Two people have been killed and 51 injured - eight of them seriously - in a crash which closed the M11 in both directions in Essex and Cambridgeshire.
The crash involving a coach and a lorry took place on the southbound carriageway in the early hours.
The casualties were taken to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge, Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow and Broomfield Hospital in Chelmsford.
The road has been closed between junctions eight and nine.
The northbound carriageway was closed to allow access to a recovery crane and police hoped to have it open again by noon on Saturday.
The southbound carriageway needs more clear-up work and repairs to the nearside crash-barrier. Police hope to reopen it by 1500 BST on Saturday.
Diversions are in place via the A505, A10 and A120.
The A11 has also been closed southbound between the A505 and junction nine of the M11.
East of England Ambulance Service said 43 people had suffered minor injuries and eight had been seriously hurt.
Trapped on board
The crash happened near junction nine for Saffron Walden and is causing long delays for people heading to Stansted Airport and the 2,000 Guineas race meeting at Newmarket.
Emergency services were called to the scene shortly before 0230 BST.
The lorry, which was carrying carrots, spilled its load on to the road and was left on its side on an embankment with the driver trapped.
The coach, operated by West Yorkshire-based Ross Travel Group, was upright on the hard shoulder of the motorway with severe damage to its side and rear and an elderly woman trapped on board.
Firefighters from Essex and Cambridgeshire attended the scene and teams used rescue equipment to free the lorry driver and the coach passenger.
Essex Police confirmed the driver of the lorry and a coach passenger had been killed. Their next of kin are being informed.
Three coach passengers are being treated in hospital for back injuries.
All other passengers taken to hospital have now been released.
They are being taken by coach to their homes or other destinations.
source: bbc.co.uk
Simon Oates from gocompensate.com encourages the passengers and injured parties to seek compensation from accredited solicitors accessed through the gocompensate.com regional panels.
Our panel in West Yorkshire is likely to be most convenient for passengers travelling on the coach owned by the Ross Travel Group from that region.
Specialist solicitors in West Yorkshire include 7 Solicitors LLP, Keeble Hawson LLP and Thompsons Solicitors.
Passenger Claims
Saturday 30 April 2011
Thursday 28 April 2011
Teenage girl hit by 999 call ambulance in Poole
A 14-year-old girl has been knocked down by an ambulance on an emergency call in Dorset.
The schoolgirl from Bournemouth was knocked over at a pedestrian crossing in Poole Road, Branksome, Poole at about 1730 BST on Wednesday.
She was taken to hospital and treated for minor injuries and has since been released.
It is believed the ambulance was travelling along the A35 with its blue lights and siren activated.
Dorset Police are appealing for anyone who may have seen the accident near the Woodman pub to contact them.
An investigation has been started.
source: bbc.co.uk
Dorset Claims
The schoolgirl from Bournemouth was knocked over at a pedestrian crossing in Poole Road, Branksome, Poole at about 1730 BST on Wednesday.
She was taken to hospital and treated for minor injuries and has since been released.
It is believed the ambulance was travelling along the A35 with its blue lights and siren activated.
Dorset Police are appealing for anyone who may have seen the accident near the Woodman pub to contact them.
An investigation has been started.
source: bbc.co.uk
Dorset Claims
Flintshire schoolboy recovering well after road accident in Bagillt
A SCHOOLBOY who was left fighting for his life after being in collision with a car is making a miraculous recovery.
Zach Ashley had to undergo emergency surgery after the accident while playing on his scooter on Bagillt High Street earlier this month, and spent days in a critical condition.
The 11-year-old Ysgol Merllyn pupil suffered brain injuries and broken bones in the incident outside the Blossoms pub, near his home at Bron y Wern.
Zach was taken by ambulance to Ysbyty Glan Clwyd before being transferred to Liverpool’s Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, where he has been ever since.
But this week his mum Ann said the family hopes Zach will soon be able to come home.
“Zach is still in hospital but he is over the worst now,” she said.
“We’re hoping he can be discharged very soon.
“The doctors have said his broken bones will take six to eight weeks to heal and it’s hard to say with the brain. That could take months, but they are very optimistic about his recovery.”
Ann and Zach’s dad Alex kept vigil at his bedside after the accident, along with sisters Kasia and Sarah, who goes to Flint High School.
