Archives

The other day I pulled into a car park where the ground was covered in leaves – it had been raining the previous day which made the ground extra slippery. Luckily, I spotted the leaves in time and managed to stop without skidding. I couldn’t help but think what would have happened if I didn’t see the leaves and then I skidded on them causing me to crash into another vehicle.

A slightly drastic thought I know; but things like this do happen, especially to those that least expect it to. Would it be the venue that owns the car park who was liable for any damage caused? Or would it be the drivers fault for failing to spot the hazard?

When we visit a venue they are expected to show us a duty of care upon our visit, which means keeping all hazards to a minimum when we are on their site. If they own the car park then they are expected to be responsible for making sure it is hazard free. Read More

For a lot of us, gardening is our favourite way to spend our Sunday afternoon – it’s a relaxing and enjoyable hobby. Some of us are extremely proud of our gardens and do everything to keep them in a good condition, even in the most miserable weather. Season’s such as winter make looking after our garden that little bit harder; when leaves fall off the trees in the Autumn, extra work is required to keep the garden tidy.

Although gardening is an enjoyable hobby, those doing so perhaps have a need to carry out their own risk assessments to make sure that they aren’t putting themselves at the risk of being injured. According to data from the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA), about 300,000 people are hurt in their gardens each year.
Read More

Whatever our age, whether we are 18, or in our mid-thirties, we all love a good night out. There’s nothing better than spending a good few hours getting ready with friends, having a few glasses of wine, then hitting the town for a night of dancing. A night out down town is a way a lot of us celebrate the end of a bad week at work or welcome in the weekend.

Nightclubs usually have big events on at the weekend, which is when they expect the club to be at its busiest. They usually promote events by welcoming famous DJ’s; some clubs even have chocolate fountains or cupcakes to tempt party-goers to go to their venue.

Due to the amount of party-goers out at the weekend nightclubs need to take on extra staff to ensure there are no safety hazards in the clubs. Spillages happen frequently in nightclubs so staff have to constantly keep a look out. They also have glass collectors collecting empty bottles that have been put on the floor. Some nightclubs have a no drinks on the dance floor policy; this is to prevent anyone slipping on a spillage on the dance floor and can protect the nightclub from liability.
Read More

The Working at Height Regulations 2005 came in to force on 6 April 2005. The aim of the regulations was to bring together all requirements in order for safe working at height standards that are applicable to all industries. The Regulations apply to all those that work at height where there is a risk of a fall, liable to cause a personal injury.

The Work at Height Regulations were amended in 2007, these came into force on 6 April 2007 and apply to those who work at height providing instruction or leadership. As part of the Regulation duty holders must ensure:
Read More

For most of us, our cars are our pride and joy, and we couldn’t imagine life without them. We go everywhere in them, whether it is to drive to work in a morning, or for days out at the weekend. However, there’s something about the vehicle we love that causes us to hate everyone else on the roads. 

When we’re driving, if the car in front or behind does the slightest thing wrong, we can become extremely annoyed. A lot of us use our horn to let them know they’ve annoyed us; others may use the occasional hand gesture. Either way if they do something wrong we don’t hesitate in letting them know.

We seem to dehumanise the person that we’re screaming at. If we saw them at work or in the street we wouldn’t start screaming at them, so why do it on the road? When people are in their cars they can become extremely annoyed or angry, and this sometimes is the cause of road traffic accidents.
Read More

When it comes to Injury Law and whether you are entitled to make compensation claim there is often a lot of confusion amongst the public.

We often have people inquiring about a claim they want to make, but who are unsure about whether or not they have the right to do so, especially when it comes to accidents that involve emergency vehicles.

With accidents involving emergency vehicles it is the same procedure as any other as it is important to establish who was at fault, this will then tell you whether or not you are entitled to compensation. 
Read More

All of the theme parks throughout the UK are starting to close as the season comes to an end. With weather conditions such as ice and rain the rides will not be able to run as well as they would in the summer. The end of season for some theme parks gives them the chance to have new rides built in their theme parks and to test the old rides to make sure they are safe for when the new season begins.

Theme parks are a huge attraction in the UK with thousands of us visiting them each year. They give us a thrill that we would not be able to feel any other way. Some of us have our favourite types of rides, such as roller coasters, and others love them all. Some of us choose to stay away and watch from a distance. Whatever you do at a theme park they make for a great day out, if done in the right weather conditions.

Some people that choose to stay away from rides do so because they are afraid that an accident might happen, or they don’t trust the rides. All rides at theme parks are regularly checked to make sure they stick to health and safety regulations. If they fail any of their tests, the public will not be allowed to use them.
Read More

For a lot of teenagers their 17^th birthday is the one they look forward to the most. This is because at 17 they are allowed to apply for their provisional driving licence which means they are allowed to start having their driving lessons. There are thousands of people learning to drive every day, some in their teens, some much older.

Driving gives us a sense of freedom that we’ve never had before – it gives us the power to go where we want, when we want. It means that we don’t have to rely on other people to drive us around or hang around at bus stops in the cold weather. Along with the new found freedom driving gives us, it also gives us a responsibility.
Read More

A lot of sporting venues now offer a range of children’s parties. These types of parties normally come as part of a corporate package and allow the child whose birthday it is to choose a sport for them and their friends to take part in. When booking a birthday the parent or guardian in charge should inform staff at the sport centre how many children they are booking the party for, how old they are, and if they have any allergies they should be aware of.

After the birthday party has been booked, a birthday party host will also need to be booked to host the party. They will be informed what type of sporting activity the child has requested along with the number of children attending. Most sporting venues have a set ratio for the number of children to one coach; if there are a lot of children that are expected to attend the party, they will need more than one coach. This is to ensure that the children attending the birthday party can be supervised at all times.

Although sporting activities can be extremely fun, they can also be dangerous if the children taking part are not supervised properly. Due to the high impact of running and jumping around in sporting activities, accidents can occur. At your child’s party the coach should do everything in their power to keep any possible accidents to a minimum; this means keeping the children under control and making sure they are not at risk of any injury.
Read More

Although the types of weather we have experienced in the past few weeks are not ideal for gardening, some of us gardening-fanatics out there battle through to keep our garden looking in tip-top condition. To some of us our gardens are an area of relaxation and we take pride and joy in keeping them looking as tidy as possible. To others they make an ideal play area for the kids, and are good for BBQs in the summer.

There are a number of causes for gardening accidents – it may be that the tools you were using were incorrect and caused you an injury. Gardening also requires you to do a lot of lifting and bending; if you don’t do this correctly you may suffer from a back injury. If you are doing gardening in the winter you need to make sure that your electric machinery is plugged into a secure socket away from any water.

To prevent children or animals from getting involved in a gardening accident you should make sure that tools are put away at all times. Children and animals do not understand the danger of some objects, and so are vulnerable to injury.
Read More