The widow of a Sikh man who died of an allergic reaction to an egg has been awarded £415,000 accident compensation.
Although Kuldip Singh Bhamra knew of his allergy to eggs, he believed that attending a wedding at a Sikh Temple would be safe as eggs are banned within the religion.
However, one of the dishes that caterer Prem Dubb provided to the party contained egg within it – causing Mr Bhamra’s allergic reaction.
As a result Mr Dubb was fined for negligence and ordered to pay his wife accident compensation along with £36,000 interest.
Mr Bhamra and his wife were attending the wedding with 500 other guests, which was more than the caterer had expected. Because there was likely to be a shortage of food, he sent out for further supplies. It was one of the dishes that came back from the outside source – a ras malai, which was believed to have contained the egg within it.
Although caterers do not need to declare any warnings about ingredients that may cause allergic reaction, Mr Bhamra ate the dish in good faith due to the ban on eggs within the Sikh religion.
Mr Bhamra died three days after eating the dish after falling into a coma. Egg allergy affects just 0.1% of the UK adult population.
A community support officer who was injured because he was given the wrong size stab vest has been awarded £2000 injury compensation.
Anthony Roach developed back and shoulder injuries after being issued the ill-fitting body armour in April 2006. He was working for Stockton Council in Teeside at the time.
He had made complaints to his bosses about the vest in September of that year; however nothing was done about it.
In June 2007 he was finally put on lighter duties but by then the damage had been done. It was found that the armour had been passed down second-hand and was weighted differently on the front and back.
Subsequently he was finding himself being pulled to the left and straining to compensate, leaving him with painful long-term injuries.
Injury compensation was awarded for damages and lost earnings. Stockton Council is appealing against the legal fees they have been ordered to pay in addition to Mr Roach’s payout.
A girl who was knocked over by a double-decker bus has had her pedestrian accident compensation increased.
Chantelle Osei-Antwi was waiting to cross the road to get to the Morrisons supermarket where she worked in June 2005. She was hit by the back end of the bus as it turned the corner suffering multiple injuries; one of which to her left ankle required hospital surgery.
Her compensation was reduced last year when the judge ruled that she was partly to blame for the accident. It was argued that she should have been aware of the danger the bus posed as it came towards her.
However, during her appeal it was decided that Miss Osei-Antwi was not guilty of ‘contributory negligence’. Her pedestrian accident compensation was therefore increased from £12,000 to £18,000.
Lady Justice Hallett said: “She was standing on the pavement area designated for pedestrians, still several inches back from the edge of the road. Had the bus driver got the angle right, there would not have been a problem.”
A woman who has been paralysed for life is awaiting the outcome of her holiday accident claim.
Emma Moore, 41, suffered a horrific crash on a snowmobile while holidaying in the Italian ski resort of Passo Tonale; leaving her with devastating spinal injuries.
Not long after the incident she began a claim against the holiday company Inghams Travel, for failing to provide her with adequate training to ride the vehicle safely.
Mrs Moore crashed after she was unable to stop the high-powered ski-doo vehicle. She had not been told by the instructor that there was an emergency stop button to cut off power.
The ex-fitness instructor is now paralysed from the chest down and faces the prospect of the rest of her life confined to a wheelchair.
Although the local instructor owned and operated the ski-doos at the resort; the claim was made against the holiday company as he was acting as an agent for them.
The solicitor representing her at the holiday accident claim hearing said: “The function of the switch was not obvious. Mrs Moore was an absolute beginner on a ski-doo. The failure to instruct her in the use of the button was a negligent breach of duty.”
Mrs Moore now has to wait to the hearing’s judge to make a final decision on whether compensation will be awarded.
An ex-deputy head teacher who was unfairly sacked from his job has won his claim for compensation.
However, Michael Oldham’s award was reduced by half of what he could have been entitled to after the employment tribunal ruled he was 50% to blame for the dismissal.
Mr Oldham, who for 12 years had been a specialist science teacher at Lode Heath Secondary School in Solihull, was sacked following a dispute against his teaching methods. Solihull Council claimed that he had failed to teach year 11 pupils following school curriculum guidelines and would not cooperate with his teaching colleagues requests for pupils’ progress.
The teacher argued that although there were some problems with the class, results actually turned out to be good and therefore there was a lack of evidence to support the allegations.
The chairman of the employment tribunal decided that Mr Oldham had been unfairly treated and awarded £15,000 for his claim for compensation.
He was also offered to be reinstated at the school, but he decided against it. He is currently working as a supply teacher in the area.
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has fined an aviation company after an employee suffered an accident at work.
Robert Lupton, 44, an aircraft painter from Bristol fell around five metres when carrying out a job, leaving him unable to work for two years.
As a result, the company, Air Livery PLC was fined £2,400 for health and safety regulation breaches plus £9162.54 in legal costs.
HSE investigations found that it was usual practice for workers to walk on the wings of planes without sufficient fall protection, and that Air Livery PLC did not offer working at height training to staff. Additionally, no risk assessments had been carried out to address the potential dangers involved with the work.