“He has been so lucky,” Ann added.
“We would like to say a huge thank you to all the doctors and nurses both at Glan Clwyd and Alder Hey, who have been fantastic.”
The driver of the grey Ford Ka which was in collision with Zach at about 5pm on April 4, a 51-year-old local man, was unhurt.
No action was taken against him by North Wales Police.
But Bagillt councillor Mike Reece believes more needs to be done to tighten up road safety in the village.
He said: “I asked about two years ago for a zebra crossing on that stretch of road, but was told there was not enough traffic to warrant one.
“But something obviously needs to be done – this incident has proved that.”
Fellow community leader Norma Jones, whose Bagillt East ward covers the accident spot, said she plans to up the issue with county council highways chiefs.
She added: “I’ll be asking if someone can come and look at the area to see if anything can be done.”
source: flintshirechronicle.co.uk
Wales Claims
Zach Ashley had to undergo emergency surgery after the accident while playing on his scooter on Bagillt High Street earlier this month, and spent days in a critical condition.
The 11-year-old Ysgol Merllyn pupil suffered brain injuries and broken bones in the incident outside the Blossoms pub, near his home at Bron y Wern.
Zach was taken by ambulance to Ysbyty Glan Clwyd before being transferred to Liverpool’s Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, where he has been ever since.
But this week his mum Ann said the family hopes Zach will soon be able to come home.
“Zach is still in hospital but he is over the worst now,” she said.
“We’re hoping he can be discharged very soon.
“The doctors have said his broken bones will take six to eight weeks to heal and it’s hard to say with the brain. That could take months, but they are very optimistic about his recovery.”
Ann and Zach’s dad Alex kept vigil at his bedside after the accident, along with sisters Kasia and Sarah, who goes to Flint High School.
“He has been so lucky,” Ann added.
“We would like to say a huge thank you to all the doctors and nurses both at Glan Clwyd and Alder Hey, who have been fantastic.”
The driver of the grey Ford Ka which was in collision with Zach at about 5pm on April 4, a 51-year-old local man, was unhurt.
No action was taken against him by North Wales Police.
But Bagillt councillor Mike Reece believes more needs to be done to tighten up road safety in the village.
He said: “I asked about two years ago for a zebra crossing on that stretch of road, but was told there was not enough traffic to warrant one.
“But something obviously needs to be done – this incident has proved that.”
Fellow community leader Norma Jones, whose Bagillt East ward covers the accident spot, said she plans to up the issue with county council highways chiefs.
She added: “I’ll be asking if someone can come and look at the area to see if anything can be done.”
source: flintshirechronicle.co.uk
Wales Claims
Former Morris worker died from inhaling asbestos
AN 86-year-old woman died after inhaling asbestos at the Morris Motor car factory in Cowley, an inquest found.
Elizabeth Stephenson, of Evans Lane, Kidlington, worked at the car plant for six months during the late 1950s.
She died at Sobell House Hospice, Headington, on December 9.
She had suffered a string of health problems, including diabetes, anaemia and cancer of the colon, bowel and lung. She had a stroke in 2010.
Her daughter, Liz Tong, of Bicester, said her mother had worked in the trim shop at the car plant, now the BMW Mini factory.
She said: “She said she wasn’t sure [how she had been exposed to asbestos] because she didn’t actually touch or see it.
“But there were people working above her and she later understood it would have been from there.”
Coroner Nicholas Gardiner told Oxford Coroner’s Court last Wednesday: “On the balance of probability, she was exposed to asbestos at work at the motor factory. It is well known for that type of problem.
“I shall be recording that she died from an industrial disease.”
source: oxfordtimes.co.uk
Asbestos Claims
Elizabeth Stephenson, of Evans Lane, Kidlington, worked at the car plant for six months during the late 1950s.
She died at Sobell House Hospice, Headington, on December 9.
She had suffered a string of health problems, including diabetes, anaemia and cancer of the colon, bowel and lung. She had a stroke in 2010.
Her daughter, Liz Tong, of Bicester, said her mother had worked in the trim shop at the car plant, now the BMW Mini factory.
She said: “She said she wasn’t sure [how she had been exposed to asbestos] because she didn’t actually touch or see it.
“But there were people working above her and she later understood it would have been from there.”
Coroner Nicholas Gardiner told Oxford Coroner’s Court last Wednesday: “On the balance of probability, she was exposed to asbestos at work at the motor factory. It is well known for that type of problem.
“I shall be recording that she died from an industrial disease.”
source: oxfordtimes.co.uk
Asbestos Claims
Family to seek 'justice' over asbestos death
THE family of a Whitchurch woman who died after exposure to asbestos in the 1950s say they will fight for justice in her name.
An inquest at Flax Bourton Coroner's Court heard that Maureen Hutton, 87, died on November 21 last year at the Bristol Royal Infirmary.
She had been diagnosed with potential mesothelioma – a rare form of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos – in September that year, and her condition deteriorated quickly.
The court heard details read from a statement Mrs Hutton, a retired office typist, had made before her death.
She said that the only time in her life that she could recall having worked or lived near asbestos was in the 1950s when she worked as a shorthand typist in a factory in Cheltenham.
She worked at the Alfred Miles Fire Appliances factory from 1951 until 1953, where asbestos was used to make fire engines.
She said she remembered the factory being very dusty, and that she would always have had her door open onto the factory floor.
A post mortem found that the cause of Mrs Hutton's death was pulmonary embolism – a blockage of the main artery of the lung – and malignant mesothelioma.
Medical reports concluded that the conditions were asbestos related.
Terry Moore, assistant deputy coroner, recorded a verdict of industrial disease.
source: thisisbristol.co.uk
(edited version)
Asbestos Claims
An inquest at Flax Bourton Coroner's Court heard that Maureen Hutton, 87, died on November 21 last year at the Bristol Royal Infirmary.
She had been diagnosed with potential mesothelioma – a rare form of cancer caused by exposure to asbestos – in September that year, and her condition deteriorated quickly.
The court heard details read from a statement Mrs Hutton, a retired office typist, had made before her death.
She said that the only time in her life that she could recall having worked or lived near asbestos was in the 1950s when she worked as a shorthand typist in a factory in Cheltenham.
She worked at the Alfred Miles Fire Appliances factory from 1951 until 1953, where asbestos was used to make fire engines.
She said she remembered the factory being very dusty, and that she would always have had her door open onto the factory floor.
A post mortem found that the cause of Mrs Hutton's death was pulmonary embolism – a blockage of the main artery of the lung – and malignant mesothelioma.
Medical reports concluded that the conditions were asbestos related.
Terry Moore, assistant deputy coroner, recorded a verdict of industrial disease.
source: thisisbristol.co.uk
(edited version)
Asbestos Claims
Fatal gyrocopter crash
A GYROCOPTER has crashed and one person been killed in an accident near Old Sarum Airfield.
Reports are coming in that the craft came down just off Hilltop Way and burst into flames at about 12.30pm.
A spokesman for Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service said the emergency services received multiple calls and are currently at the scene.
The air ambulance is in attendance and one fatality has been confirmed.
source: salisburyjournal.co.uk
Wiltshire Claims
Reports are coming in that the craft came down just off Hilltop Way and burst into flames at about 12.30pm.
A spokesman for Wiltshire Fire & Rescue Service said the emergency services received multiple calls and are currently at the scene.
The air ambulance is in attendance and one fatality has been confirmed.
source: salisburyjournal.co.uk
Wiltshire Claims
Tuesday 26 April 2011
Search unable to locate missing diver
POLICE searching for a missing diver off the Dorset coast called off the search for his body on Monday evening.
Graham Packer, 61, from Frampton Cotterell near Bristol, went missing on Thursday after diving with a friend near the Lanes Ground reef in Lyme Bay.
It is thought Mr Packer, an experienced recreational diver ran out of air during a 22m (72ft) dive for scallops and failed to resurface.
An extensive underwater search for Mr Packer was concluded by police without recovering his body on Monday.
Marine divers and a sonar search and dive team searched for 10 hours on Sunday and eight hours on Monday.
Conditions were particularly challenging due to the size of the search parameters and the tides in the area.
A Dorset Police spokesperson said that to extend the search area would be “an increasingly sizeable task with a decreasing chance of success.”
Detective Inspector Stewart Dipple said: “It is with great sadness that the search has been concluded without success.
