July 31st, 2009
A woman who fell in a pub’s smoking area is to receive £18,000 in compensation after she badly broke her leg.
Selina Gilder, 40, had been on a night out at the Albion Pub in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, when the accident occurred in October 2007.
She went out for a cigarette, but caught her heel in a piece of broken concrete and fell through an unlocked door.
Her leg was broken in two places and her injuries meant that she needed three operations and eight months off work.
Ms Gilder took legal action against the owners of the pub, alleging that the smoking area was badly lit and the floor surface was poor.
They have now admitted liability and have agreed to the compensation payout as part of an out-of-court settlement.
Under the Occupiers Liability Act 1957, owners of public places owe a duty of care to their visitors and must keep them reasonably safe. If this is not the case, anyone injured may be eligible to claim compensation, as was the case here.
Tags: Albion Pub, Broken Concrete, Cigarette, Court Settlement, Duty Of Care, Eight Months, Floor Surface, Gilder, Gloucestershire, Occupiers Liability Act, Occupiers Liability Act 1957, Smoking Area, Woman
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July 31st, 2009
A young man who was the victim of a medical blunder at his birth has been awarded compensation that will cover his long-term care needs.
The unnamed victim was deprived of oxygen at birth due to errors by health professionals. Had he been delivered 25 minutes earlier, his brain damage could have been avoided, Conscious.co.uk reports.
Now, however, he cannot walk or talk and is reliant on others for his care. His family were wrongly told that they could not claim compensation because their son is now over three years old, but they recently found that this is not the case and lodged a claim against the NHS trust involved.
Indeed, although those over 18 must seek compensation within three years of clinical negligence occurring, the families of children affected by it can make a claim until they are 18 years old.
The NHS trust admitted liability for the victim’s brain injuries and agreed to a £3.8 million payout that will enable him to move to a specially adapted house.
Claims for clinical negligence can be brought against a range of health professionals, including doctors, private healthcare practitioners, dentists, nurses, occupational therapists and plastic surgeons.
Tags: 18 Years, Brain Damage, Brain Injuries, Clinical Negligence, Dentists, Doctors, Health Professionals, Healthcare Practitioners, Left Brain, Long Term Care, Medical Blunder, Nhs Trust, Nurses, Occupational Therapists, Oxygen, Private Healthcare, Young Man
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July 30th, 2009
A group of 16 families in Corby could be in line to receive millions of pounds in compensation after the high court agreed that toxic material from a local steel works caused their children’s birth defects.
Residents of the Northamptonshire town began to worry when four children were born in the mid-1990s with fingers missing and other limb deformities.
They suspected that the problems stemmed from the reclamation works at Corby’s British Steel Works between 1985 and 1999, claiming that lorries containing toxic waste had been driven open over the roads, spilling dangerous sludge in the town.
Some 16 families with disabled children took legal action against Corby Council, which denied the allegations and fought the case to the high court.
Now however, a judge has agreed that the waste did cause the children’s defects and has given them the right to pursue compensation that could total £10 million.
The case has been described as the biggest related to toxic poisoning since thalidomide, when thousands of children were born with shortened limbs as a result of exposure to the anti-morning sickness drug that was believed to have no side effects.
Tags: 10 Million, Allegations, Birth Defect, Birth Defects, British Steel, Families With Disabled Children, Fingers, Limb Deformities, Mid 1990s, Morning Sickness, Reclamation Works, Sludge, Thalidomide, Toxic Material, Toxic Waste
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July 30th, 2009
A woman whose arm was badly injured in an accident at work is to receive £14,500 in compensation from her employer.
Nicola Upsher, 29, was working at Kimberley Clark in Gravesend in August 2007 when the accident occurred, Kent News reports.
She had been attempting to move a reel of plastic onto a trolley when it fell, crushing her calf muscles.
Ms Upsher had to take six months off work and was forced to use her savings to pay her bills. She decided to claim compensation from the firm as a result.
"Claiming compensation has also forced my employer to introduce new working practices to avoid something like this happening to someone else," she commented.
Indeed, Kimberley Clark has not only admitted liability for her injuries and agreed to the payout, but has installed a new system that will ensure the reels of plastic can be moved safely.
According to the Health and Safety Executive, there were 5,097 major injuries to employees in manufacturing in 2007-08.
Tags: Calf Muscles, Claiming Compensation, Gravesend, Health And Safety, Health And Safety Executive, Kent News, Kimberley Clark, News Reports, Six Months, Trolley, Upsher, Woman Work, Working Practices
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July 29th, 2009
The widow of a man who was killed in a cycling accident has been awarded £580,000 in compensation for her loss.
David Kersale, 44, had been cycling to work at Sharples School in Bolton in 2004 – where he was head of science – when he was hit from behind by a car.
The driver of the vehicle was diabetic and had gone into hypoglycaemic shock, losing control and ploughing into the cyclist.
Mr Kersale suffered fatal injuries and died at the scene.
His widow Jacqueline took legal action against the unnamed driver of the car and his insurers have now agreed to the compensation payout.
"It means that my little girl will be financially secure for the future. The money will never bring David back, but at least I feel like we have some kind of future at last," she commented.
According to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents, over 16,000 cyclists are killed or injured on Britain’s roads every year, with three-quarters of accidents taking place at road junctions.
Tags: Bolton, Car Driver, Crash, Cycling, Cyclists, Fatal Injuries, Jacqueline, Little Girl, Losing Control, Money, Ploughing, Prevention, Road Junctions, Royal Society For The Prevention Of Accidents, Science, Shock, Three Quarters
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