Mr Lupton sustained severe accident at work injuries including a broken elbow and damaged ligaments after his fall to the hard hanger floor. As a result he has been unable to work since and has lost sufficient income.
A HSE Inspector said: “Air Livery should have taken the steps necessary to protect its workers by putting fall protection in place and checking to ensure that workers were using it. In respect this was an accident waiting to happen.”
A 15-year-old schoolgirl who has been disabled since her birth has been awarded £6.5million medical negligence compensation.
Rhiannon Hayman, who was born at the Princess of Wales Hospital in Bridgend in November 1994, sustained severe brain damage after suffering from a dangerous lack of oxygen. As a result she cannot walk, talk or feed herself and will require 24-hour care for the rest of her life.
The multi-million payout, which consists of a £2million lump sum as well as annual figures ranging from £105,000 to £160,000, was agreed following an admission of liability from Abertawe Bro Morgannwg University Local Health Board.
Mr Justice Owen, who was sitting on the hearing, expressed praise for the victim and satisfaction at the final result. He said: “I am deeply impressed with everything that I have read about Rhiannon. She is a remarkable young lady and one cannot help be moved by her positive attitude to life – her sheer zest for life that shines out despite the grievous misfortune she suffered at birth.”
Following the medical negligence compensation payout, a spokesman for the NHS Trust at the time of Rhiannon’s birth said: “We would like to give our reassurances that we strive to learn lessons from events such as these and that our highest priority is patient safety. Considerable advances and changes in clinical practice have occurred since Rhiannon’s birth 15 years ago.”
An ex-serviceman who was left paralysed from the neck down after an RAF training game has had his claim for military injury compensation claim rejected.
Robert Uren, 25, became seriously injured when he jumped head-first into an inflatable pool that was only 18inches deep with water. However, his claim against the Ministry of Defence became unsuccessful following a court ruling last Friday.
The victim was taking part in a Health and Fun Day swimming relay race in July 2005 between a number of service personnel. He had jumped into the 4 foot deep pool to collect some fruit at the other side.
In his attempts to try and avoid others in the pool he launched into an ‘uncontrolled dive’, causing him to land awkwardly and suffer his injuries.
Mr Uren made a military injury compensation claim against the MOD and events company Corporate Leisure (UK) Ltd, who had supplied the pool for the task. This was on top of the £201,250 lump sum plus annual payments already awarded by the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme.
However, the judge at the case ruled the claim unnecessary, stating: “The pool game was an enjoyable game, in part because of the physical challenges it posed to contestants. The risk of serious injury was small. In my judgement, neither Corporate Leisure, nor the Ministry of Defence, was obliged to neuter the fame of much of its enjoyable challenge by prohibiting head first entry.”
Mr Uren said: “I am determined to get on and enjoy myself as best as I can, but I find it hard to come to terms with having sustained my disability in such a pointless exercise.”
A high-street store has been fined £25,000 after an employee suffered an accident at work.
Richard Lindsey, the maintenance manager of a Debenhams store in Warrington was left with skull and spinal fractures when he fell from a ladder.
Mr Lindsey, who had been in the role for 15 years, was tasked with removing four chandeliers in the store on August 21st 2008. He managed to remove three, but whilst disconnecting the fourth he lost his footing and fell around 13 feet.
His injuries left him with multiple fractures which required surgery, and he remained in hospital for 20 days.
Mr Lindsey, aged 67 at the time of his accident at work, was using a stepladder which only stood at 10feet, rather than using a mobile platform to reach the hanging lights. He also failed to close the area off to shoppers.
Considered to be an experienced member of staff, some argue that it was surprising that he did not ensure that the ladder was totally safe being using it to carry out the task.
Judge Stephen Clarke said: “Support clearly should have assessed the risk, those stepladders were clearly inadequate. Proper equipment was available. It is the responsibility of the company to ensure his safety – clearly the company accepts that.”
A brain damaged quadriplegic sufferer has been awarded £2million birth injury compensation in a landmark case.
Jonathon Khairule, 28, is confined to a wheelchair and can only communicate to the world with his nose using a specially made computer.
Despite his disability, Mr Khairule has a distinction in advanced information technology and started investigating the reasons into his injuries five years ago. During his research he found that he may have been starved of oxygen during his birth and began to make a legal case against a North-West NHS trust.
Due to him being over the age of 21, and technically ‘too late’ to make a birth injury compensation claim because of it being longer than three years after his 18th birthday, he found it very difficult to get anyone to take on his case.
However, after taking his case to London’s High Court, the judges ruled that he would be allowed to pursue his claim for damages.
Mr Khairule said: “I knew I had cerebral palsy from birth, but I had always been led to believe that it was just one of those unfortunate things which could not have been avoided. It wasn’t until I was in my early 20’s that I started to do some investigating. At that stage I just wanted answers.”
Despite this NHS North West refusing to admit liability, Mr Khairule’s £2million birth injury compensation was settled out of court. He plans to spend the money on a specially adapted home.
Follow us on Twitter
Follow us on Facebook