Injuries Direct - Personal Injury Claims

A lift company will face charges for major health and safety breaches in court today after a banker was killed in central London.

Katarzyna Woja, 32, was crushed to death when the lift she was getting out of at the Broadgate Health club in the city of London suddenly fell; trapping her between it and the lift shaft.

The company responsible for the lift in the building, ThyssenKrupp Elevator UK Ltd, will appear at Southwark Crown Court today. They face charges for four health and safety breaches in relation to Ms Woja’s death.

Holmes Place Health Clubs, who owned the Broadgate gym at the time of the accident in 2003, admitted three charges under the Health and Safety at Work Act and will face their sentencing at a later date.

Virgin Active, who has since taken over Holmes Place gyms, said in a statement that the incident was “an appalling and tragic accident” and that the firm was “doing everything we can to bring this case to a conclusion.”

Ms Woja worked as an investment banker for global management group Invesco and was said to be a ‘high flyer’ at the time of her death.

Her husband, Nebojsa Dorontic said: “She was fantastic, she was brilliant and she was an expert in her field. People were charmed by her. Most people fell in love with her.”

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) are set to launch an initiative which they hope will reduce the risk of construction site accidents.

Intensive inspections will be carried out at sites across the country, which aim to raise awareness of the dangers that cause so many injuries and deaths.

Currently the construction industry is one of the most dangerous in Britain. 2008 to 2009 saw 53 deaths and 11,264 injuries happen on construction sites.

The initiative will look at refurbishment and roofing work, with a particular focus on fall from height accidents. Inspectors will visit sites without warning to make stringent health and safety checks.

The Health and Safety Executive’s Chief Inspector of Construction Philip White said: “Every year too many construction workers are needlessly injured or killed while working on a site. While some sectors of the industry have made real improvements in recent years, we are really concerned about standards in the refurbishment sector, particularly on small projects.”

During inspections last year to 1,759 sites and 2,145 contractors, over 270 prohibition notices were issued to stop dangerous work practices.

Mr White added: “This is the third year running we have run initiatives like this and, after these latest inspections, we hope that we can report back that we have found good practice and safely operating sites.”

If you wish to make a claim for compensation for a fall at height or construction accident, contact us for more information.

The owners of a dog that attacked a postman and left him severely injured will not be prosecuted.

It is unknown whether the injured postman, Keith Davis, will make a claim for compensation for the attack which left him needing surgery in the week leading up to Christmas in 2008.

Judge Gareth Hawkesworth ruled that as the attack took place in a private cul de sac, the owners could not be charged under the Dangerous Dog Act 1991.

Roberts Stewart, 44, and his daughter Emma, 22, were therefore acquitted from being responsible for a dog that had caused injury at a hearing at Cambridge Crown Court.

Prosecutors had argued that the attack was on an unadopted road near the home of Mr Stewart which was a public place. However the judge ruled that the road was private and therefore the rules did not apply.

Now, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) is trying to have the Dangerous Dog Act 1991 amended to include attacks that happen on private property.

A spokesman for the CWU said: “It must be amended so it applies to both public and private property because about 6000 members of the CWU are attacked by dogs every year. Thousands of our members visit people’s property daily – if they’re attacked the union will always look to prosecute and get compensation.”

A man has died in a fork-lift truck accident at a Shetland mussel farm.

Geoffrey Davis, 57, became trapped beneath the vehicle as he was unloading a delivery to Unst Shellfish in Ordale, Baltasound.

Emergency services attempted to remove the fork-lift truck by using an air bag, but Mr Davis was pronounced dead at the scene.

It’s believed that the man had moved to the area recently with his young family, and had been working for Haulage Contractors Robert Henderson.

The northerly Shetland Island’s Up-Helly-Aa festival was due to carry on over the weekend, but was called off in a mark of respect.

A local councillor said: “I think the family moved to Unst recently, but that does not take away how much this has been and will continue to be felt by the whole community.”

The Health and Safety Executive are now working closely with the police to gather enough evidence into the cause of the fork-lift truck accident, before deciding whether to launch a formal investigation.

The Health and Safety’s current campaign ‘Shattered Lives’ has highlighted the accident at work risk for both employers and employees.

A particular focus for the HSE is raising awareness of the dangers of slip trip and fall accidents – the most common cause of workplace accident injury. Currently one third on major injuries at work are caused by this type of accident.

