November 3rd, 2009
A welder from Liverpool has won £140,000 in compensation after he contracted terminal cancer from working with asbestos.
Ronnie Cadwallader, 76, was diagnosed with mesothelioma in November 2007 after spending part of his working life stripping asbestos lagging off pipes, turbines and boilers.
His wife Ann told the Livepool Daily Post: "Ronnie was so fit and healthy, always running and never smoked or drank. All of a sudden he was really poorly with no energy.
"It was horrific."
His two-year struggle for compensation was made more complex by the fact that the two firms he had carried out such work for were no longer in business.
But Mr Cadwallader has finally been offered compensation by insurance firm Zurich, which was the insurer for one of his former employers, Carolina Engineering.
The Health and Safety Executive has recently launched a campaign to raise awareness about the dangers of working with asbestos aimed at tradesman and maintenance workers.
Tags: Asbestos Compensation, Boilers, Cadwallader, Health And Safety, Health And Safety Executive, Insurance, Insurance Firm, Insurer, Liverpool, Maintenance Workers, Mesothelioma, Pipes, Stripping, Struggle, Terminal Cancer, Tradesman, Turbines, Wife Ann, Zurich
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July 22nd, 2009
A keen motorbike rider is suing Suzuki after claiming that one of the company’s bikes fell apart while he was riding it.
Alan Jackson, 29, had been in training for the Isle of Man Grand Prix in August 2006, when he alleges that the GSX-R750 split into two at 80 miles per hour.
The rider was airlifted to Liverpool for hospital treatment, but was still left with one leg shorter than the other due to the severity of his injuries.
He also had to give up his £40,000 a year job on the grounds of ill health and is now seeking compensation from Suzuki for negligence.
Mr Jackson claims that the welds on the bike had not been strong enough and had not been tested prior to being sent for sale.
A spokesperson for Suzuki declined to comment.
Under the Consumer Protection Act 1987, if a product causes injury, the manufacturer is responsible as long as it can be proven that the product was less safe than the consumer could reasonably expect.
Tags: Alan Jackson, Biker, Bikes, Consumer Protection Act, Consumer Protection Act 1987, Defective Product, Grand Prix, Gsx R750, Ill Health, Isle Of Man, Job, Liverpool, Miles Per Hour, Motorbike, Negligence, Severity, Spokesperson, Suzuki, Welds
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February 20th, 2009
A law expert has warned people in the UK that they may not get the compensation they deserve after a road accident if they simply pursue their claim through an insurance company instead of seeking legal advice.
At a recent event hosted by the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers, the organisation’s president Amanda Stevens said that while a solicitor will work with the victim to make sure a fair outcome is reached, insurance companies will mostly want to get the claim processed quickly, the Liverpool Post reports.
She brought up the example of a woman who was offered £1,000 by her insurance company after a car crash, but realised after consulting her solicitor that she could receive a sum 1,000 per cent higher than this.
Simon Shaw, a solicitor in Liverpool, added: "The only way to ensure you will achieve full recognition and just compensation for the injuries you have sustained is to take independent legal advice from a recognised solicitor."
All personal injury claims must be lodged within three years of an accident or the victim will lose their right to bring about a claim.
Tags: Amanda Stevens, Association Of Personal Injury Lawyers, Car Crash, Independent Legal Advice, Insurance, Insurance Companies, Insurance Company, Law Expert, Liverpool, Personal Injury Claims, Personal Injury Lawyers, Realised, Road Accident Victims, Simon Shaw, Solicitor
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January 7th, 2009
A construction company has been prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after an incident in which an employee sustained a serious injury in a fall.
William Taylor fell three metres down some concrete steps while working for Laing O’Rourke Construction on Liverpool One, the new shopping mall in the city centre, in 2007.
He narrowly avoided falling the full three floors, but still sustained a major head injury.
HSE principal inspector Nic Rigby said: "The accident occurred because the company failed to make adequate risk assessments and plan a safe system of work. It was down to chance alone that this incident did not result in a fatality."
The company was fined and prosecuted for failing to adhere to health and safety requirements.
Under the Work at Height Regulations 2005, every employer should make sure that work is not carried out at height when it can be successfully carried out at ground level.
Where work at height is carried out, employers are legally obliged to take adequate steps to prevent falls.
Tags: Adequate Steps, Concrete Steps, Construction Company, Fatality, Head Injury, Health And Safety, Health And Safety Executive, Hse, Laing O Rourke, Liverpool, New Shopping Mall, Principal Inspector, Risk Assessments, Safety Requirements, William Taylor
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December 23rd, 2008
Compensation payouts have been secured for two men who were exposed to asbestos fibres during their time as dockworkers in Liverpool.
Edward Rice began working at the docks in 1955, while Robert Thompson began in 1966, the Press Association reports.
Mr Rice died of mesothelioma in 2000, while Mr Thompson has gone on to develop diffuse pleural thickening.
Winifred Rice, Mr Rice’s widow, took legal action against the organisation responsible for the now disbanded National Dock Labour Board (NDLB), as did Mr Thompson.
In a new development, Mr Rice’s family has been awarded £138,965 and Mr Thompson has secured a payout of £25,329 after high court judges ruled that the NDLB did not give its workers warnings about the risks of asbestos exposure or supply them with breathing apparatus.
Asbestos was widely used as a building material from the 1950s up until the mid-1980s.
If a person can prove they were exposed to asbestos at their place of work, they may be able to make a claim for compensation as a result.
Tags: 1950s, Asbestos Exposure, Asbestos Fibres, Breathing Apparatus, Building Material, Compensation Payouts, Docks, Edward Rice, High Court Judges, Labour Board, Liverpool, Mesothelioma, Mid 1980s, Mr Rice, Mr Thompson, Robert Thompson, Two Men
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