The plaintiff attended a conference presented by the first defendant (a church) in WA. The organisers decided to provide a go-karting activity in the parking lot. Numerous males and three females completed the track without any issues. The plaintiff had driven five or six laps without incident. On her second attempt, she lost control of the kart and slammed her right foot down hitting the accelerator instead of the brake, resulting in the kart rocketing into a tree. The plaintiff almost severed her right foot. Unfortunately, her leg had to be amputated below the knee.
The Government has promised more openness, greater accountability and a relentless focus on safety within the NHS in its response to the Inquiry into the failings at Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust.
Key proposals for consultation would see all NHS organisations and professional staff obligated to be open with patients when things go wrong. If a hospital had not been open with patients and their families following a patient safety incident, its indemnity cover for that compensation claims could be reduced or removed. This would give a strong financial incentive to hospitals to be open about patient safety incidents.
A consultant surgeon in London has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison for manslaughter through gross negligence of a patient, reports the Guardian.
James Hughes, who was 67, had attended a private hospital in London for knee surgery. The operation was a success, but while he was in recovery he complained of abdominal pains, and was transferred to the care of consultant David Sellu.
Mr Sellu apparently suspected that Mr Hughes had a perforated bowel, which is a potentially life threatening condition. However, he did not act quickly enough to carry out the appropriate investigations and treatment, and Mr Hughes died a few days later.
The Ministry of Justice has published its response to the ‘Reducing the Number and Cost of Whiplash Claims‘ consultation and announced proposals to help with the cost of driving.
In a widely unexpected move, the government has decided that it will not increase the personal injury small claims limit in England and Wales at this time. The government also announced that car insurance premiums had fallen by 12% (equivalent to an average of £80 per policy) over the past year.
The news has been welcomed by Law Society chief executive Desmond Hudson.
Stricter monitoring and certification procedures to ensure full compliance and traceability of medical devices such as breast or hip implants have been agreed by the European Parliament.
The proposed legislation seeks to improve transparency of information for patients and medical staff and to strengthen traceability rules, without creating additional burdens for innovative small manufacturers.
There could be almost 9000 fewer deaths and serious injuries on UK roads every year if changes were made to the way young people learn to drive, according to new Government research.
The Department for Transport (DfT) has published a report it commissioned from the Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) that shows the urgent need to tackle young driver safety.
Two revised health and safety regulations that are intended to help businesses comply with the law more easily came into force last week.
The first deals with the provision of first aid training, and takes the form of amendments to the Health and Safety (First Aid) Regulations 1981. It will make sure that the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) no longer needs approve first aid training and qualifications.
Section 69 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act came into force on 1st October 2013, and as a result many people who are injured at work will face an uphill struggle to claim the damages they need to help put their lives back on track, according to the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL).
The Act means the burden of proof following many injuries at work will be switched from the employer to the employee, which lawyers say is extremely unfair, as it tilts the playing field in favour of negligent bosses and away from injured workers.
Why the phrase ‘health and safety’ sparks hostility among so many Britons despite regulation saving thousands of lives is to be examined by historical and legal scholars.
A new study, led by the University of Reading in partnership with the University of Portsmouth, and funded by the Institution of Occupational Safety and Health (IOSH), will examine how the social standing and perceived value of health and safety (H&S) regulation has changed over the last 50 years.