A factory in Mansfield was fined £5,000 last month, after an employee had an accident at work in September 2008.

Mr Matthew Parker, 19 years old, was employed by W H Davis Ltd of Langwith when the accident at work occurred. It was heard that Mr Parker got his gloved hand drawn into a 3-roll bending machine severely crushing his fingers.

Mr Parker had to have the tip of his little finger on his left hand amputated and has undergone a further 2 operations.

He sustained multiple fractures to all of his fingers and was hospitalised for 5 days and has been unable to work since the accident at work occurred.

During the hearing last month at Mansfield Magistrates Court, WH Davis Ltd were fined £5,000 and ordered to pay £2,380.75 for legal costs for breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

A full investigation was carried out by the Health and Safety Executive and principal Inspector for Nottingham, Maureen Kingman has commented on this accident at work and said:

There were a number of failures in WH Davis’ safe systems including failure to train a new member of staff and failure to ensure the machine stopped immediately after the emergency trip device was activated.

PAS (Grantham) Ltd have been fined after an accident at work meant an employee had to have his finger amputated.

It was heard that Mr Edward Drayton, 31 years old, was investigating a fault with the machinery he was using when the accident at work occurred. Mr Drayton put his hand into the machine, when his hand became trapped in the drive pulley. The motor on the machinery started up while his hand was still inside.

The injuries Mr Drayton suffered were extremely severe and resulted in the amputation of his finger on his left hand. His other fingers were also crushed and broken during the accident. He was left with completely broken and bruised fingers for which he had to undergo numerous operations.

PAS (Grantham) Ltd appeared at Grantham Magistrates Court this month. They were fined £10,000 and ordered to pay £3,587 court costs after being found guilty of breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 for failing to ensure, so far as reasonably practicable, that a safe system of work was in place.

A full investigation was carried out by the Health and Safety Executive of this accident at work. They are warning all companies to ensure they provide their employees with a safe working environment that has regular risk assessments carried out and the correct training provided.

Health and Safety Executive Inspector, Judith McNulty-Green has commented on this accident at work and said:

“For a man who works with his hands and needs dexterity, these are the most debilitating of injuries but could have been avoided if the company had safe systems of work in place.”

“The size of the fine shows how seriously the court has taken this incident.”

“All companies should ensure that work is planned properly and appropriate measures are put in place so that workers are not put at unreasonable risk. There were a number of failures in PAS’s safe systems including failure in training for a new member of staff, isolation procedures that were not appropriate or applicable to maintenance activities; custom and practice that ignored safer procedures; access to dangerous parts of machinery, all contributing together to lead to the risks to Mr Drayton’s safety.”

Mr Paul Tang, who is the Permanent Secretary for Labour and Welfare, has recently commented that the number of accidents at work that happen in the catering industry has decreased to under 9,000 in the last year and this has continued in the first half of 2008.

Mr Paul Tang was at the Catering Industry Award Scheme presentation ceremony last month and has said that the number of accidents at work that have occurred in the catering industry was an extremely high rate and had more accidents reported than any other industry or profession in recent years.

With guidance from the Health and Safety Executive, the Government, staff and employees, work safety in the catering industry has significantly improved. Figures show that the accident rate per 1,000 employees has decreased by 35% from 66.9% in 1999, to 43.5% in 2008.

The Health and Safety Executive are extremely pleased with these figures and hope to see a continuous drop in accidents that occur in the workplace. They are hoping that awareness of safety in the workplace will prevent any such accidents from happening

Numerous catering establishments have joined this year’s award programme and have many qualified staff nominated for the supervisor award.

A successful business woman, Pamela Green, has been awarded almost £3 million for her personal injury compensation claim and it is believed to be one of the highest individual personal injury payments ever made in Britain.

Mrs Green, 74 years old, was the director of numerous companies related to her property development business.

It was heard that Mrs Green was walking her dog in Hampstead when she was struck by a Nissan people carrier. She suffered brain damage, which led to memory loss and pelvic fractures, which made her unable to walk. The injuries she sustained meant that she was unable continue working.

Mrs Green sued the driver of the vehicle, Aneil Thawer, on the grounds of failing to take due care while approaching the road crossing. Mrs Green was awarded £2.75 million last month for personal injury compensation, without any admission of liability from the driver’s insurer.

However, Mr Thawer denied causing the accident, claiming that Mrs Green ran out onto the crossing, which Mrs Green strongly contested.

After reaching the 6 figure settlement Mrs Pamela Green said:

“I brought up six children and I used to be quite healthy and very active. But now I haven’t been able to walk for some time.

“This is Hampstead and people have lots of visitors and there are lots of children - people should drive very carefully.”

The amount of compensation for injury claims against councils have risen in the last year, due to accidents occurring in schools. It has been heard that the compensation claim payouts have now risen into hundreds of thousands of pounds.

A number of reports have shown that the accidents being claimed for are incidents such as jamming fingers in doors, slip, trips and falls and falling off bikes in the playground.

It has been reported that South Wales councils have paid almost £500,000 in the last 3 years and there is still £100,000 yet to be paid in compensation.

It is not only the parents of children claiming personal injury compensation, but also staff who have reported falling over tables when left out. Also there have been claims made by members of staff when workmen have been on site and they have tripped and fallen over work tools.

Local councils are becoming increasingly overwhelmed by the amount of claims they have received and believe it is a reflection of and increasing compensation claim culture. Councils are now trying to clamp down on the number of claims and are seeking advice on how to provide a safe environment for children and staff. However, if the claims continue, it may be that extreme measures are taken and children will no longer be able to play on the school playground.

