A sawmill company has been fined after two serious accidents at work occurred within three months of each other.

The first of these accidents involved a Mr John Wilson who fell though a large gap in an elevated walkway. The gap had been opened up by staff so that they could work on a conveyor belt underneath, but had not been replaced when the work had been completed. Mr Wilson suffered an injury to his arm and an injury to his shoulder which has permanently left him without movement in the joint.

The second accident happened just short of three months later. It involved a Mr Robert Cumming, who was working on a hoist machine. While he was working on it, another staff member switched the machine on, and his head was trapped and crushed between metal parts of the machine. He suffered head and neck injuries which required surgery.

The Health and Safety Executive prosecuted the company – Adam Wilson and Sons – for breaking health and safety regulations. The HSE proved that there were no systems in place to safely maintain the conveyor belt or hoist machine. There was also inadequate staff training and supervision which could have prevented accidents occurring.

The company pleaded guilty and were fined £8,000 and £20,000 respectively for the accidents.

A company from Stockport, Greater Manchester has been fined after a worker suffered a devastating fall from height accident at work.

Nicholas Roberts was working for JJB Homes Ltd in December 2007 when the accident happened. He was replacing a lintel while standing on a scaffolding platform at Gwylanedd, The Promenade, Llanfairfechan. He fell from the scaffolding platform to the ground some 9 metres below.

Mr Roberts suffered serious injuries in the fall, breaking his pelvis in three places, and breaking some teeth. Falling from a height of 30 ft, he was lucky to survive.

JJB Homes Ltd was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive for breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act. They pleaded guilty after the HSE proved that there were inadequate measures to prevent falls from the scaffold platform. The company – now in liquidation – was fined £20,000 as well as being forced to pay legal costs. The director of the firm was fined £10,000.

Falls from height are one of the biggest causes of fatalities and serious injuries at work in the UK.

An office worker is seeking up to £300,000 compensation after falling off a chair at work.

Gian-Paul De Vito-Tracey worked at the Department of Work and Pensions in a role helping disabled people. In 2008 he was given a new office swivel chair to use at work. Unfortunately Mr De Vito-Tracey fell off this new chair and hit his head on a wall. His legal team will argue that the accident has left him 80% disabled with “permanent effects”.

The Sun newspaper is reporting that his team will also argue that the accident has left him with serious shortcomings in finding employment and has “downgraded his intellectual functioning”.

In legal papers submitted to court, Mr De Vito-Tracey’s injuries are described as “slowed speed of information processing and impaired executive function”. As well as this he is said to suffer from “severe verbal communication difficulty and mild to moderate word-finding difficulties”. These injuries are reported with the help of a neuropsychologist.

Gian-Paul De Vito-Tracey is now seeking compensation for the accident, alleging that the chair did not meet regulations. He is seeking damages up to £300,000.

A man has been paralysed after suffering a devastating accident at work.

Anton Burrows was working as a bricklayer who was subcontracted to Strata Homes Yorkshire Ltd. at the time of the accident. The bricklayer was working on a site in Huddersfield in April last year.

He and a colleague were guiding a steel beam which was being lifted by forklift onto brick structures. As the forklift had placed down the beam and was pulling away, it caught the steel girder and brought it crashing to the floor. The 300kg (47 stone) beam landed on Mr Burrows causing him devastating injuries.

The impact caused Anton serious spinal injuries. These have left him quadriplegic – paralysed in all four limbs – for the rest of his life.

The Health and Safety Executive prosecuted the company for the accident. Last week they pleaded guilty to breaking health and safety regulations in regards to lifting at work, and they were fined £30,000.

A spokesperson for the HSE in a statement, reminded company’s of their duty to properly plan and supervise lifting operations in line with health and safety regulations.

An elderly couple is making a compensation claim after becoming seriously ill on holiday.

Mr and Mrs Regan went on a dream holiday to Puerto de Santiago in Tenerife, staying at the four star Barceló Santiago hotel. The dream quickly turned into a nightmare for the couple however. Just two days into the holiday, they both started to feel unwell. They suffered stomach cramps and severe sickness and diarrhoea. Mrs Regan suffered most out of the two, and needed a doctor to treat her for dehydration. They suffered from the illness so bad that the symptoms continued when they got home, with Mrs Regan needing three weeks off work to recover.

The Watford Observer newspaper is reporting that the couple are now making a compensation claim against Thomson Holidays with who they booked their holiday. The couple blame their illness on the poor food at the hotel, stating that it was undercooked, and poor hygiene systems were in place.

Thomson are contesting liability, saying there is no evidence that food was the cause of the illness but rather an outbreak of norovirus in the local village was to blame.

