 32-year-old
A man thought to be one of the youngest person in the UK to contract asbestos-related cancer has died. Barry Welch, a 32-year-old father of three from Leicester who has never worked with asbestos, was diagnosed with mesothelioma last year – thought to be caused by childhood exposure to the fibre on his stepfather’s overalls.
Risks 203, 7 May 2005

Britain: Palace widow gets asbestos payout
The widow of a man who died after exposure to asbestos at Buckingham Palace has been awarded nearly £180,000 in compensation by the High Court. Mary Costello's husband John died aged 58 in September 2001 of mesothelioma, an asbestos-related cancer.
Risks 203, 7 May 2005

Britain: No compensation for work-related suicide
The wife of a worker who killed himself because he couldn’t bear the health effects of a workplace accident has failed in a bid to get compensation for his death. Thomas Corr was aged 31 when he severed most of his right ear at the Luton IBC car factory while working on the production line, an injury which lead to stress and depression and his eventual suicide.
Risks 203, 7 May 2005 • Hazards “worked to death” webpages

USA: $15 million payout for popcorn lung
A US jury has awarded a $15 million (£8m) settlement to a former Jasper Popcorn Co. plant maintenance worker and his wife in their lawsuit against the makers of a butter flavouring used at the plant. It follows a $20 million payout to another worker from the plant a year ago.
Risks 200, 2 April 2005

Britain: TGWU membership pays off
The Transport and General Workers' Union secured over £72 million in accident and injury compensation last year for individual members. It says this takes the total compensation settlements won since the union was founded to over £1.65 billion.
Risks 200, 2 April 2005

Britain: Insurers want insurance from work disease cost
Britain's biggest insurers are in talks with the government over plans to establish a state-backed fund to pick up the bill for claims from the next generation of industrial diseases.
Risks 200, 2 April 2005

Britain: Insurers in "shameless" appeal in asbestos case
Aviva and Zurich Insurance are to appeal against a legal decision which found insurance firms are liable to pay compensation for pleural plaques caused by exposure to asbestos. Colin Ettinger, the president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers, called the legal challenge "nothing but a shameless and greedy attempt by insurers to save yet more money at the expense of injured people."
Risks 199, 19 March 2005

Britain: Six figure payout for life-ruining fall
Teesside dad Robert Cowley, who suffered years of agony and depression after falling from a work ladder, has won a six-figure settlement for his injuries after refusing an original offer of just £18,000. His employer Irvine Whitlock originally offered a compensation payment of £18,000, although this was increased to £125,000 in January, with a final, higher but undisclosed settlement reached last month.
Risks 198, 12 March 2005

Britain: Worker loses finger, wins £45,000
A Sheffield man has been paid £45,000 compensation by his High Speed and Carbide Ltd after an accident at work chopped his index finger from his dominant left hand.
Risks 198, 12 March 2005

USA/Australia: Hardie's compensation dealings span continents
Australian asbestos exporter James Hardie is lobbying the US Congress for cut-price "no fault" legislation in a bid to limit its US compensation liabilities. The building products company has hired Washington influence peddling firm Shea and Gardner to push its powerful Republican contacts to back legislation establishing a capped $140 billion (£73bn) scheme to eliminate asbestos lawsuits.
Risks 197, 5 March 2005

Britain: Nurse gets £144,000 latex allergy payout
A nurse at Bolton Royal Hospital has received £144,000 in compensation after her allergy to latex gloves went untreated for years. Despite the allergy developing over nearly 10 years and regular visits to Bolton Royal Hospital's occupational health service, at no time did Bernadette Chouchene's employer provide her with alternative gloves.
Risks 197, 5 March 2005

Britain: Asbestos dust kills daughter
A widower whose wife died of asbestos disease caused by her exposure as a little girl has received a £107,500 compensation payout. When Sylvie Tapley was a child she used to sit on her father's knee when he returned from the asbestos factory where he worked.
Risks 197, 5 March 2005

Australia: Compensation body profits should benefit workers
The body providing workers' compensation payouts in the Australian state of Victoria has made a massive profit this year - and this money should be ploughed back into improving working conditions, say unions. Trades Hall secretary Leigh Hubbard said the news "proved that an injured workers' compensation system that delivers access to common law and decent permanent injury benefits and provides employers with the second lowest premiums in Australia can be sustainable."
Risks 197, 5 March 2005

USA: It's an asbestos disease crisis, stupid
The US government is trying to redfine America's asbestos disease crisis as a litigation crisis, a top US commentator has charged. Paul Brodeur, a staff writer at the New Yorker for many years, says: "Suffice it to say that Bush's attempt to convince us that this public health crisis should be viewed as a litigation crisis is a cruel hoax."
Risks 196, 26 February 2005

Britain: Asbestos ruling supports pleural plaques payouts
A move by insurers to stop paying out to people diagnosed with a condition showing asbestos exposure has failed. A High Court judge ruled thousands of people with pleural plaques - scarring on the lung lining - were still entitled to compensation.
Risks 195, 19 February 2005

Britain: Cautious welcome for incapacity benefit proposals
The TUC has given a cautious welcome to the government's "sensible" incapacity benefit proposals, announced this week in the Department of Work and Pensions' five year plan.
Risks 193, 5 February 2005

Global: Hardie's world of asbestos victims
James Hardie Industries is under pressure to extend its $1.5 billion (£0.62bn) Australian compensation deal to thousands of asbestos victims in Asia and the Pacific.
Risks 193, 5 February 2005

Britain: Firing on health grounds an expensive mistake
Employers who fire workers on health grounds are being hit by large penalties at employment tribunals.
Risks 192, 29 January 2005

Britain: Widower loses damages for wife's asbestos death
A former shipyard worker whose wife died from an asbestos cancer has been stripped of his £82,000 compensation payout. James Maguire's wife Teresa, 67, contracted mesothelioma through secondary exposure to asbestos dust on his work clothes.
Risks 192, 29 January 2005 • Hazards asbestos webpages

Britain: Worker gets £50,000 for lost thumb
A Sheffield steelworker has been awarded £50,000 compensation after his thumb was sliced off in a razor-blade making machine.
Risks 191, 22 January 2005