“All of those involved in the joint operation were totally committed to locating Graham Packer and bring him home to his family in order to provide closure on where there loved one is.”
DI Dipple expressed his gratitude to the search teams and said the investigation into the circumstances of the incident would continue.
Police say Mr Packer's buddy, a 47-year-old man from Swindon, risked his own life to try and save him.
The Swindon man was airlifted to a specialist unit in Poole for treatment
source: bournemouthecho.co.uk
Diving Claims
Offshore Claims
Graham Packer, 61, from Frampton Cotterell near Bristol, went missing on Thursday after diving with a friend near the Lanes Ground reef in Lyme Bay.
It is thought Mr Packer, an experienced recreational diver ran out of air during a 22m (72ft) dive for scallops and failed to resurface.
An extensive underwater search for Mr Packer was concluded by police without recovering his body on Monday.
Marine divers and a sonar search and dive team searched for 10 hours on Sunday and eight hours on Monday.
Conditions were particularly challenging due to the size of the search parameters and the tides in the area.
A Dorset Police spokesperson said that to extend the search area would be “an increasingly sizeable task with a decreasing chance of success.”
Detective Inspector Stewart Dipple said: “It is with great sadness that the search has been concluded without success.
“All of those involved in the joint operation were totally committed to locating Graham Packer and bring him home to his family in order to provide closure on where there loved one is.”
DI Dipple expressed his gratitude to the search teams and said the investigation into the circumstances of the incident would continue.
Police say Mr Packer's buddy, a 47-year-old man from Swindon, risked his own life to try and save him.
The Swindon man was airlifted to a specialist unit in Poole for treatment
source: bournemouthecho.co.uk
Diving Claims
Offshore Claims
Diver suffering from 'the bends' rescued off Swanage coast
A STRICKEN diver suffering from ‘the bends’ was dramatically rescued by helicopter off the Swanage coast.
The male diver was hauled into the hovering coastguard chopper from the deck of the dive boat Skua.
Witnesses said a winchman was lowered about 50ft onto the boat around 3.30pm on Easter Sunday.
A coastguard spokesman said the man had been diving on the wreck of the Kyarra, south of Anvil Point.
He was airlifted to the emergency landing site at Poole, where a specialist dive doctor and an ambulance was standing by to rush him to the recompression chamber at Poole Hospital.
As the Daily Echo went to press the man’s condition was not known, but it is not thought to be life-threatening.
Eyewitness Steve Barrett said: “We were travelling in our RIB from Lulworth to Poole when we saw the helicopter approach the Skua to airlift both the coastguard winchman and the diver.”
An hour before this incident the coastguard helicopter was tasked to transport another diver, who was also displaying symptoms of decompression sickness, from Weymouth Bay.
He was also taken to the recompression chamber at Poole Hospital.
The wreck of the SS Kyarra was discovered in the late 1960s and is now one of the best known dive wrecks on the south coast.
It is not unusual to have up to 100 divers on the wreck on any summer weekend.
The vessel, an Australian steamer used as a casualty clearing ship in the Great War, was sunk by a German U-Boat torpedo in 1918.
• AN extensive search operation continued yesterday to recover the body of a missing diver.
The experienced recreational diver, a 61-year-old man from the Bristol area, got into difficulties as he was ascending to the surface following a 22-metre dive at Lyme Bay five days ago.
Despite the best efforts of his dive buddy, he failed to surface.
source: bournemouthecho.co.uk
Diving Claims
Offshore Claims
The male diver was hauled into the hovering coastguard chopper from the deck of the dive boat Skua.
Witnesses said a winchman was lowered about 50ft onto the boat around 3.30pm on Easter Sunday.
A coastguard spokesman said the man had been diving on the wreck of the Kyarra, south of Anvil Point.
He was airlifted to the emergency landing site at Poole, where a specialist dive doctor and an ambulance was standing by to rush him to the recompression chamber at Poole Hospital.
As the Daily Echo went to press the man’s condition was not known, but it is not thought to be life-threatening.
Eyewitness Steve Barrett said: “We were travelling in our RIB from Lulworth to Poole when we saw the helicopter approach the Skua to airlift both the coastguard winchman and the diver.”
