Lawford Kidd's Blog

The Faculty of Advocates has published details of its response to the consultation over the Inquiries into Deaths (Scotland) Bill, which has been proposed by MSP Patricia Ferguson to make reforms to the current system of fatal accident inquiries (FAIs).

In its response, the Faculty acknowledged that there was room for improvement in the current system, but warned that the proposed legislation could have a number of “unintended and unwelcome” consequences.

The Faculty said it did not support the proposal to extend the requirement for an FAI for a work-related death to include deaths caused by industrial disease. In its response it said:

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has published updated guidance for employers on how to protect the health, safety and welfare of their workers.

The move follows a recent public consultation over the changes, which were proposed after Professor Ragnar Löfsted’s 2011 review found that the Workplace Regulations Approved Code of Practice (ACOP) was in need of updating.

Workplace Regulations ACOP

The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992 cover a wide range of basic health, safety and welfare issues and are applicable to most work environments except for those involving work on construction sites, those who work in or on a ship and those who work below ground at a mine.

Broken or fractured bones are an all too common consequence of work related accidents, leading to untold suffering for the victims and, in more serious cases, serious restrictions on the types of work they are able to carry out in the future.

Many causes of broken bones

Broken bones can be caused by many different types of accidents, including slips, trips and falls, crushing incidents, falls from heights, or inadequately guarded machinery. Sadly, many of the accidents causing these injuries are preventable and are a direct consequence of employers failing to ensure the safety of their workers.

Worker hit by falling object

In one case recently prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), a worker at a building materials firm sustained two broken legs when he was hit by a falling piece of metal track.

A Danish company, Svitzer Marine, has been fined £1.7 million at the High Court in Edinburgh for safety failings that led to the death of three crewmen on a tugboat owned by the company, reports the BBC. The judge hearing the case commented that the fine would have been higher had the company not pleaded guilty to health and safety breaches.

The Flying Phantom had been towing a large cargo ship on the Clyde through thick fog when it capsized.

A subsequent investigation by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch found that the tug boat’s towing winch had been slow to release, causing it to be capsized by the boat it was towing. In addition, there was a lack of safety procedures in place for operating in foggy conditions. The tug boat had also apparently been involved in a previous collision in similar conditions in 2000.

Although reports of workers suffering serious or fatal injuries in the course of their work continue to occur too frequently, recent figures indicate that there has been a fall in the overall number of major injuries arising in the workplace.

Significant decline in major injuries

According to the latest figures from the Health and Safety Executive, the incidence of major injuries has fallen 11% this year compared to 2011/12.

Looking at the figures in more detail, they show that in Britain between April 2012 and March 2013: