News Desk January to April 2008

Thompsons and Whittles Unite

Thompsons and Whittles are delighted to announce that from 1 May 2008 the two firms will be coming together to operate as one.

Widow from Mold secures compensation after husband died from mesothelioma

The widow of a Unite member has secured £120,000 in compensation after her husband died from asbestos related disease, mesothelioma.

On Workers Memorial Day, Dennis family lawyers call for maximum sentence for boss who admits manslaughter

Lawyers acting for the family of Daniel Dennis, killed after falling through a skylight on the roof of a Matalan store in South Wales have called for Roy Clarke, the owner of North Eastern Roofing, to be given the maximum sentence available to the court

Former shipyard worker from Liverpool is awarded compensation

Peter Guy from Waterloo in Liverpool developed asbestosis after being exposed to the dangerous dust while working for Harland & Wolf shipyard during the 1960s

Office Worker exposed to asbestos is awarded compensation

The granddad of two, who does not wish to be named, has been diagnosed with fatal cancer of the lining of the lungs, mesothelioma

British Rail worker exposed to asbestos is awarded compensation

The divorcee, who has no children, was exposed to asbestos while working as a fireman, boiler cleaner and train driver

Durham man knocked down outside his home by under age driver secures over £8,000 damages

Peter Ives, aged 60, was walking his dog outside his house when he was knocked down by a vehicle driven by a local 15 year old boy who didn’t have a driving licence and was not insured.

GMB wins £230,000 for Norwich worker blown up in gas explosion

A gas explosion in a Norwich pub which wrecked the career of the gas worker called to investigate a reported gas leak has resulted in a substantial damages payout.

Carlisle stores worker wins compensation after MoD ignored her injury

A Ministry of Defence (MoD) Stores Assistant who suffered a serious back injury due to continuous heavy lifting and whose employer then failed to shift her to lighter work has received £60,000 in compensation.

Control of Noise at Work Regulations

A Thompsons Solicitors briefing on the Control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 which apply to entertainment venues from 6th April 2008

Thompsons Solicitors’ reaction to ECJ decision in the Rϋffert case

Today’s European Court of Justice ruling that the Posted Workers Directive limits the employment protection which can be provided for in public building and works contracts rides roughshod over workers rights

Lung Cancer Victim awarded Compensation

A man who developed lung cancer after being exposed to asbestos in the workplace has been compensated by his former employers

Leicester fire fighter who was medically retired following hit and run accident secures £280K damages

The Fire Brigades Union (FBU) has secured over £280,000 damages for a Leicester member who had to be medically retired after he was knocked off his bike by a hit and run driver

Lawyer’s warning over toxic Argos furniture

National law firm Thompsons is appealing for anyone who has developed a skin irritation after buying a new sofa from Argos to get in touch

Lawyers warn MPs of insurance industry misinformation campaign

Labour MPs have been warned that the Association of British Insurers (ABI) is involved in a misinformation campaign in advance of the government's response to the personal injury claims process consultation, expected to be published shortly.

MPs have vowed to help a group of mesothelioma sufferers and their families fight for fairer compensation for bereavement

MPs sitting on the All Party Parliamentary Group on Occupational Safety and Health, Sub Committee on Asbestos made the promise after watching a short film with a hard-hitting message calling on the Government to amend the law on asbestos compensation

Death threat kitchen assistant awarded compensation

A kitchen assistant who was eventually forced to leave her job following a violent incident at the Coalville Resource Centre in Leicestershire has been awarded £40,000 compensation by her former employer, Leicestershire County Council

A Yorkshire widow has won damages after her husband died from a devastating lung cancer caused by exposure to asbestos

Sylvia Worth, 54, from Sancton in East Riding, Yorkshire was awarded £122,000 in damages after her husband, Harry, was exposed to asbestos while working on shipyards in Tyneside

Life threatening Latex allergy blights Nurse's life

UNISON, the UK's largest public sector union, has won six figure compensation for a young nurse whose life was blighted when she developed an allergy to latex

Leading lawyers condemn foreign minister's claims over Justice for Colombia

Lawyers who have seen at first hand the abuses of trade union and human rights in Colombia say claims by Foreign Office minister Kim Howells that the organisation Justice for Colombia supports the guerrilla group Farc are reckless