An hour before this incident the coastguard helicopter was tasked to transport another diver, who was also displaying symptoms of decompression sickness, from Weymouth Bay.
He was also taken to the recompression chamber at Poole Hospital.
The wreck of the SS Kyarra was discovered in the late 1960s and is now one of the best known dive wrecks on the south coast.
It is not unusual to have up to 100 divers on the wreck on any summer weekend.
The vessel, an Australian steamer used as a casualty clearing ship in the Great War, was sunk by a German U-Boat torpedo in 1918.
• AN extensive search operation continued yesterday to recover the body of a missing diver.
The experienced recreational diver, a 61-year-old man from the Bristol area, got into difficulties as he was ascending to the surface following a 22-metre dive at Lyme Bay five days ago.
Despite the best efforts of his dive buddy, he failed to surface.
source: bournemouthecho.co.uk
Diving Claims
Offshore Claims
Diver remains missing off Dorset
Underwater searches have been carried out in a bid to locate any remains of a diver who went missing in Dorset’s Lyme Bay just before Easter.
The searches were conducted yesterday, 24 April by both divers and a specialised sonar operations team, over a 1sq km area.
The experienced diver, reported to be a man aged 61 and from Bristol, was in an eight-strong group of visiting and local divers operating from a charter boat out of Lyme Regis last Thursday, 21 April.
Diving about three miles offshore, the missing diver and his buddy were on their second dive of the day to collect scallops.
The diver’s buddy, reportedly a man from Swindon, raised the alarm at about 5.30pm after making a rapid ascent from a depth of about 22m.
He was put on oxygen aboard the dive boat before being airlifted by the Coastguard’s Portland helicopter for recompression treatment in Poole.
Surface searches were carried out until dark by Lyme Regis and Weymouth RNLI Lifeboats, Sidmouth Independent Lifeboat, Coastguard Rescue helicopters from Lee-on-Solent and Portland, the Lyme Regis Harbour Launch, the Royal Naval Fleet Auxiliary Gold Rover and some private vessels.
It was reported yesterday that, after treatment, the buddy had been released from hospital.
source: divernet.com
Diving Claims
The searches were conducted yesterday, 24 April by both divers and a specialised sonar operations team, over a 1sq km area.
The experienced diver, reported to be a man aged 61 and from Bristol, was in an eight-strong group of visiting and local divers operating from a charter boat out of Lyme Regis last Thursday, 21 April.
Diving about three miles offshore, the missing diver and his buddy were on their second dive of the day to collect scallops.
The diver’s buddy, reportedly a man from Swindon, raised the alarm at about 5.30pm after making a rapid ascent from a depth of about 22m.
He was put on oxygen aboard the dive boat before being airlifted by the Coastguard’s Portland helicopter for recompression treatment in Poole.
Surface searches were carried out until dark by Lyme Regis and Weymouth RNLI Lifeboats, Sidmouth Independent Lifeboat, Coastguard Rescue helicopters from Lee-on-Solent and Portland, the Lyme Regis Harbour Launch, the Royal Naval Fleet Auxiliary Gold Rover and some private vessels.
It was reported yesterday that, after treatment, the buddy had been released from hospital.
source: divernet.com
Diving Claims
My missing ten months
Emerging from a coma after near-fatal car crash, Luke Flatman only had a 30-second memory. Three years on, he still can’t remember anything from four months before the collision to six months after – but he’s slowly worked his way back to fitness and has just triumphed in his latest challenge – running the London Marathon.
When Luke Flatman crossed the finishing line to the London Marathon last Sunday, he’d come a lot further than 26.2 miles.
In February 2008, while in his final year at Hull University, Luke was involved in a horrific car crash that left him fighting for his life.
On the day of the accident, Luke was driving his girlfriend from the university’s Scarborough campus to York railway station so she could catch a train to Oxford, where she was at university. It was a journey the 25-year-old had made many times before but, just a few miles in, it changed Luke’s life forever.
“I don’t remember anything from the crash,” says Luke, sitting in his family home in Littleport. “I only know what I’ve been told, which is that me and another car were following a really slow lorry and the car in front tried to overtake and I followed. At the same time someone overtook another car coming in the other direction.
“The car in front of me found enough of a gap to get in front of the lorry and swerve out of the way, but there wasn’t enough for me or the other car that had been overtaking.”
