February 27th, 2009
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has issued a warning to care providers that they must ensure the safety of their patients.
Its warning comes after a man staying at the Northern General Hospital in Sheffield tried to open a window in May 2004.
Although the window was not supposed to open more than ten centimetres, it had not been properly maintained and swung open fully.
The 18-year-old fell 12 metres to the floor below, suffering a serious internal injury and several fractures.
Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust was fined for breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.
HSE inspector Kirsty Welsh said hospitals need to ensure that vulnerable people are not put at risk.
"The risk of falls from windows is well-known in the care sector. Hospitals have a responsibility to ensure they have preventative measures put in place," she added.
Anyone who is injured within a hospital or care home may be able to claim personal injury compensation and should seek the advice of a solicitor within three years of the incident.
Tags: 18 Year Old, Breaches, Care Sector, Foundation Trust, Fractures, Health And Safety, Health And Safety At Work, Health And Safety At Work Act, Health And Safety At Work Act 1974, Health And Safety Executive, Kirsty, Northern General Hospital, Personal Injury Compensation, Preventative Measures, Risk, Safety At Work, Sheffield, Solicitor, Teaching Hospitals, Welsh
Posted in Personal Injury News | No Comments »
February 19th, 2009
A Welsh teenager who suffers from Erb’s palsy as a result of an injury sustained during her birth is to receive compensation.
Harriet Frobisher, now 15, was born at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, Bodelwyddan in 1994, the BBC reports.
However, during the delivery, Harriet became stuck in the birth canal. The family claimed that hospital staff had not followed correct procedures to resolve this and had instead tried to pull Harriet free.
Consequently, the nerves in her neck were stretched and she developed Erb’s palsy, which is a preventable birth defect that affects the shoulder, arm and hand. Her right arm now has severely limited movement.
Her parents, Gerry and Sharon Frobisher, launched legal action on her behalf in 2007 and the North Wales NHS Trust has now agreed to a settlement without admitting liability.
The exact sum of compensation is not known, but it is believed to be six figures.
Tags: Bbc, Birth Canal, Birth Defect, Erb S Palsy, Hospital Staff, Nerves, Nhs Trust, North Wales, Parents, Right Arm, Shoulder Arm, Six Figures, Sufferer, Teenager, Welsh
Posted in Clinical Negligence News | No Comments »
February 17th, 2009
A contractor has been prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after a workman suffered a serious injury in a fall.
The unnamed 59-year-old bricklayer fell internally through a stairwell from the first floor of a house that was under construction in Castleford, which is situated close to Pontefract in West Yorkshire.
He landed on his head and suffered serious injuries.
The main contractor of the site – Ballenwood Properties – admitted to a breach of the 2005 legal regulations for working at height and was fined.
HSE inspector David Welsh said that falls from height are a major hazard within the construction industry, but that the easiest way to avoid them is to cover all openings such as unfinished staircases.
"A significant proportion of the falls from height that occur on sites every year are internal falls and the risks are frequently not dealt with adequately," he added.
Tags: Breach, Bricklayer, Castleford, Construction Industry, Health And Safety, Health And Safety Executive, Hse, Main Contractor, Proportion, Staircases, Stairwell, Welsh, West Yorkshire, Worker Injury, Working At Height, Workman, Yorkshire
Posted in Personal Injury News | No Comments »
June 11th, 2008
A company has been fined £25,000 after a workplace accident left an employee unable to work almost a year and a half after it took place.
David Morgan, a carpenter from the Rhondda area of Wales, fell five feet off an extension ladder in November 2006.
He suffered a badly broken ankle and wrist, in addition to facial injuries caused by a 25kg piece of wood he was carrying at the time.
Health and Safety Executive (HSE) inspector Steve Richardson said the company did not have safe methods of moving materials from ground level to the loft space where the work was taking place.
"Slips, trips and falls can be viewed as being minor, funny accidents but the effects are not. It can lead to major injuries, a lifetime of disability and in worst cases, fatalities," he commented.
Loft conversion firm Allied Welsh Ltd was also ordered to pay court costs of £8,600.
According to the HSE’s Shattered Lives campaign, 23 people died in 2007 as a result of falls in the construction and plant maintenance industries.
Tags: Accidents, Carpenter, David Morgan, Disability, Extension Ladder, Facial Injuries, Five Feet, Health And Safety, Health And Safety Executive, Loft Conversion, Loft Space, Maintenance Industries, Moving Materials, Plant Maintenance, Slips, Steve Richardson, Time Health, Welsh, Workplace Accident
Posted in Personal Injury News | No Comments »
June 10th, 2008
The Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust is facing compensation claims of more than £6 million, it has been reported.
According to the Daily Post, the trust has set aside £6.5 million to deal with the claims, three of which are expected to result in exceed £1 million.
Most of the cases are believed to relate to personal injury claims resulting from road traffic accidents and injuries sustained during the course of duty, while a small number of claims were made following an assault.
A total of 13 of the outstanding cases being dealt with by the trust are for clinical negligence brought about by hospital patients.
Dave Galligan, head of health for Unison in Wales, commented: "I think people are more conscious about making a claim now if they have an accident at work. They tend to follow them up because so many can result in the end of people’s careers."
Tags: 1 Million, 5 Million, 6 Million, Ambulance Service, Ambulance Services, Clinical Negligence, Exceed, Faces, Galligan, Health, Hospital Patients, Nhs Trust, Personal Injury Claims, Road Traffic Accidents, Unison, Wales, Welsh
Posted in Clinical Negligence News | No Comments »
