November 12th, 2009
A prisoner has been awarded £1,400 in compensation after he was bitten by a prison officer during a brawl.
David Hay was being moved to a new prison but had refused to leave Perth jail in Scotland without his quilt and in the ensuing argument was pinned to the floor and bitten in the back.
As a result of the incident, which left Hay with a bitemark for a fortnight, the Scottish Prison Service was ordered to pay the compensation on behalf of prison officer Kenny Kinnear, who carried out the act.
Hay, who served a seven-year term for culpable homicide, was cleared of a breach of the peace after he was accused of threatening Kinnear in the street after his eventual release from jail.
Earlier this week, a man who suffered a stroke after developing a drugs habit in jail was awarded compensation.
Ellis Sherwood had been wrongly convicted of murder and was awarded £1.4 million for what happened to him following the quashing of his conviction.
Tags: Breach Of The Peace, Convict, Conviction, Culpable Homicide, David Hay, Drugs, Eventual Release, Fortnight, Habit, Kinnear, Perth, Prison Officer, Scotland, Scottish Prison Service, Sherwood, Stroke, Wins
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November 4th, 2009
A leading judge has called for changes to be made in the way Fatal Accident Inquiries (FAIs) are conducted.
FAIs are public inquiries into fatal accidents, which are carried out in cases of suspicious or unexplained death.
Lord Cullen suggested that such inquiries should be made less formal and lawyers involved in the cases should no longer wear wigs and gowns.
The former lord president also said that FAIs should not be held in court anymore.
In his report related to Scotland, he stated: "My aim has been to set out practical measures for a system for inquiry into fatalities that is effective, efficient and fair."
His review into FAIs began in June 2008 and his findings also included the suggestion that a dedicated FAI team is set up.
Earlier this week, an inquiry in Scotland found that Paul Campbell, 25, of Eastriggs, had died in a quad bike accident due to the failure of a suspension unit on his vehicle, reports BBC News.
Tags: Aim, Bbc, Bike Accident, Failure, Fatal Accident Inquiries, Fatal Accidents, Gowns, Lawyers, Lord President, Measures, Paul Campbell, Public Inquiries, Quad Bike, Scotland, Suggestion, Suspension Unit, Unexplained Death, Wigs
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November 4th, 2009
The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) has issued a warning to remind people to take care during Bonfire Night.
It urged those hosting bonfires and fireworks displays to think about the safety of their spectators.
Nicola Butters, RoSPA’s home safety development officer in Scotland, said: "In previous years, about 1,000 people across Britain have had to go to hospital because they’ve been injured by a firework during the four weeks around Bonfire Night.
"Nearly half of such injuries are sustained at family or private parties."
She added that only adults should be allowed to set off fireworks and people needed to factor in the possibility of wet and windy conditions.
In another accident-prevention tip, the RoSPA urged party organisers not to use petrol or paraffin to light bonfires, but to stick to fire lighters instead.
The Liverpool Echo has reported that police are to man a fire engine in the city on Bonfire Night in an attempt to cut down on anti-social behaviour related to the event.
Tags: 000 People, Accident Prevention, Adults, Bonfire Night, Fire Engine, Firework, Fireworks Displays, Home Safety, Light Bonfires, Lighters, Liverpool Echo, Prevention Tip, Previous Years, Private Parties, Rospa, Royal Society For The Prevention Of Accidents, Scotland, Social Behaviour, Spectators, Windy Conditions
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October 23rd, 2009
A firm in Scotland has been prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after one of its employees was seriously injured by a piece of machinery.
The unnamed man had been filling a Mobile Explosives Manufacturing Unit at Orica UK in Muirside when the accident occurred in February 2008.
He had been pouring emulsion into the machine when it suddenly blocked. As he reached in to clear the blockage, it unexpectedly started again and the man lost two of the fingers on his right hand.
An investigation by HSE officers found that the plant’s equipment was not properly guarded and there was no safe way to clear blockages that did occur. Orica UK was fined £10,000 for breaching health and safety regulations.
HSE Inspector Colin Hutchinson commented: "This was a serious and avoidable incident. All companies conducting similar operations must learn from this incident by making sure their safety procedures are both sufficient and rigidly followed."
According to statistics published by the HSE, 299,000 reportable injuries occurred at work between 2007 and 2008, resulting in the loss of six million working days.
Tags: Blockages, Colin Hutchinson, Emulsion, Explosives, Fingers, Health And Safety, Health And Safety Executive, Hse, Orica, Reportable Injuries, Safe Way, Safety Procedures, Safety Regulations, Scotland, Statistics, Unnamed Man, Workplace Accident
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October 6th, 2009
The safety of unmanned railway crossings has been called into question after a fatal crash involving a car and a train.
Three elderly people were killed in Caithness on September 29th after their car was hit by a high speed train heading to Inverness, the Herald Scotland reports.
It is the same crossing that was at the centre of a similar accident in 2002, when Sarah Jappy was almost killed after driving onto the crossing and being hit by a train.
She is seeking compensation of £500,000 from Network Rail for her injuries and for the threat posed to her unborn baby, who was born while she was in a coma after the accident.
She maintains that if there had been a proper barrier in place at the level crossing, neither her accident nor the most recent one would have happened.
A spokesperson from Network Rail said: "All our level crossings are regularly inspected to check they are appropriate to the level of road and rail traffic in the area and we are confident the correct crossing is in place at Halkirk."
According to railway safety group the RSSB, the risk from signals passed at danger has reduced by over 85 per cent since 2001, while the risk to passengers from train accidents has reduced by more than 80 per cent.
Tags: Caithness, Coma, Crash Car, Fatal Crash, High Speed Train, Inverness, Jappy, Level Crossings, Rail Traffic, Railway Crossings, Railway Safety, Risk, Rssb, Safety Group, Scotland, Signals, Spokesperson, Train Accidents, Unborn Baby
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