Archive for April, 2008

To ensure the safety of staff and authorised visitors, a workplace floor must not be slippery.  A recent claim for personal injury compensation made by an employee of Bristol City Council has highlighted that in claims of this type the Court will bear in mind the use to which the floor was put, including temporary circumstances that might often arise.  In this case the Court considered the frequency of any intermittently hazardous conditions, the chances of someone having an accident at work and suffering injury, and the severity of that injury.

It was found that the floor where the Council’s employee worked was frequently contaminated by urine, and when wet became slippery.  The Court found that the likelihood of a slipping accident occurring that might result in an injury was reasonably foreseeable during such times.  The employee had been warned of the potential hazard, but nevertheless the Council was held to be in breach of established Health and Safety Regulations.  However, the employee was also considered to be partly at fault and as a result his injury compensation was reduced by one third.

The aim of a recently launched Department of Transport campaign – “Think! that yawn could save your life” - is to encourage drivers to be more aware of their tiredness and for them to stop driving when they are overtired.

Research has suggested that drivers who ignore their tiredness and do not take breaks cause 20% of the accidents occurring on major roads.  The consequences of a car accident caused by a sleeping driver are more likely to be fatal, as the tired or sleeping driver’s reaction to the situation is impaired and they may be travelling at greater speeds than they realise.

Often, people who drive for a living regularly travel long distances and drive when tired because of pressure of work.  One tenth of such drivers have admitted falling asleep at the wheel.

Claims for personal injury compensation are being made by 100s of people who have bought sofas and suites from Argos stores and have since developed painful skin irritations and rashes.  These skin conditions appear to have been caused by direct contact with the sofas and suites sold.

Tests have been carried out by consultant dermatologists and the most likely source of the problems are items of furniture bought from Argos during 2007 that appear to have been made in China and were sold under the names of Pia or Bari.

Sufferers have described a number of symptoms, including the appearance of a rash or other blemishes on their backs, and have sometimes become aware of lumps under the skin that have caused additional stress and anxiety.  Diagnosis usually follows a visit to the GP or hospital and in many cases the remedy is straight forward.  However, the sufferer may be left with permanent scars.

An accountant’s recent claim for personal injury compensation against Marks and Spencer was lost when the High Court were not persuaded that the store was responsible for the slipping accident he suffered in their car park.

Alexander Martin-Sklan claims that a squashed grape had become attached to his sandal while he was inside the store and while in their car park this caused him to slip.  As a result he tore a tendon.  However, the evidence presented at Court was insufficient for the Judge to conclude that the grape had actually become attached as alleged.

Deputy Judge John Leighton Williams QC said:  ”In my judgment it was one of those accidents that could happen to anyone.”  In other words, he could attach no blame to either party and concluded that it was just a pure accident.