Luke’s Ford Fiesta was in collision with the oncoming car near the village of Ganton, just a few miles southwest of Scarborough. The driver and passenger in the second vehicle, and Luke’s girlfriend, escaped the wreckage with minor injuries, but Luke had suffered massive brain trauma as well as injuries to his legs and collarbone.
“Apparently it took ages to get me out of the car,” says Luke. “I’ve been told I was conscious after the accident, but very confused.”
Luke was cut from his car and taken to Scarborough Hospital where he underwent an operation for his leg, foot and collarbone injuries. His right leg was so seriously damaged a large steel rod had to be inserted to repair it.
“I’m told I was conscious all of the time following the accident to arriving in hospital, but I was sedated for the orthopaedic operations and, from that stage, was in a coma for a week,” he explains.
When he came out of his coma, the extent of Luke’s brain injury became apparent. “One of the things after having a brain injury is that people tend to go into Post Traumatic Amnesia (PTA),” explains Luke. “So they get really confused and disorientated. I was in that for ages.”
Piecing together the events shortly before and after his accident is difficult for Luke as the brain injury he sustained means he has no recollection of that day.
In fact, when he came out of his coma, although he recognised his family and friends, he only had a 30-second memory and now, more than three years since the near-fatal crash, has no memory of his life from four months before the collision to six months after.
At the request of Luke’s parents, he was transferred to Addenbrooke’s so he would be closer to family and friends.
“I was put in my own room but I don’t remember that. Then I was put on a ward and I don’t remember that, and then I was put on another ward and that’s when my memory starts,” he says. “I’ve got hazy memories after about four months (after the accident). I’ve got what I could turn into two or three days of that time and all of those memories are from Addenbrooke’s, I can’t remember Scarborough at all.
“There’s a video of me in a hospital bed and I’m trying to work out where I am. My family keep having to tell me that I’ve had a car accident, and I’m in hospital because of that car accident. They’re running through the story and then a few seconds later I’ll look down and notice there’s a plaster cast on my foot and ask them what it’s there for, and then we’ll go through the whole conversation again. We just kept going round and round in circles. I was very confused.
“Apparently I watched Finding Nemo because they thought it would be nice to watch with me – something to do – and then after that I was convinced I was on holiday in Australia.”
After further hospital treatment Luke was transferred to the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Trust (BIRT) centre, Fen House, in Ely.
“I couldn’t be moved until I had come out of PTA and it took longer than the doctors had expected for me to come out of it,” says Luke. “That’s an indication of the severity of the brain injury. They were really scared that it would be more serious, but I was quite lucky.”
Luke’s memory was still very limited when he was admitted to Fen House and says that he ‘wasn’t really able to function properly’. “I was able to get dressed and eat and such, it was more about them teaching me to be able to understand what had happened to me. They really helped me to deal with the consequences of it.”
During his time at the residential rehabilitation centre, Luke’s treatment included speech and language therapy, physiotherapy and assessments to determine the tasks that he was having difficulty with.
“Fen House helped me loads,” he says. “They really helped me deal with the consequences of the crash. They taught me to be able to start remembering things again, not to get lost when I was out and about, and to be able to find where I am again, without panicking, if I forget.”
Unfortunately, Luke’s relationship with his girlfriend ended, but a year after the accident, with further support from Fen House, he returned to university to complete his degree in creative music technology and last year graduated with a very respectable 2:1.
Another box Luke wanted to tick was to get back behind the wheel. “I had to take a Capabilities Assessment to check that I was still healthy enough to drive, which I am. I kind of celebrated getting my licence back by hiring a car and visiting friends in Southampton. I’m not really nervous about driving, but I’m far more aware and take my time and leave lots of distance between me and people in front.”
And last weekend Luke conquered the latest challenge in his amazing recovery – the London Marathon. With support from Fen House, he rebuilt the strength in his legs and gradually progressed from jogging to running. “I did the marathon to raise money for BIRD who run Fen House. I hope it’s the first of many,” he smiles. “They were a massive help: I always thought it would be nice to give something back.”
With his time sheet proudly displayed on the fridge showing his impressive 4 hours and 24 minute result, despite his aching legs, Luke admits it was a great moment when he crossed the finish line.
