A man who was employed by Birmingham Council sued them for negligence after falling off a toilet, in just one of almost 300 cases which has been disclosed in an information request from local press.

It is thought that the council is one of the largest payers of compensation to employees with the claims adding up to almost £5m. A lot of the claims were as a result of slips and trips and some were due to employees not having adequate work training.
Other claims included an employee who was compensated after being exposed to asbestos and received more than £36K in compensation. Another worker who developed vibration syndrome was paid £11K in compensation.

A council spokesperson has told the newspaper that they handle about 100 claims from workers every year which is only a small proportion of the 48K people employed by the council. The welfare and safety of all our staff remains of paramount importance to the council and reviews are submitted following every accident.

A lubricants company has been forced to pay out compensation after one of its workers was injured so badly that he had to undergo multiple operations.

Mr. Russell Scragg was the worker who was injured at the factory when he fell from a step whilst carrying a sample from one of the blending vessels. This led to him banging his knee on the vessel.

Originally, the 59-year-old received the diagnosis of a dislocated knee from his doctors, however the pain was so serious that he had to be taken to Congleton Hospital only a couple of weeks later. The hospital found that Mr. Scragg had actually chipped a bone in his knee.

The father of two, of Wallbridge Drive in Leek, was then forced to have an operation to repair the injury. But further injury was caused, as he then limped badly for a couple of years afterwards which led to him developing arthritis in his opposite knee.

His arthritis meant that Mr. Scragg had to go under the knife again. This time half the knee in his right leg had to be replaced, which will also have to be replicated on his left knee.

Mr. Scragg was also forced to quit going to the gym and playing sports such as football, cricket, and weightlifting.

As a result of these injuries, Mr. Scragg launched a personal injury claim against Fuchs Lubricants. This was a legal case which ended up lasting for four years.

The company was obliged to pay out £30,000 in compensation due to the dramatic impact on Mr. Scragg’s life and the fact that an anti-slip coating was not used on the steps – a breach of health and safety regulations.

It was these facts that led to the company paying out compensation after an out-of-court negotiation. Since the incident, Mr. Scragg was forced to quit his blending job of 24 years and move down to a lower level packing role.

A boating accident in Israel has led to a British holidaymaker losing part of her foot, despite major surgery.

Hemel Hempstead-based Jane Beirne was on a boating trip in Israel when the incident occurred. She fell off a pontoon with the resulting injury needing hospital attention, which cost her thousands of pounds.

The 57-year-old, who lives on Bayford Close, is estimated to be out of pocket by £10,000 as she failed to obtain proper travel insurance when she booked the holiday online.

In April 2010, Ms. Beirne was visiting some relatives when she was injured whilst on a pedalo in Ma-alot Tarshikha on Lake Monford. She commented that when she had finished on the pedalo she was attempting to climb on to a jetty when it started wobbling. She reported that she then lost her balance and landed in the water due to the lack of any hand rails.

However, when she looked down she discovered that her injury was that her heel was hanging off the back of her foot. Ms. Beirne is reportedly unsure of how the injury happened, but she is putting it down to a metal edge on the pontoon.

Ms. Beirne spent 10 days in hospital before moving to a nearby kibbutz to in order to recover from her surgery to reattach her heel; she remained at the kibbutz for four weeks.

She later contacted a legal firm however, they said that a claim would be unsuccessful. Although, a spokesman for a travel law team did comment that she had a relevant claim because the jetty was in bad condition, it would be almost impossible to pursue a claim in Israel. Without travel insurance, there is little chance of Ms. Beirne receiving any compensation.

A teenager left brain damaged after clinical negligence at her birth has received a lump sum of £4.3million, and further annual payments for the rest of her life. This settlement is to pay for the care that she needs on a daily basis.

The BBC reports that the 13-year old girl who is not named, required emergency resuscitation immediately after her birth at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. Her birth was delayed even though foetal distress was evident at the time. As she now suffers from cerebral palsy, she will require lifelong support.

At the case heard in the High Court in London, Judge Patrick Moloney ruled for her to receive the lump sum and significant annual increments for her care.

Between 2011 and 2012, Staffordshire police drivers were involved in an incredible 48 accidents – in car parks belonging to the force!

These accidents are included in a total of 487 claims which have been submitted to the insurers of Staffordshire Police.

A further 48 claims were lodged for damage which was sustained inside police stations.
45 other claims involved drivers that hit the vehicle travelling directly in front of them and more than 60 were due to misjudgements or errors on the road.

All these figures were revealed at a meeting of the Staffordshire Police where it was also shown that since 2006, there have been almost 350 accidents in police stations or properties, which meant that an insurance claim had to be made.

A former advanced police driving instructor commented that in years gone by any police officer who got even a small scratch on a police vehicle would mean being banned for a week.

Standards have obviously dropped significantly but not only in Staffordshire, the same problem is experienced everywhere in the country.
Surprisingly, given the recent figures, the numbers of accidents which involve police drivers in Staffordshire have actually reduced in the last 5 years.

