Health And Safety Newsletter: Summer 2008

Welcome to the Summer 2008 issue of the Health and Safety

Newsletter.

Inside this issue:

R v HTM: Reasonable Practicability Examined

Three years ago proceedings were raised against Hatton

Traffic Management Ltd following the death of two employees.

The case has been slowly making its way through the courts

until February this year, when HTM were eventually

acquitted.

To view the full article

click here.

Peter Spencer-Franks v Kellogg Brown & Root

And Others: Is Door-Closing Apparatus "Work

Equipment"?

In the recent House of Lords judgement, 'Peter

Spencer-Franks v Kellogg Brown & Root and others', a

door-closing device was held to be "work equipment",

in terms of regulation 2 of the Provision and Use of Work

Equipment Regulations.

To view the full article

click here.

Work Related Suicide

This article comments on the Kari Boto and Corr v IBC

Vehicles Limited cases.

To view the full article

click here.

Pleural Plaques Bill Introduced To Scottish

Parliament

On 24 June 2008, the Scottish Government published a bill

overruling a decision taken by the House of Lords in October

2007 that pleural plaques do not give rise to compensatable

damage. Pleural plaques are small areas of scarring on the

lungs.

To view the full article

click here.

Regulatory Reform: Merger Of HSC And HSE

On 1 April 2008, the Health and Safety Commission and the

Health and Safety Executive merged to become one single

statutory body, retaining the name 'Health and Safety

Executive'. The proposal for change originated from the HSC

and HSE themselves, who felt that the existence of two separate

bodies was confusing and reduced the impact of important

communications.

To view the full article

click here.

Health And Safety (Offences) Bill Passes To House

Of Lords

The Health and Safety (Offences) Bill was introduced in the

House of Commons on 5 December 2007, and is now to be debated

by the House of Lords. It will go to Committee on 18 July 2008.

The Bill is intended to raise the maximum penalties available

to the courts in respect of certain health and safety

offences.

To view the full article

click here.

Piper Alpha: 20 Years On

6 July 2008 marked the 20-year anniversary of the Piper

Alpha disaster. It was the world's worst offshore oil

disaster to date, in terms of lives lost and impact to

industry, claiming the lives of 167 men and leaving only 62

survivors. It also served as a catalyst for reform of the

UK's entire offshore health and safety regime.

To view the full article

...