Family of seamstress who died from mesothelioma appeal for information

The family of a talented seamstress who died from an asbestos related disease is appealing for information about her former employer’s insurers

Young Victim of Dangerous Dog, scarred for life receives compensation

A 14 year old girl from Lancashire who was scarred for life after being attacked by a dangerous Rottweiler has received compensation for her injuries

Retained Firefighters and Part-Time Workers: FBU Wins Eight-Year Legal Battle for Pensions and for End to Discrimination

The Fire Brigades Union has finally won its eight-year legal battle to secure an end to discrimination against firefighters working retained duty, following an Employment Tribunal judgment. The case has major implications for millions of part-time workers who will also benefit from the rights established during 8-years of legal action

Damages secured for support worker injured pushing client in wheelchair

A support worker from Croydon, Surrey, who slipped a disc while pushing a client in a wheelchair, and subsequently had his employment terminated, has successfully secured damages from his former employer

Woman exposed to asbestos while working for a clothes factory when she was a teenager has been awarded more than £135,000 in compensation

Pauline Cade, 65, from Leeds was diagnosed with fatal cancer of the lining of the lung, mesothelioma, in March 2006

Part-time lecturer wins right to equal training support

A lecturer at a further education college in Northern Ireland has won an employment tribunal ruling that she was treated unlawfully because her work is part-time.

Compensation for Social Worker who lost Dream Job

A social worker from County Durham who lost her dream job as a result of an unfair reference has secured a £36,000 payout from South Tyneside Council.

The family of a sheeter who died from asbestos related disease mesothelioma face an agonising wait for compensation for his death

The family have been awarded £70,000 in damages after their dad died from the devastating disease

Compensation for Grandad who has been diagnosed with mesothelioma

A Grandad of two has won a substantial six figure sum in compensation after he was exposed to asbestos as a teenage apprentice

New Fund launched to enable families to raise money in the name of a loved one who has been affected by mesothelioma

The Mick Knighton Mesothelioma Research Fund’s Snowdrop Fund will allow families across the UK to set up a tribute fund to raise cash for important research into the disease

No laughing matter as pub visitor falls through trap door

A man who fell into the cellar of a public house in Fishguard has been awarded damages for injuries sustained to his chest and arm.

Compensation for bus driver sacked after passenger attack

A North East based former London bus driver who was badly hurt in an assault by a passenger and then sacked for taking time off while he was injured has been paid £75,000 compensation by his former employer

Michelin sued for £2,500 compensation after employee fractured his finger

Michelin Tyre PLC has been sued for £2,500 compensation after an employee from Staffordshire fractured his finger

Former fitter exposed to asbestos is awarded compensation

The man from St Helens was diagnosed with asbestosis after a CT scan to investigate his increasing breathlessness.

Thompsons welcomes Court of Appeal ruling on risk assessments

A Court of Appeal (CA) ruling that London Underground failed to provide proper training to a driver who developed tenosynovitis in her right wrist sends an important message to employers about their health and safety duties, lawyers acting in the case say

Care worker sprayed with ‘Mr Muscle’ wins compensation

A residential social worker who was sprayed in the face with oven cleaner has won compensation from Newport City Council

Warehouseman who suffered an injury following an accident with a forklift truck secures compensation

With help from Thompsons Solicitors and his Trade Union, RMT, the man from Kent received £150,000

The family of a woman who died from asbestos related mesothelioma has won a six-year battle for compensation

Martha May Charlson, 64, died in June 2002 from the devastating cancer of the lining of the lung, after she was exposed to asbestos while working for notorious asbestos manufacturers Turner and Newall

National Institute of Clinical Excellence (NICE) to make chemotherapy drug Alimta available on the NHS

Despite two appeals against its use, the NICE has given all trusts the go-ahead to prescribe the drug.

Scarborough widow in desperate bid to trace colleagues of tragic victim of asbestos

With Mesothelioma Day 2008 coming up on 27 February, lawyers acting for the family of Francis Edmonds of Scarborough, who suffered a premature and painful death from the asbestos cancer mesothelioma, are desperate to trace his former work colleagues

Thompsons win a landmark judgement in Hepatitis C case

Thompsons Solicitors have won a landmark judgement that the Lord Advocate and Scottish Ministers breached the European Convention on Human Rights by refusing to hold public inquiries into the deaths of two victims of Hepatitis C acquired through infected blood transfusions from the NHS

Did you work with asbestos in Barking or live there as a child?

