Craner v Dorset County Council
Court of Appeal
“It was no defence for a county council which left paving slabs uneven, causing injuries to a school caretaker, to say that what had occurred was a freak accident which could not have been prevented or guarded against.”
The Times, 27th February 2009
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 from the date of publication.
“A council will be in court later over the death of a boy who drowned on a school caving trip.”
BBC News, 27th February 2009
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“The jury in the trial of an artist accused of killing two women when his inflatable sculpture blew away failed to reach verdicts today (25 February).”
The Guardian, 25th February 2009
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“An artist has been found guilty of breaching health and safety rules after his inflatable sculpture blew away in a County Durham park, killing two women.”
BBC News, 24th February 2009
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
Egan v Central Manchester and Manchester Children’s University Hospitals NHS Trust
Court of Appeal
“Where a hospital employee was injured using a mechanical hoist to move a patient, the burden was on the employer to prove that it had taken appropriate steps to reduce any risk to the lowest reasonably practicable level.”
The Times, 3rd February 2009
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication.
“Marks and Spencer has been fined £20,000 after a worker lost part of his toe in a warehouse accident.”
BBC News, 3rd February 2009
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“Amateurish safety precautions led to a huge inflatable artwork tearing free and twisting into the air in a strong gust of wind, killing two women inside, a court heard yesterday.”
The Guardian, 29th January 2009
Source: www.guardian.co.uk
“A Greater Manchester council has been fined £25,000 after a four-year-old boy was impaled on a tree branch during a nursery school outing.”
BBC News, 26th January 2009
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“A farmer and his son have been found guilty of health and safety failings after a teenager died in a farm machinery accident near Bristol.”
BBC News, 23rd January 2009
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“The death of a 50-year-old disabled man who drowned in a bath in council-run accommodation was preventable, health and safety officials have said.”
BBC News, 23rd January 2009
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“Too many burial grounds operators are staking or laying down memorials which are not a serious risk to the public. New guidance published today by Justice Minister Bridget Prentice makes it clear this should only be done as a last resort.”
Ministry of Justice, 16th January 2009
Source: www.justice.gov.uk
“New guidelines to help assess the safety of gravestones after councils carried out ‘over-zealous’ topple-testing have been welcomed by an MP.”
BBC News, 20th January 2009
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“A rail worker has won £200,000 in compensation for being sacked after he blew the whistle on a manager who asked him to lie about an accident.”
BBC News, 14th January 2009
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
“Careless workers and their bosses could be more likely to go to prison than muggers when new health and safety legislation comes in to force this week, lawyers have warned.”
The Times, 12th January 2009
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
“Once an employee had shown that a manual handling operation at work carried some risk of injury, for the purposes of reg 4(1)(b) of the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992, the burden of proof was on the employer to prove that it had taken appropriate steps to reduce the risk to the lowest level reasonably practicable, under reg 4(1)(b)(ii).”
WLR Daily, 18th December 2008
Source: www.lawreports.co.uk
Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.
“The distraught family of the teenager who fell to her death from a white-knuckle ride condemned a £250,000 fine for the company running the theme park today as ‘far too little’.”
The Independent, 18th December 2008
Source: www.independent.co.uk
House of Lords
“In criminal proceedings against an employer after an accident ot work, it was sufficient for the prosecution to prove merely a risk of injury arising from a state of affairs at work, without identifying and proving specific breaches of duty by the employer. Once that was done, a prima facie case of breach was established. The onus then passed to the employer to make good the defence of reasonable practicability.”
The Times, 16th December 2008
Source: www.timesonline.co.uk
Please note the Times Law Reports are only available free on Times Online for 21 days from the date of publication
R v Chargot (trading as Contract Services) and others [2008] UKHL 73; [2008] WLR (D) 379
“When criminal proceedings were brought against an employer under ss 2 and 3 of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974 it was sufficient for the prosecution to prove merely a risk of injury arising from a state of affairs at work, and it was not necessary to identify, allege and prove specific breaches of duty by the employer. Once that was done a prima facie case of breach was established. The onus then passed to the employer to make good the defence of reasonable practicability.”
WLR Daily, 10th December 2008
Source: www.lawreports.co.uk
Please note once a case has been fully reported in one of the ICLR series the corresponding WLR Daily summary is removed.
Craner v Dorset County Council [2008] EWCA Civ 1323; [2008] WLR (D) 377
“Although an action for personal injuries of a school caretaker against the employer council for leaving uneven paving slabs in the school site should be brought under reg 12(1)(2) of the Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations 1992, if the claimant had brought his claim under reg 12(3) alleging ‘obstruction’ and the defence was simply that what had occurred was a freak or inexplicable accident which could never have been prevented or guarded against the judge was entitled to find against the council.”
WLR Daily, 8th December 2008
Source: www.lawreports.co.uk
“Five companies are to be prosecuted over the Buncefield oil depot fire, the Environment Agency has said.”
BBC News, 1st December 2008
Source: www.bbc.co.uk
© Inner Temple Library 2025