Prison officer injured in accident at work settles claim

How would you feel if you went to work, carrying you your normal activities, when a colleague fell on top of you, causing you a life-changing injury?  Well that is precisely what happened to my client.  

He was a serving prison officer and moving a prisoner from a cell.  Whilst doing so his supervising officer, who was not part of the manoeuvre, fell onto my client’s back.  He had to give up work on the front line at the age of only 29.  He lost his career and a job that he loved.

To recap on the law, an employer’s duty is to carry out an adequate risk assessment.  This has been settled law for over 20 years, since the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1992.  The staff also must be properly trained and instructed.  We argued that the risk of injury had not been properly assessed by the Ministry of Justice.  We also argued that the training provided was inadequate.  We had maintained all the way through that the issue was whether the supervising officer should stay completely out of the way to ensure they did not cause injury to themselves or others by their inadvertent involvement in the incident. 

The Ministry of Justice fiercely denied liability and the case went to trial.  After 2 full days of evidence, and only minutes before Judgment was due to be handed down, a settlement was reached Whilst I am not allowed to say anything about the terms of the settlement, I can say that my client was very satisfied with the outcome!

The issues in this case crop up time and again in the workplace and, as often as not, serious injury can be avoided by employers simply carrying out and implementing good risk assessments, as they have been legally required to do for over two decades.

There is really no excuse.

This blog was written by Simon Bransby of Morgan Jones & Pett, the conducting lawyer for the prison officer.  The Claimant was represented at trial by Mr. Muhammed Haque of Crown Office Chambers in his last trial as a junior (Muhammed will be taking Silk and become a QC on the 16^th February 2015).

Clearing snow shovelling myths ahead of freeze

As amber weather-warnings were issued across many parts of the UK this week, The Association of Personal In jury Lawyers (APIL) reassured homeowners that they can clear paths and driveways of snow or ice without fear of being sued.

“Every single winter someone somewhere stirs the myth that Good Samaritans shouldn’t be helpful and clear snow because they will be sued if someone then falls and is injured. It’s absurd,” said the association’s president John Spencer.

A press release was issued to radio stations and newspapers.

There is a bill heading through Parliament which deals with "Heroism" which John commented on.“This myth about clearing paths is a perfect example of why the Social Action, Responsibility and Heroism Bill hits the wrong mark,” John explained. “The law is fine, but it is public understanding which isn’t right and which could prevent Good Samaritans from acting to help others. Education, not legislation, is the way to deal with misconceptions

Unapproved ‘mix match’ metal on metal hips

Concerns have been raised for thousands of patients who may suffer serious disability and early failure due to metal hip implants made from components supplied by different manufacturersIt has been discovered that surgeons are mixing and matching component parts into the hip joint. The parts may not fit together properly resulting in damage to the bone and extra wear meaning metal debris can break off and enter the blood stream.

A spokesman for the British Orthpaedic Association said “while some components match extremely well it has become clear that more modern cutting edge technologies can create critical combinations which have produced new problems, most notably, but not exclusively, metal surfaces which move slightly. Very minor design or material differences have created unexpected clashes magnified by the extreme use we expect from our joints.”

The use of mix and match components is not illegal but the guidance is they should only be used where there is no suitable alternative already on the market.

I act for a client whose life, sadly, was turned upside down by the hip components wearing which caused metal ions to be released into the blood stream. He had to undergo further surgery and continues to have problems. His story may, it seems, be the tip of the iceberg.

By Sara Westwood of Morgan Jones & Pett. sarawestwood@m-j-p.co.uk

Legal Aid Cuts – the knock on effect

On the 4th December 2014, during a session before the House of Commons public accounts committee (PAC), a senior civil servant at the Ministry of Justice admitted the speed at which they brought in the Legal Aid Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act did not allow for evidence to be gathered to investigate the impact of legal aid cuts. The civil servant added ‘The piece of evidence that was overwhelming was the level of spending. The evidence required was that government said we wish to cut the legal aid bill.’

Evidence of the impact is now aplenty. Sadiq Khan, shadow justice secretary, said: ‘There are now parts of the country where people are struggling to access valuable legal advice. And the 30% rise in litigants in person and the drastic fall in mediation assessments mean that many of the government’s predicted savings have simply shifted to other departments.’

In a report commissioned by the Legal Action Group a total of 88 per cent of GPs questioned agreed that patients not being able to obtain legal or specialist advice about their problems would have a negative impact on their health.

Two thirds of GPs reported that the number of patients who had issues with benefits would have benefited from legal advice had certainly increased. This was followed closely by debts or financial problems and issues at work as GPs reported a 65 per cent increase.

Just over half of the doctors polled reported a rise in the number of patients with housing problems. A similar proportion reported the same in relation to community care. President of the Law Society, Andrew Caplen, added: "This is independent research that the government should not ignore. GPs are giving a clear warning that lack of legal advice can have consequences for a person's health. The government should look at putting back support for legal and specialist advice services for social welfare law problems."

Whichever party succeeds to Parliament next May, it seems unlikely much, if at all, will be done to remedy the inevitable and foreseeable social and health issues which have arisen as a result of the cuts. It remains to be seen whether the cuts to legal aid have made any real difference to the deficit as the view seems to be they have simply added to costs elsewhere in the economy. 

By Sara Westwood of Morgan Jones & Pett. sarawestwood@m-j-p.co.uk

NHS Highlights Surgeon Performance Data

Performance data for almost 5,000 surgeons in England has been released by the NHS in a move towards greater transparency.

Using the MyNHS website, patients can search for information, including mortality rates for individual specialists.

For more information and the full story, see the BBC report at http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-30094261

Insurers Break Promise on Premiums

Car insurance premiums rose in the third quarter of 2014 for the first time since 2012, signalling an end to the insurers’ promised decline in motor premiums.

“The truth is, falling premiums had more to do with competitive tension than any benefit afforded by reforms. Premiums are, on average, now similar to their 2010 level and are no longer economically sustainable,” said Janet Connor, managing director of AA Insurance.

Simon Bransby of Norwich Personal Injury firm Morgan Jones & Pett said: “Is this really a surprise that car insurance premiums are going up? It was only recently the insurance industry made its promise to Government there would be a clear cost saving to consumers as a result of recent reforms but premiums are on the rise already"

The new duty of candour in the NHS - we have to start somewhere

The Government will soon introduce regulations that require all NHS providers to comply with a statutory duty of candour.  The General Medical Council and Nursing and Midwifery Council have welcomed this, and have introduced their combined draft guidance in a document headed “Openness and honesty when things go wrong: the professional duty of candour”. 

This cannot come too soon, says Simon Bransby of Morgan Jones & Pett, Personal Injury Solicitors in Norwich. This was launched at St Thomas' Hospital in London with Jeremy Hunt, Secretary of State for Health giving the opening speech. Let us hope that the Regulations are fully taken up and produce the desired repsonse.