A young man from Cheshire, who suffered severe personal injuries when he was hit by a car while walking to work last May, was discharged from hospital last month. His father has described his discharge from hospital as a “miraculous” recovery.

It was heard at the magistrates court that the driver of the car pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention. The driver was fined £800 court costs and banned from driving for 24 months.

The Cheshire man’s Father has said:

“My son was not expected to survive the accident having suffered a very serious brain injury.

“At the time, the accident devastated the family and will undoubtedly have a long term impact on us all.

“There is little doubt in our minds that but for the skill of the medical staff, he would not have survived and having been given the gloomiest of forecasts for his future, his recovery is nothing short of miraculous.”

The young man spent almost 5 weeks in a hospital in Salford and then later transferred to a hospital in Merseyside. He has spent 6 months recovering, but his ordeal is not yet over and he still has to undergo outpatient treatment.

His solicitor has said:

“He is a young man who had just begun a dream job in environmental management, when through no fault of his own, he was mown down whilst walking to work.”

A magician has received significant personal injury compensation last month after he suffered an accident at work at Madame Tussauds.

Mr Darren Way was working as a magician at the popular tourist attraction when the accident occurred. It was heard that Mr Way and some of the other employees were required to work in darkness to enable them to scare the customers when they walked through the entrance to the ‘Chamber of Horrors’ show.

Mr Way fractured his finger due to the accident, which prevented him from performing close-up magic for approximately 2 years.

Madame Tussauds have denied any liability for the accident at work. However, following an investigation and statements provided from witnesses, including other actors, Madame Tussauds insurance company agreed to settle the accident compensation claim.

Mr Darren Way’s solicitor, Elizabeth Smith has said:

“It may just be a broken finger, but to a close magician it is draconian. It was the loss of his earnings from other sources which contributed to his damages.

“Actors’ claims are notoriously difficult to pursue, particularly when they are employed on a temporary contract. Where performers are members of a trade union, they may have legal assistance to enable them to pursue claims for personal injury. However, many performers do not have the benefit of union support or may sustain injury in circumstances outside the workplace.”

The German car manufacturer, Mercedes-Benz have publicly highlighted the potential dangers while driving and are trying to make people aware of the importance to keep safe while making day to day journeys.

The car manufacturer has found that most road traffic accidents and car accident claims are for people that have been travelling on their way to work.

Mercedes-Benz would like to begin to offer courses to company’s so that it would allow their employees to drive more safely and more competently. Mercedes-Benz believe that with extra training, the 55,000 car accidents that occur every year could be significantly reduced.

Managing Director of Mercedes-Benz, Mr Peter O’Halloran has said:

“Driving is potentially one of the most dangerous things we do, and time pressures, meetings and deadlines can be especially distracting when driving for work.

“As with the technology on all our road cars, it’s better to avoid an accident in the first case, rather than to mitigate its effects. Our cars are packed with standard safety technology, and our Mercedes-Benz World driving courses offer drivers skills that could be life-saving.

Mercedes-Benz World is a major brand experience centre based at Brooklands in Surrey.

Shell UK Ltd and the Amec Group Ltd were both fined £150,000 each and ordered to pay court costs of £41,400 each last month at Norwich Crown Court. Both companies pleaded guilty to breaching the Health a Work Act 1974, after an employee suffered a fatal accident at work.

The accident at work happened in November 2005, when Mr David Soanes was removing stair treads on the Sole Pit Clipper offshore gas installation, which was located in the Southern North Sea. It was heard that he fell approximately 5 meters to the ground, through a gap where the stair treads had been removed. Mr Soanes suffered severe leg and head injuries.

Mr Soanes had been employed by the Amec Group Limited, who then provided him with work for Shell UK Ltd.

The Health and Safety Executive are warning all employers that work offshore to provide adequate risk assessments to prevent any further accidents at work from occurring.

The Principal Inspector from the Health and Safety Executive, Mr David Perry has said: “This incident resulted from Shell and Amec failing to manage well known and readily foreseeable hazards, in particular falling from height.

“Had the companies carried out adequate risk assessments and implemented and supervised the necessary control measures, including the use of a fall arrest harness, this accident could have been avoided. Health and Safety Executive will not hesitate to take action against those who fall short of the law in such a way.”

A man who sustained a personal injury due to the use of a hand held vibrating tool in his workplace was awarded £60,000 in personal injury compensation last month.

Mr Ben Wright, 29 years old, from Greater Manchester, regularly used a vibrating tool while for a company called UK Assistance, which is owned by the Royal Bank of Scotland.

He started work with the company at the age of 16 and was employed to repair cars that had been damaged in road and traffic accidents.

The symptoms of his personal injury, commonly known as Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome, started in 2002. Over the years his condition deteriorated and doctors advised him that he could no longer sustain a career in this kind of profession. However, since diagnosis, Mr Wright has continued to work with UK Assistance, but in a different role.

The obvious signs of Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome are discolouration of the skin and experiencing numbness in the fingertips. Employers that employ staff to use vibrating tools should be fully aware of the health implications caused by the operation of hand held vibrating machinery.

Mr Ben Wright, father of two, has commented on the whole situation and said:

“My earning capacity has been dramatically reduced by this injury and I can no longer use vibrating tools or work in my skilled trade. I have a young family and I decided to pursue compensation so I could make sure I could continue to provide for them.

I had never heard of HAVS before I was diagnosed and was never been warned about the risk of injury from using vibrating power tools. If I had perhaps my injury could have been prevented.”