November 4th, 2009
A teenage girl was killed in a tragic accident when the mast of a boat being towed along a road hit the car in which she was travelling, a court has heard.
Sarah James, 19, died after the loose dinghy mast smashed through the windscreen of her friend’s car.
Mark Tissiman, a millionaire businessman whose Range Rover was towing the boat after he had been taking part in a sailing competition, is accused of failing to properly secure the mast of the boat and causing death by dangerous driving.
Prosecutor Peter Arnold told Hereford Crown Court: "The mast came out of its mooring and swung out like a lance in a medieval joust and, like two horsemen approaching, the cars approached each other."
He added that it should have been properly secured to the dinghy.
Mr Tissiman is the director of MT Heating, a West Midlands heating contractor that is employed by several local councils in the region.
The trial continues.
Tags: Cars, Crown Court, Dinghy, Freak Accident, Hereford, Local Councils, Mast, Medieval Joust, Millionaire Businessman, Mooring, Peter Arnold, Prosecutor, Range Rover, Sailing Competition, Sarah James, Teenage Girl, Teenager, Tragic Accident, West Midlands, Windscreen
Posted in Personal Injury News | No Comments »
May 21st, 2009
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has said that companies must make sure they provide safe machinery for employees to use after an incident in which a man badly hurt his hand.
The unnamed man reached up into an extraction unit to clear a possible blockage, but was badly cut by the blades.
JBM International of Staffordshire was fined and prosecuted for not carrying out adequate risk assessments and not fitting guards to dangerous machinery.
HSE inspector Ian Williamson said: ”It is important for companies to ensure that they have fully considered all the risks their employees may face when using any equipment."
Earlier this month, the Grimsby Telegraph reported that teenager Luke Oxton is to receive compensation from the Icelandic Group after he got trapped in a machine that had no guard in Grimsby.
He also suffered serious injuries to his arm and has been unable to return to work, as well as requiring plastic surgery.
Tags: Dangerous Machinery, Extraction Unit, Grimsby Telegraph, Health And Safety, Health And Safety Executive, Health Safety, Hse, Oxton, Plastic Surgery, Risk Assessments, Safety Health, Staffordshire, Teenager, Unnamed Man
Posted in Personal Injury News | No Comments »
May 20th, 2009
A man who is dying of terminal lung cancer after being exposed to asbestos as a teenager is to be paid £400,000 compensation.
David Smith, now 56, worked as an apprentice for Associated Electrical Industries at Trafford Park maintaining street lights when he was 15, the Manchester Evening News reports.
It is thought that this was the place where he was exposed to the deadly building fibres.
"I had no idea what we were working with could be so dangerous. We had no protection from the dust, it used to fall on me all the time," said Mr Smith.
He became ill in 2007 and was told he only had another 12 to 15 months to live. To provide for his family after his death, Mr Smith launched legal action against Associated Electrical Industries, now Alstom Energy.
The company has now agreed to a compensation settlement of £400,000 for Mr Smith, but declined to comment on the case.
Earlier this month, it was reported by Get Reading that the widow of a labourer, George Sharpe, is seeking compensation after his death from asbestos-related cancer.
Tags: 15 Months, Alstom, Apprentice, Asbestos, David Smith, Electrical Industries, George Sharpe, Labourer, Lung Cancer, Manchester Evening News, Mr Smith, News Reports, Quot, Teenager, Terminal Lung Cancer
Posted in Personal Injury News | No Comments »
May 19th, 2009
A boy who was left with serious head injuries after being involved in a road accident is to receive compensation.
Michael Cleeve, then 12, was walking across a pedestrian crossing in Titchfield in 2007 when he was hit by a car being driven by David Kelly, Portsmouth local paper The News attests.
He had to be put on a spinal board and was in hospital for almost two months. The teenager now suffers from poor concentration and "an impaired sense of danger" as a result of the injuries he sustained.
With the help of his family, Michael is suing Mr Kelly in order to cover his future lost earnings
In a new development at the high court this week, the driver’s insurers admitted 50 per cent liability, a decision which will allow the court to decide how much money Michael will receive in compensation, Mrs Justice Swift said.
Anyone who has been hurt in a road traffic accident should be aware that it will always be the responsible party’s insurers who will pay out, or in the event that they do not have insurance, the Motor Insurers’ Bureau.
Tags: David Kelly, Earnings, Head Injuries, How Much Money, Insurance, Motor Insurers Bureau, Mr Kelly, Pedestrian Crossing, Poor Concentration, Portsmouth, Responsible Party, Road Accident, Road Traffic Accident, Schoolboy, Sense Of Danger, Swift, Teenager, Titchfield
Posted in Personal Injury News | No Comments »
May 13th, 2009
A teenager is to be paid compensation after an accident at work in which he was trapped in machinery.
Luke Oxton, then 19, was working at the Icelandic Group’s Coldwater factory in Grimsby, but got trapped in a piece of equipment because there was no guard on its vent, the Grimsby Telegraph reports.
He was trapped for over an hour and had to be freed by firefighters, suffering serious injuries to his arm.
Icelandic Group was fined and prosecuted under the Health and Safety at Work Act and ordered to pay compensation to Mr Oxton.
"We have learned lessons from this incident and implemented a major training programme for all employees and management to recognised national standards," a spokesperson from the company commented.
According to the Health and Safety Executive, there were 2,894 major injuries to employees in the Yorkshire and Humber region in 2007-08, as well as 16 fatal injuries.
Tags: Fatal Injuries, Firefighters, Grimsby Telegraph, Health And Safety, Health And Safety At Work, Health And Safety At Work Act, Health And Safety Executive, Safety At Work, Spokesperson, Teenager, Telegraph Reports, Training Programme, Vent, Yorkshire
Posted in Personal Injury News | No Comments »
