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.

A builder has suffered serious injuries after a fall from height accident at work in Carmarthenshire.

Gwyndaf Davies was working for Delme L James Ltd at the time of the incident back in April 2009. He was part of a team who were working re-roofing a farm building. He fell through the roof all the way onto the concrete surface below, suffering devastating injuries in the impact.

He fractured his face and spine in numerous places, as well as suffering a significant brain injury. He spent 9 months in hospital recovering from the accident and will need extensive are for the rest of his life. His injuries have left him with speech and mobility difficulties as well as blinding him in one eye.

Delme L James Ltd were prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive for failing to implement safe procedures for working at height. They pleaded guilty to having no measures to prevent workers from falling through the roof, and limited protection to prevent them falling off. They were fined £8,000.

The HSE revealed that 24 workers just in Carmarthenshire were seriously injured from falls at height in the year 2008/09.

The Health and Safety Executive has given hundreds of farmers advice on safety in the workplace, in a bid to cut the staggering number of injuries and deaths from farm accidents.

Figures revealed by the HSE show that farming is in fact the most dangerous profession in the UK. A fifth of all deaths from accidents at work occur amongst agricultural workers, a staggering statistic when revealed that only 1.5 of the population work in this field. In total, there were 38 deaths during the last year due to accidents on farms.

The HSE put on a safety awareness day in Cannington to try and reduce these figures in the future. The day included safety demonstrations on quad bikes, machinery maintenance, working at height and other related activities.

The good news is that according to the event organiser, the vast majority of farmers who attend go on to make at least one major health and safety change at their farms.

NHS Trusts are risking a major influx of medical negligence compensation claims after failing to implement Patient Safety Alerts.

Patient Safety Alerts are issued to instigate changes in procedures when problems have been found with existing practices. Recent alerts include ones for dealing with oxygen safety and injectionable medicine safety. All alerts are coupled with a deadline by which time the individual NHS Trusts should have implemented the changes.

The Action against Medical Accidents charity has published a report in to how well these alerts are being put into action. Some of the reports main points are shown below:

- 29% of trusts have failed to comply with 10 or more alerts before the deadlines
- 63% of trusts have failed to comply with at least 1 alert before the deadlines
- 1,242 alerts have not been complied with before their deadlines

These failures to implement the safety changes obviously have serious implications for patients. If patients suffer from clinical errors due to the new procedures not being operated then claims for compensation may be possible. The charity itself called for more monitoring of the implementation of safety alerts.