Between 2006 and 2007, there were nearly 800 insurance claims made as a result of accidents but the number has steadily reduced to the 487 of last year. However, it was pointed out to the meeting that Staffordshire police force is much smaller than it was in years gone by. There are currently 1,951 officers, whereas in October 2009 there were 2291.

A former Police Inspector from Staffordshire has commented that although the parking facilities at newer police properties are fit for purpose, those at older stations were not built for the number of police vehicles which use them today.

The space is very limited and there are lots of vehicles trying to fit into the space. The majority of police stations are found in the middles of towns, surrounded by double yellow lines, which means that there is nowhere else to police vehicles.

The main problem is when officers are responding to an urgent 999 call and simply misjudges the quite tight spaces in the car park. It probably isn’t very well lit and officers may be tired, at the end of a long shift.

The director of Resources at Staffordshire Police says that all police officers have a lot to think about when they are on duty and often have to respond to stressful emergency situations.

Accidents are relatively common when officers are behind the wheel of police vehicles, but fortunately the accidents are usually minor.
Each vehicle is involved in a huge variety of circumstances and is in operation around the clock with each clocking up thousands of miles every year.

All officers undergo assessments and regular training. Each incident is investigated fully and action is always taken when necessary.

A 42-year-old worker from Church Broughton, who did not wish to be identified, sustained serious injuries, when the Quad-bike he was purpose riding, for rounding-up sheep, overturned.

The Southern Derbyshire Magistrates Court heard that at the time of the accident, JD and RL Spalton, represented in Court by one of the partners, Mr David Spalton employed the injured man. It was further stated, that when the accident occurred on 9 June 2010, the Quad-bike was being driven along a track at Lodge Hill Farm, Barton Blount.

Subsequent to the accident, the authorities conducted an investigation into its circumstances. It was found that at the time, the vehicle was in a poorly maintained condition, with defective tyres, steering and brakes. The tyres has been over-inflated, contrary to the manufactories specifications, displayed on the vehicle.

David Spalton pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 4(1) of the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992 and Regulation 5 of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998.
The Court imposed a fine of £2,500 and ordered Mr Spalton to pay £2,000 costs.

The authorities have reported 76 criminal attacks being made on teachers. This is at a time when teachers are receiving record compensation, in respect of claims for related to accidents and personal injury.

Released statistics indicate that among the sums awarded, was £200,000 to a teacher who slipped on a grape. During the course of last year, the indications are that about £25 million was awarded to teachers for various injuries and in respect of compensation for wrongful dismissal.

Various experts have previously blamed poor parenting and a lack of home discipline for bad behaviour by pupils in the classroom.

During October 2006, Michaela Devereux was riding her horse in Lyndhurst Road, Holmsley, the New Forest, when it was spooked by the noise from the exhaust of a motorcycle. Within seconds, the vehicle struck the horse on a hind leg, causing it to spin round. The animal then bolted, throwing Michaela head first onto the ground.

At the time of the accident, the rider was not wearing a riding helmet and she sustained a fractured skull.

In a judgment last year, at the Winchester District Registry, a Judge ruled that the accident was the cause of Mrs. Devereux suffering a “traumatic” brain injury. This provided a reason for her to seek substantial compensation.
Consequently, Lord Justice Hughes, in the Civil Appeal Court London, refused to grant the insurers of the motorcyclist leave to contest the ruling.

The amount of compensation has yet to be decided, in the absence of an agreed settlement.

Leigh Lumsden made an appointment with hairdresser, Kim McNally in June 2010 and subsequently attended the salon to return her hair back to its natural colour. Her hair had been dyed black although she is naturally blonde.

Local press reported that Ms. Lumsden has alleged that she sustained burns from the chemicals in the treatment. The same chemicals were also reported to cause part of her hair to become ginger or yellow in colour, and for some to completely fall out.

Ms. Lumsden has also alleged that the treatment has caused a trichonodosis condition which makes the hair to split and knots to develop.

The local newspaper has stated that Ms. Lumsden has sought £30K in a negligence claim and that papers have already been submitted to the court. She claims that this experience has caused anxiety issues about going to the hairdressers and her appearance. She was also forced to buy extensions in an attempt to cover the damage to her hair and had to seek advice on how to remedy the problems caused to her scalp and hair.

The hairdresser is defending Ms. Lumsden’s claim, and argues she refused a skin test for the stripping chemical prior to the treatment commencing.

David Banks, a teenage apprentice was working on the first level of a scaffold board structure when it tipped. This action caused him to fall about 2 metres to the floor of the dock, as a result of which he sustained injuries to his knees.

The Truro Magistrates Court heard how the accident occurred on the 27 April 2011, at the Pendennis Shipyard Ltd. in Falmouth. Mr. Banks was working in the dry dock, clearing and stripping plastic tenting from a boat in the process of being painted.

Pendennis Shipyard Ltd had already been warned regarding the risks associated with working at height. They had been issued with four Improvement Notices and one Prohibition Notice relating to type of work since 2009.
Pendennis Shipyard Ltd, of The Docks, Falmouth, entered a plea of guilty to a breach of Section 2(1) of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974. The Court imposed a fined £6,000 and ordered the Defendant to pay £6,288 in costs.