“I didn’t get a massive sense of achievement because I was just so worn out,” he laughs, “but I was proud of myself. My mum and one of my best friends were there at the end.”
Luke, who is a former Ely Cathedral chorister, hopes to follow his dream to become a music producer and is determined not to let the effects of the accident stop his ambition.
“The main things that I’m having now from the brain injury are memory loss and fatigue, but my memory, I suppose, is the big one,” he admits.
“It’s likely that it won’t improve much more than it has done already. They’ve said I could notice improvements for up to five years after the accident but I’m not sure. It’s difficult really because I haven’t been able to see differences at all but I know I have improved because I used to have a 30 second memory.”
Writing things down and dividing his day into a timetable is one way he copes.
“I can remember events that have happened, but something that happened yesterday feels just the same as something that happened a couple of months ago. But I’m not the sort of person that dwells on something. I just take each thing as it comes and deal with it.”
source: cambridge-news.co.uk
Brain Injury Claims
When Luke Flatman crossed the finishing line to the London Marathon last Sunday, he’d come a lot further than 26.2 miles.
In February 2008, while in his final year at Hull University, Luke was involved in a horrific car crash that left him fighting for his life.
On the day of the accident, Luke was driving his girlfriend from the university’s Scarborough campus to York railway station so she could catch a train to Oxford, where she was at university. It was a journey the 25-year-old had made many times before but, just a few miles in, it changed Luke’s life forever.
“I don’t remember anything from the crash,” says Luke, sitting in his family home in Littleport. “I only know what I’ve been told, which is that me and another car were following a really slow lorry and the car in front tried to overtake and I followed. At the same time someone overtook another car coming in the other direction.
“The car in front of me found enough of a gap to get in front of the lorry and swerve out of the way, but there wasn’t enough for me or the other car that had been overtaking.”
Luke’s Ford Fiesta was in collision with the oncoming car near the village of Ganton, just a few miles southwest of Scarborough. The driver and passenger in the second vehicle, and Luke’s girlfriend, escaped the wreckage with minor injuries, but Luke had suffered massive brain trauma as well as injuries to his legs and collarbone.
“Apparently it took ages to get me out of the car,” says Luke. “I’ve been told I was conscious after the accident, but very confused.”
Luke was cut from his car and taken to Scarborough Hospital where he underwent an operation for his leg, foot and collarbone injuries. His right leg was so seriously damaged a large steel rod had to be inserted to repair it.
“I’m told I was conscious all of the time following the accident to arriving in hospital, but I was sedated for the orthopaedic operations and, from that stage, was in a coma for a week,” he explains.
When he came out of his coma, the extent of Luke’s brain injury became apparent. “One of the things after having a brain injury is that people tend to go into Post Traumatic Amnesia (PTA),” explains Luke. “So they get really confused and disorientated. I was in that for ages.”
Piecing together the events shortly before and after his accident is difficult for Luke as the brain injury he sustained means he has no recollection of that day.
In fact, when he came out of his coma, although he recognised his family and friends, he only had a 30-second memory and now, more than three years since the near-fatal crash, has no memory of his life from four months before the collision to six months after.
At the request of Luke’s parents, he was transferred to Addenbrooke’s so he would be closer to family and friends.
“I was put in my own room but I don’t remember that. Then I was put on a ward and I don’t remember that, and then I was put on another ward and that’s when my memory starts,” he says. “I’ve got hazy memories after about four months (after the accident). I’ve got what I could turn into two or three days of that time and all of those memories are from Addenbrooke’s, I can’t remember Scarborough at all.
“There’s a video of me in a hospital bed and I’m trying to work out where I am. My family keep having to tell me that I’ve had a car accident, and I’m in hospital because of that car accident. They’re running through the story and then a few seconds later I’ll look down and notice there’s a plaster cast on my foot and ask them what it’s there for, and then we’ll go through the whole conversation again. We just kept going round and round in circles. I was very confused.
“Apparently I watched Finding Nemo because they thought it would be nice to watch with me – something to do – and then after that I was convinced I was on holiday in Australia.”
After further hospital treatment Luke was transferred to the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Trust (BIRT) centre, Fen House, in Ely.