It has been reported that hundreds of people have complained about the hotel and could have been affected.

Oil rig operators have been warned by the Health and Safety Executive about safety on the offshore platforms, as new statistics are released.

The figures reveal that in the yearly period of 2009/2010, there were 50 serious injuries on the offshore platforms. This is up on the average of 42 injuries in the previous five years, and is an even greater increase on the surprisingly low 30 injuries which happened in 2008/2009. The one bit of good news in these figures, was the fact that there were no fatal accidents on rigs this year, and there hasn’t been now for the last three years.

The number of dangerous incidences reported has also decreased over the last year. 443 dangerous incidents were reported last year, compared to 409 the year before. The majority of these were hydrocarbon releases, and such releases are often precursors to major accidents. The second most common dangerous occurrence was equipment failure offshore.

Working on an oil rig is still clearly a dangerous profession. However, the companies which operate them still have the same responsibilities of protecting their staff as onshore companies. If a worker is injured through the negligence or mistakes of the company, then they are eligible to make an oil rig accident compensation claim.

The HSE has stated that it will continue to take a strong line with companies who put employees at risk of injury.

A worker had to have his little finger amputated after a devastating injury at work.

Gary Burke was working for Formica Ltd of North Shields, when the incident occurred in November last year. He was operating a machine which covers paper in resin to use as a backing to laminated goods. There was reportedly a problem with the machine and Mr Burke examined the belt for resin deposits which could hamper it working correctly. While doing this, his glove became caught, and his hand was dragged between two rollers.

The accident crushed his hand to such an extent that he does not have full use of  it anymore. His little finger was so badly crushed that it had to be amputated, and two other fingers will require reconstructive surgery. He still works for the company, but on light duties as he is unable to operate the machine.

The Health and Safety Executive prosecuted the company for breaching health and safety regulations. This was in regards to not having safety guards covering dangerous machinery parts. They were fined £8,000 and forced to pay legal costs.

It is unclear whether or not Mr Burke made a dangerous machinery claim for compensation from the company for his devastating injuries.

An onion packer worker from Spalding has suffered a serious injury after suffering a fall from height accident at work.

Richard Webster was covering a stack of onion boxes over five metres high in plastic polythene sheeting when the accident happened. He fell from his ladder and landed on the floor some three metres below. Mr Webster broke his shoulder bone in the incident, an injury which kept him off work for a month.

Mr Webster’s employers, Moulton Bulb Company Ltd., were prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive after the accident. They admitted breaking Work at Height Regulations and were fined £6,000.

A spokesperson for the Health and Safety Executive stated that the company had learnt greatly from the accident and had updated its working procedures to eliminate the need for workers to work at such heights.

Around 4,000 workers are injured in falls from height at work every year.

Records just released by the National Archives today have revealed that despite a raft of compensation claims against the NHS recently, medical negligence is far from a new phenomenon.

The records include hundreds of thousands of pages of memos and letters which document the life of the working classes in the 19th century. The Daily Telegraph reports that amongst these pages are several documented instances of medical negligence.

One of these involved a surgeon by the name of Thomas S Fletcher who worked at Bromsgrove Workhouse in 1842. He was investigated for negligence after one of his patients – a young boy – died after being bathed in acid. The treatment was common at the time to get rid of scabies, but he failed to supervise a nurse and she used too much acid with tragic effect. He was investigated but allowed to continue practicing.

Another incident involved John Callan, a doctor from Liverpool in the 1830s, who refused to watch over a child birth, but instead turned up the day after and drunk. He was suspended from his duties after it later emerged he also tried to bribe a witness in the investigation.

The documents, compiled by poor law unions in the first half of the 19th century, show that unfortunately medical negligence has a long and sad history.

A paint mixer from south Yorkshire has won work injury compensation after breathing in toxic fumes.

The Star newspaper in south Yorkshire is reporting that Eric Drummond worked for Rotherham Refinishing Supplies at the time of the incident. His work on that day involved mixing a paste which would be used on an underfloor heating installation. This involved mixing together four different chemicals, which unbeknown to Mr Drummond released a toxic gas into the air. Eric removed his mask after finishing his job, and immediately felt the effects of the fumes.

He had severe stomach pains and dizziness, losing consciousness three times before he was rushed to hospital in Rotherham. The chemicals were left in his blood, and it took him three months to recover. During this time, he could not work.

Mr Drummond made a compensation claim against the company, claiming they were responsible for his injuries by failing to provide adequate ventilation in an area where dangerous chemicals were used. He was awarded £3,760 in compensation.