Lawford Kidd's Blog

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.

Reducing health risks in the field of nanotechnology is the aim of a new initiative released by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH).

IOSH co-commissioned the UK NanoSafety Partnership Group to produce the first-ever health and safety guidance for working with nanomaterials in research and development.

Nanotechnologies offer potentially huge benefits to society, industry, the environment and health. The guide looks at an array of topics, including risk management, toxicology, exposure control and health surveillance.