We have previously discussed the risks of using sunbeds, especially to young children whom are continually exposed to them despite the laws in place.

The BBC has today reported on the case of James Hadley whom had been fined £6000.00 and given a community order for 90 hours of unpaid work.

Mr Hadley is the owner of Lextan Salon in Barry and following an incident whereby a schoolgirl was left badly burned after she had stayed on the tanning machine for 19 minutes, an inspection of his premises was carried out.
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Restaurants in Derbyshire have been warned to inform customers about ingredients after a customer with a nut allergy was served peanuts.

According to the BBC, Su Tung Chow, the owner of the New China House takeaway on Derby road, Chesterfield was fined more than £2,500 for breaching food safety rules.

The customer ordered a peanut free option but the meal he was served included the nuts and he had to be taken for hospital treatment. The customer was awarded a sum of £200.00 by the court by way of compensation.
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We are all used to our mums telling us that if we watch too much telly we will get square eyes, but can your telly really cause you an injury?

Well, the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (more commonly known as RoSPA) have issued a warning as sales of television sets peek prior to the new digital switchover!

The society has looked at research carried out in the US over an 18 year period. The US research looked in to accidents caused by furniture ‘tip ups’ and the most common furniture item was the television set.

They claim that approximately 7500 young children are taken to hospital each year due to televisions falling on to them. The organisation report that they were aware of four fatalities involving children aged between 13 months and four years of age all caused by television sets.
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Police in Derbyshire have been praised following a considerable increase in the number of people caught drink driving over the festive period.

According to the BBC, throughout December officers stopped 1,011 people, 121 of whom tested positive or refused to provide a sample. That is an 11% success rate. This compares exceptionally well with the previous year where they stopped 4,500 motorists and only achieved a 4% positive test rate.

Police targeted persistent drink drivers or acted on information from informants and the general public.

Chief Inspector, Tim Frohwein, conceded to being disappointed to find that such large numbers of people were still drink driving, despite a campaign to crackdown on the numbers by distributing posters and leaflets in pubs and clubs, but was pleased with the response of the general public, stating that “People who suspected others of getting behind the wheel after a drink called the police to tell us” and “We are grateful to these callers for their assistance”.
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According to sources from the BBC (source) the volume of errors the NHS are making in drug treatments for minors is hospitals is, rather disturbingly, high, experts have warned.

According to the report, a University of London study of five hospitals in the capital concluded that 13% of 3000 prescriptions examined had were subject to errors. More worryingly, a fifth of these drugs given to children in 2004 and 2005 were “administered incorrectly”. Most errors were deemed to be non-harmful, however a small number were potentially fatal according to the Archives of Diseases in Childhood reports.
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A passenger has been killed after a train hit two cars on a level crossing. The 50 year old woman was airlifted from the crash, which happened on Saturday in Moreton-on-Lugg, Herefordshire, to hospital but doctors were unable to save her.

According to the BBC, there was originally some confusion as to how the two vehicles had ended up on the track and Network Rail has been investigating the incident in conjunction with British Transport Police. Following the accident, rail services in the area have been suspended and a replacement bus service provided.

Reports state that the safety barriers for the level crossing may not have come down prior to the accident, although following checks the level crossing has now been declared fully operational.
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Yes, you heard me right…good news for coffee drinkers.

Researchers have considered 18 different studies, involving over 500,000 people and have concluded that tea and coffee drinkers may reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

The risk can be cut by a fifth or more if you drink three or four cups of coffee (or tea) a day.

The protection is not down to the caffeine content in coffee as decaffeinated coffee had an even bigger effect with risks being reduced by a third in these cases.
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Susan Carnwell from Hardwick in Cambridge was only 18 when the tragic accident happened at indoor go karting track in Caxton.

Susan is believed to have gone to the raceway with a group of people who had been invited by one of the staff ‘after hours’

The raceway company secretary has confirmed that the marshal who arranged the out of hours session has been sacked and the company is considering taking legal action against him.
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I was surprised to read that during a morning rush hour, earlier last month, a double decker bus had tipped over after being involved in a collision with a lorry. The accident happened in Clapham, South London and firefighters from Battersea and Wandsworth had to cut 3 passengers free!

It is understood that there were 5 serious injuries with the driver of the bus was also seriously injured in the incident.

13 other passengers were also taken to Accident and Emergency units at Chelsea and Westiminster, St Thomas’ and Charing Cross hospitals to be treated for more minor injuries.
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Generally when it comes to a victim claiming for compensation, the damages (money) awarded is generated from the offending party or their representatives; which is usually the insurers for the third party defendant. So what happens when it isn’t possible to claim against the offenders? Say for example, in terror attacks abroad?

Current legislation allows victims of terrorist attacks who are injured in the UK access to compensation, but up until recently  many victims of terror attacks abroad have been unable to claim unless they are a part of a scheme in that country. According to the BBC (source) long awaited new legislation has been announced that now allows for victims of terrorist attacks abroad to access the compensation they require.

Although the measures are reportedly not retrospective, they will allow for victims as far back as 2002 to make a claim. Current campaigns relevant to this factor include the Bali attacks back in 2002, the Sharm al-Sheikh incident in 2005, and more recently the attacks in Mumbai in 2008.
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