Lawford Kidd's Blog

Slips, trips and falls were by far the main cause of public liability accidents in Ireland in 2013, according to recent figures from the Irish Injuries Board. Over 1,700 public liability awards were made during the year, with total compensation awarded amounting to €44 million.

The average public liability award rose year on year by almost 11% to €25,120. In addition, over a two year period, the number of awards of over €100,000 increased from two in 2011 to 18 in 2013. In previous years, females accounted for a far higher proportion of public liability awards made than men. This trend continued in 2013, with females now accounting for 71.4% of total awards made.

Slips, trips and falls accounted for over two-thirds of personal injuries in public places and included accidents on wet floors/surfaces, uneven/broken pavements, drains and manholes.

The UK Government has announced plans to change the law in England and Wales to help ‘everyday heroes’ volunteer or go to the rescue of people in danger without the fear of being sued.

The changes will mean that judges will be required to give weight to three additional factors when deciding negligence cases:

• If the person was doing something for "the benefit of society" – to give weight to the fact people were doing a good deed like volunteering, running an event or trip, or helping out by clearing snow.
• If they had been acting in a "generally responsible way" - to make sure the court will give consideration to the fact people may have taken care when organising an activity but an accident has happened.
• If they were "acting in emergency" - if they stepped in to help someone in danger but something went wrong.

The changes will make sure that good Samaritans and community heroes will have the law on their side, the Government said.

Moves to improve the compliance and traceability of medical devices took a step forward this week, when MEPs approved at first reading proposals to ensure stricter monitoring and certification procedures.

Issues surrounding medical devices have been in the spotlight over recent years, following scandals over breast and hip implants.

The proposed legislation seeks to increase patient safety and to strengthen traceability from producer to patient, without creating additional burdens for innovative small manufacturers.

The winners of the 2014 International Safety Awards have recently been announced by the British Safety Council.

Vision of no more workplace deaths or injuries

The Awards set out to recognise and honour the achievements of winning organisations in keeping their workplaces and workers healthy and safe throughout the year.

Alex Botha, the British Safety Council’s chief executive, explained that the Council’s vision is that no one should be injured, made ill or killed by work activity anywhere in the world, and that the winning organisations had shown a real dedication and commitment to preventing injury and ill health in the workplace.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) recently appointed a new head to its agricultural section after the existing head - Graeme Walker - retired. He is being replaced by Rick Brunt, who was formerly in charge of field operations for the North West.

Leading the agricultural division is an important responsibility because, despite improvements in recent years, agriculture remains one of Britain’s most dangerous industries.

Agriculture accident statistics

Just over one in a hundred workers (employees and the self-employed) work in agriculture, forestry and fishing but, according to the HSE, the sector accounts for about one in five fatal injuries to workers.