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.

After contracting an allergy to latex while at work, a trainee nurse was threatened with disciplinary action for using latex free gloves.  However, she subsequently made a successful claim for personal injury compensation and is to receive a payment for this work related medical condition.

The nurse, who worked at the Scarborough General Hospital, developed the latex allergy from routinely wearing gloves as part of her job.  Latex free gloves were not made available to her and the only type of gloves available to the staff on the wards was latex based.

She was told that if she was found using latex free gloves without prior permission from the Occupational Health department and her ward sister, this would be a punishable offence and she could face disciplinary action.

A woman who was exposed to asbestos when she worked in a factory as a teenager has been awarded substantial compensation when she made a personal injury claim.

It was not until 2006 that the woman (now aged 65) was diagnosed with mesothelioma, which disease is caused by exposure to asbestos dust.  Tragically, once a diagnosis is made sufferers of this condition often have only a few months to live.

The exposure to asbestos happened while she was working as a clerk for a clothing company.  Asbestos was used in the factory in steam pipes, and also in protective pads that were used to press the garments.  She was only 16 years old at the time and remembers that asbestos would fall from the ceiling, which she then had to sweep up.  As a result she was covered with asbestos dust and this penetrated to her lungs, causing the fatal disease.

A recent Court decision has found in favour of a passenger who was injured when trying to get on a bus.

The passenger fell from the Arriva owned bus after the driver had closed the doors on him and driven away, and as a result he sustained a severe head injury.  The Court has declared that he is entitled to personal injury compensation.

The passenger was boarding the bus when nearby traffic lights changed to green and the bus driver closed the doors around him and set off.  The bus travelled about 25 yards before the passenger lost his balance and fell into the road.

The evidence before the Court showed that the driver had opened the doors to admit the passenger and had then closed them upon him while he was still on the entry platform.

Holiday makers staying at a hotel in Torremolinos, Spain have again fallen prey to a major outbreak of illness, only weeks after hundreds of former guests succeeded in their claims for personal injury compensation, resulting in a total payout of around £2.5 million. 

Reports of the latest outbreak saw guests staying at the hotel during January and February 2008 suffering with illness, including gastric complaints, severe diarrhoea and vomiting.

Allegations have been made of poor hygiene conditions at the hotel, including reports that undercooked food was left out for long periods of time.  Holiday makers also indicated that the floor of the restaurant was dirty.   

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has brought work to a halt on over 30% of building sites undertaking refurbishment work, because of unacceptable safety levels.

The HSE recently carried out over 1,000 spot checks of such sites as part of a rolling inspection programme specifically targeting refurbishment work, as a result of the dramatic rise in the number of deaths from a work accident on this type of building site.

According to the HSE, over half of the workers who died on building sites last year were involved in refurbishment work. Their statistics also indicate that the total number of accident related deaths on refurbishment sites rose by a staggering 61%.

The shocking findings from the spot checks showed that basic safety precautions were being flouted. Issues in respect of working at height were also a huge concern, with over half of the enforcement action taken during this inspection initiative being as a result of dangerous work at height situations, which last year had led to the deaths of 23 workers.

Motorcyclist Richard Cooper was tragically killed in a motorcycle accident when his bike skidded on a large deposit of diesel fuel on the road, which caused him to collide head on with a van travelling in the opposite direction.

His family made a claim for personal injury compensation against the Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB) and has been awarded the sum of £110,000.

Normally, claims made by people injured in a road accident are directed against the party who caused the accident and handled by their insurers. However, the MIB will deal with all such claims where the negligent party either has no insurance or, as in this case, is unknown and cannot be traced.