Slip trip and fall accidents cost employees £512million per year in lost production and in other costs. Now, the HSE want to dramatically reduce this figure; protecting the future of businesses as well as the safety of employees.

The Shattered Lives website has many useful resources on the topic, including posters to put around your workplace, assessment forms and leaflets containing a number of safety tips for employers and employees to follow. It also provides the e-learning course package STEP (Slips and Trips eLearning Package), which covers a number of work sectors.

Google “shattered lives” for more information.

A building firm has been fined £36,000 after two of its employees suffered silica exposure.

John Whittaker, 64, and David Medley, 35, both developed silicosis – an incurable lung disease, following exposure to crystalline silica dust particles between 1994 and 2008.

York based William Anelay Ltd subsequently pleaded guilty to a breach of Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974.

Mr Whittaker, who had been working for William Anelay Ltd for 38 years said: “I feel let down by the company. I did continually approach them about coming down to the workshop to discuss conditions.

“They did acknowledge the problem but didn’t come down, saying they were too busy.”

The two men are also making silicosis compensation claims against the company. Their illnesses forced Mr Whittaker to retire completely from work, whilst Mr Medley had to give up his job as a stonemason and take up an office job.

Mr Medley, who had worked as a stonemason for 20 years, developed a secondary lung condition and was forced to use a stick when he first left hospital. It was argued that he had little chance of ever finding a job elsewhere.

The company were fined £30,000 for the health and safety breaches, along with £6,000 in prosecution costs.

William Anelay Ltd was a financially struggling company, having made a number of redundancies and cutting staff wages by 10%.

A recycling company has been fined £145,000 after employees were subjected to mercury exposure at their West Yorkshire site.

Electrical Waste Recycling Group Ltd, formerly known as Matrix Direct Recycle Ltd, recycles electrical equipment, some of which contain mercury including fluorescent light tubes and TV monitors containing lead.

It was found that twenty employees had higher than recommended levels of mercury in their bodies, with five of these having extremely high levels after the period of exposure between October 2007 and August 2008.

A court heard that the company’s site in Huddersfield had a number of ventilation problems, meaning that the likelihood of mercury poisoning was far higher than it should have been.

Several workers had reported feeling ill because of the exposure, including a pregnant woman who worried that the exposure may have harmed her unborn baby.

EWR were fined £140,000, along with £35,127 costs for breaching Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, along with three other breaches for the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002.

A spokesperson for the Health and Safety Executive said: “The company failed to see the risks created by their recycling work and failed to develop effective plans for safe working. They also did nothing to check their workers’ health after exposure.

“Workers have a right to expect a reasonable level of protection in the workplace, and employers have a legal duty to protect it.”

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) have launched a campaign to try and cut slip trip and fall accidents in the workplace.

‘Shattered Lives’ is the latest move to increase the knowledge and awareness of employers and workers who face risk of injury every single day when at work.

A dedicated website has been created which contains a vast amount of information and advice on how to avoid work accidents including, slipping, tripping and falling from height. It also includes posters and other resources for employers, including specially designed downloadable e-learning booklets STEP – Slips and Trips eLearning Package and WAIT – Work at height Access equipment Information Toolkit.

Industry specific information is covered on the site, highlighting the risks that face employees in a range of job roles. Industries include Education, Construction, Food Retail and Building and Plant Maintenance.

Over 10,000 employees suffered a major injury in a slip or trip accident in 2008/09, whilst 4,000 sustained injuries in a fall from height. Currently the cost of work accidents to society is £800million per year

For more information visit the Shattered Lives website.

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 police officer has received a six-figure work accident compensation figure after being shot in the stomach during a training exercise.

Keith Tilbury, 56, was training with Thames Valley Police in May 2007 when colleague PC David Micklethwaite shot him in the stomach.

As a result he suffered devastating internal injuries and lost a large amount of blood. He then underwent life-saving surgery and spent two weeks unconscious in intensive care.

PC Micklethwaite was last year ordered to pay an £8000 fine and £8000 in costs after being convicted under health and safety legislation. He avoided being disciplined by the force internally by retiring from his duties.

Mr Tilbury’s work accident compensation figure was settled out of court after Thames Valley Police admitted liability for the incident.

He said: “I am pleased that Thames Valley Police have acknowledged that mistakes were made and that I have been awarded compensation that will help me to deal with the injuries I have suffered and pay for any future treatment that I may need.”

Thames Valley Police were also fined a total of £65,000 for breaches of the Health and Safety at Work Act.