Lawford Kidd's Blog

The Scottish Parliament’s Justice Committee has begun hearing evidence on the Inquiries into Fatal Accidents and Sudden Deaths etc (Scotland) Bill.

One of the key people to give evidence before the Committee is Lord Cullen of Whitekirk, who led the 2009 Review of Fatal Accident Inquiry legislation. The Committee also heard from Julie Love from ‘Death Abroad – You’re Not Alone’, Louise Taggart from ‘Families Against Corporate Killers’ and, Jimmy Jones, a retired RAF flight lieutenant who is now a campaigner.

The Bill’s main objective is to reform and modernise the law governing the holding of fatal accident inquiries (FAIs) in Scotland, and to implement the recommendations made in Lord Cullen’s 2009 Review.

The Penrose Inquiry, which was announced by the Scottish Government in 2008, has now published its final report.

Lord Penrose chaired the inquiry, which looked in detail at how patients were infected with hepatitis C and HIV/AIDS through blood transfusions and other procedures carried out at NHS hospitals from 1974 onwards.

Following the publication of the report, Health Secretary Shona Robison has apologised on behalf of the NHS and Government in Scotland to all patients and families affected by infected NHS blood and blood products in Scotland during the 1970s and 1980s.

Motorists who drive too close to the car in front are the target of a new campaign to reduce the number of whiplash injuries.

“Tailgating can result in crashes and injuries which could otherwise have been avoided. All it achieves is suffering for the driver in front and probably a higher insurance premium for the offender,” explained Deborah Evans, chief executive of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL). “We’re simply asking for motorists to back off.”

The national not-for-profit safety campaign group has produced a short animated video for social media about the consequences of tailgating, titled ‘A Lesson in Social Graces’.

Adequate levels of health and safety regulation and enforcement need to be introduced across the EU, with help for small and medium-sized enterprises to comply, the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH) has said.

In its submission to a consultation on the EU OSH Policy Framework, Europe’s largest professional body in health and safety has set out its views on how policies are formed across member states to protect people from work-related injury and ill health.

It wants to see the protection of vulnerable groups included in the framework of occupational health management and reporting, and health and safety embedded in the education system.

The owner of a Herne Bay hair salon has been fined for failing to provide legally required insurance cover that enables employees to claim damages should they be injured at work.

The owner neglected to arrange Employers' Liability Compulsory Insurance (ELCI) when he took over the business last year.

Canterbury Magistrates' Court heard that an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in August 2012 into a complaint from a concerned employee established there was no cover in place for at least three months.