Passive smoking
The claimant was a bar worker in a village social club. She claimed exposure to smoke made her asthma worse. Liability was denied until it was finally admitted in court
The Claimant agreed to accept £1500.
Birmingham CC,
Carpet not right: shop and fitters to blame – consumer law
The claimant bought a carpet from a shop. The shop offered the claimant another company to fit the carpet. She accepted and paid the fitters when they did the job. They did not secure a plate properly, two months later it sprung loose, and she tripped on it and was injured. The fitters had no insurance.
She sued the shop and the fitters. The Judge found the shop had a contractual relationship with the claimant for the fitting, supply and delivery of the carpet as they had held the fitters out as capable of doing the work and offered no alternative. The failure to fit the carpet properly was a breach of the contract between the claimant and the shop. The fitters were also negligent.
Leeds CC
Manual handling trial
Firefighter carrying equipment
The client was a firefighter who was called to the scene of a fatal road traffic accident on 6 December 2002. He suffered injury to his neck as a result of two separate incidents at the accident.
The first “incident” was the manual handling of heavy cutting equipment from the appliance over a distance of approximately 50 metres. The client’s crew was short-manned and this led to lifting and carrying of equipment by the client alone, which would normally be shared by two people.
It was admitted that there was no manual handling risk assessment in place before the accident. It was admitted that the heaviest piece of equipment weighed 35 kg, and that, in respect of all items of equipment, subsequent risk assessments advised two people should move them.
He succeeded in this claim.
After taking evidence, the Judge found the claimant had failed to prove the second alleged accident on the day had happened and he lost that part of the claim.
Northampton CC