Lawford Kidd's Blog

The Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland has been fined £100,000 following the death of a three-year-old boy at the Royal Highland Show at Ingliston in June 2008, reports the BBC.

Ben Craggs had been attending the show with his parents when he apparently grabbed hold of a rope between two bollards in one of the car parks at the showground. One of the bollards, which weighed 148kg, toppled over on top of him, causing severe head injuries. Ben was taken to hospital, but later died of his injuries.

A jury at Edinburgh Sheriff Court found that the Royal Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, which had organised the Highland Show, was guilty of failing to ensure that the bollards were “provided and maintained in a condition and connected in a manner which did not present a risk of overturning,” reports the BBC.

The winter season brings a great deal more of a certain type of accident – slips, trips and falls. More than a third of all accidents reported to the Health and Safety Executive are as a result of slips and trips. Slippery pavements, wet shop floors and dark nights all make leaving your home slightly more dangerous. Although such falls may seem minor, a serious one may leave you seriously injured and even with lasting effect. Whilst some of the incidents are genuine accidents for which no one can be blamed, often they are caused by carelessness or negligence on the part of someone with a legal responsibility to prevent them. In the latter circumstance, the injured party may have a right to receive compensation and recover the cost of loss of earnings and any medical treatment required.

What should I do if I have suffered a slip, trip or fall injury?

In order to have the best chance of success in reclaiming compensation, there are some things you can do.

Record the Accident - If you are seriously injured you should make sure you receive medical attention as soon as possible. Otherwise, you should report the incident to the person responsible and log it in the accident book if possible.

The Scottish Civil Justice Council (SCJC) has published a report on the responses it received to a consultation on the use of pre-action protocols in personal injury cases.

Pre-action protocols involve procedures, which take place involving both parties to the personal injury claim before court proceedings are raised, which will establish whether the settlement can be achieved without the need for litigation.

The Health and Safety Executive has launched safety campaign after new research found tradespeople, including construction workers, carpenters and painters and decorators, could come into contact with deadly asbestos on average more than 100 times a year.

The survey also revealed some common myths believed by those at risk, with one in seven (14%) believing that drinking a glass of water will help protect them from the deadly dust and one in four (27%) thinking that opening a window will help to keep them safe.

Only a third (30%) of those asked were able to identify all the correct measures for safe asbestos working, whilst more than half (57%) made at least one potentially lethal mistake in trying to identify how to stay safe.

Government plans to deregulate areas of health and safety, have been criticised by Members of the House of Lords.

As explained in our blog from last week – “Certain Self-Employed Persons to Become Exempt from Health & Safety Law?” - under current UK Government plans, all self-employed workers, with the exception of those undertaking ‘prescribed activities’, will become exempt from health and safety law.

The ‘prescribed activities’ are those thought to be high hazard or high risk, and includes agriculture and construction sectors.