A Barking and Dagenham based asbestos support Group is calling on former workers and residents from the Barking and Dagenham area to get in touch

A widow from Harwich has received a substantial undisclosed payment in compensation after her husband was exposed to asbestos in the workplace

Valerie Tye, 65, was awarded the damages after Bob died from the devastating cancer mesothelioma

Government called to reverse a House of Lords decision which ended the right to compensation for the asbestos related injury pleural plaques.

Pleural plaques whilst rarely causing immediate symptoms is a scarring of the lungs and is associated with an increased risk of developing fatal conditions like mesothelioma

Negligence at a Welsh mine leads to £105,000 pay out for collier who had to be

Negligence at a Welsh mine has led to a £105,000 pay out for a collier who had to be medically retired after a falling stone broke a vertebrae in his neck.

Port Talbot factory worker medically retired after suffering repetitive strain injury secures almost £17,000 compensation

A factory worker from Port Talbot who was medically retired after suffering repetitive strain injury has secured almost £17,000 compensation with the support of leading trade union Unite and personal injury specialists Thompsons

Health and safety issues in a Middlesbrough primary school force the Council to pay damages to an injured kitchen assistant

Poor health and safety in a Middlesbrough primary school has led to Middlesbrough Council being forced to pay damages to a kitchen assistant who badly injured her leg when she slipped in the dinner hall.

Engineer who was forced to retire on medical grounds after rupturing his arm secures £95,000 compensation

An engineer from Cumbria who was forced to retire on medical grounds after rupturing the bicep in his right arm has secured £95,000 compensation from Manchester firm Robert McBride Ltd

Read an update published by Thompsons Solicitors about Landmark Legal Cases on Asbestos Compensation

An update for all concerned with claims and potential claims for asbestos related conditions.

Compensation for former Welder exposed to asbestos who developed Lung Cancer

A member of the UK’s largest union, Unite, who was diagnosed with lung cancer after being exposed to asbestos, has won provisional compensation

Maintenance Worker secures substantial damages after fracturing his shoulder and being medically retired

A GMB union member from Gloucestershire has secured substantial damages after he fractured his shoulder and was medically retired from his maintenance job as a result of unsafe working practices.

Merseyside man suffering from asbestosis sues 4 former employers for £25,000

A Merseyside man who now suffers from asbestosis has successfully sued four of his six former employers

NHS Logistics Authority pays factory worker damages after fork lift truck injury left him with a partially amputated foot

A factory worker who has been left with a partially amputated foot following a serious fork lift truck injury has been successful in a court action against his employers

Did you work at Prudhoe hospital between 1971 and 1979?

A North East councillor is appealing for former work colleagues to come forward after she was diagnosed with the deadly cancer mesothelioma.

Justice for families affected by asbestos

A group of mesothelioma sufferers and their families have released a short film with a hard-hitting message calling on the Government to amend the law on asbestos compensation.

Train driver forced to retire receives compensation for accident

A train driver who was forced to retire from his job after severely injuring his back at work has been awarded compensation by his former employer.

£175,000 damages for Preston man who suffered severe physical and psychological injuries after his hand was trapped in a machine at work

A Preston man who suffered severe physical and psychological injuries after his hand was trapped in a machine at work has secured substantial compensation from his former employer with the support of his trade union Unite.

Parliamentary Health and Safety Enquiry

Thompsons Solicitors has told the Department of Work and Pensions health and safety enquiry select committee that the Health and Safety Executive is grossly inadequately funded

Woman left paralysed by hospital failings secures £900,000 in compensation

A woman who suffered catastrophic injuries as the result of the negligent management and treatment of an infection in her spine has recovered £900,000 in compensation with the help of Thompsons Solicitors

Unite wins pay for shop steward sacked by TNT

Giant courier company TNT has been forced to continue paying a Unite union member it sacked at its Bristol depot when he was elected as a shop steward

Boilermaker from Port Talbot secures over £8,000 damages from four employers after vibrating tools permanently damaged his hands

A boilermaker from Port Talbot whose hands have been permanently damaged from regular use of vibrating tools has been paid compensation from four employers with the support of his trade union GMB

Retired Joiner diagnosed with Asbestosis

A Retired joiner has described how he feels angry at his former employers after he was diagnosed with lung condition asbestosis.