“I couldn’t be moved until I had come out of PTA and it took longer than the doctors had expected for me to come out of it,” says Luke. “That’s an indication of the severity of the brain injury. They were really scared that it would be more serious, but I was quite lucky.”
Luke’s memory was still very limited when he was admitted to Fen House and says that he ‘wasn’t really able to function properly’. “I was able to get dressed and eat and such, it was more about them teaching me to be able to understand what had happened to me. They really helped me to deal with the consequences of it.”
During his time at the residential rehabilitation centre, Luke’s treatment included speech and language therapy, physiotherapy and assessments to determine the tasks that he was having difficulty with.
“Fen House helped me loads,” he says. “They really helped me deal with the consequences of the crash. They taught me to be able to start remembering things again, not to get lost when I was out and about, and to be able to find where I am again, without panicking, if I forget.”
Unfortunately, Luke’s relationship with his girlfriend ended, but a year after the accident, with further support from Fen House, he returned to university to complete his degree in creative music technology and last year graduated with a very respectable 2:1.
Another box Luke wanted to tick was to get back behind the wheel. “I had to take a Capabilities Assessment to check that I was still healthy enough to drive, which I am. I kind of celebrated getting my licence back by hiring a car and visiting friends in Southampton. I’m not really nervous about driving, but I’m far more aware and take my time and leave lots of distance between me and people in front.”
And last weekend Luke conquered the latest challenge in his amazing recovery – the London Marathon. With support from Fen House, he rebuilt the strength in his legs and gradually progressed from jogging to running. “I did the marathon to raise money for BIRD who run Fen House. I hope it’s the first of many,” he smiles. “They were a massive help: I always thought it would be nice to give something back.”
With his time sheet proudly displayed on the fridge showing his impressive 4 hours and 24 minute result, despite his aching legs, Luke admits it was a great moment when he crossed the finish line.
“I didn’t get a massive sense of achievement because I was just so worn out,” he laughs, “but I was proud of myself. My mum and one of my best friends were there at the end.”
Luke, who is a former Ely Cathedral chorister, hopes to follow his dream to become a music producer and is determined not to let the effects of the accident stop his ambition.
“The main things that I’m having now from the brain injury are memory loss and fatigue, but my memory, I suppose, is the big one,” he admits.
“It’s likely that it won’t improve much more than it has done already. They’ve said I could notice improvements for up to five years after the accident but I’m not sure. It’s difficult really because I haven’t been able to see differences at all but I know I have improved because I used to have a 30 second memory.”
Writing things down and dividing his day into a timetable is one way he copes.
“I can remember events that have happened, but something that happened yesterday feels just the same as something that happened a couple of months ago. But I’m not the sort of person that dwells on something. I just take each thing as it comes and deal with it.”
source: cambridge-news.co.uk
Brain Injury Claims
British stuntman dies in 'human cannonball' crash
LONDON — A 23-year-old British stuntman was killed after a safety net failed during his "human cannonball" routine at an Easter Monday daredevil show in southern England.
Hundreds of people at the Kent County Showground in Detling watched on as the man plunged to the ground after being fired around 40 feet (12 meters) into the air.
"The last picture I've got of him, you can see the net is flat on the floor," eye-witness Rob Hutchinson said. "It's not up in the air, and he is coming down head-first towards the ground. I saw him hit the floor and bounce.
"It was deathly silent," he added. "That's when the announcer said, there's been a bit of an accident."
According to Hutchinson's wife, the net "completely collapsed the minute the cannon went off".
A Kent Police spokesman said: "A man taking part in a human cannonball event this afternoon has died after it is believed a safety net failed to engage.
"He was taken to Maidstone General Hospital but died shortly afterwards.
"His next-of-kin have been informed but he has yet to be formally identified."
source: google.com
London Claims
Hundreds of people at the Kent County Showground in Detling watched on as the man plunged to the ground after being fired around 40 feet (12 meters) into the air.
"The last picture I've got of him, you can see the net is flat on the floor," eye-witness Rob Hutchinson said. "It's not up in the air, and he is coming down head-first towards the ground. I saw him hit the floor and bounce.
"It was deathly silent," he added. "That's when the announcer said, there's been a bit of an accident."
According to Hutchinson's wife, the net "completely collapsed the minute the cannon went off".
A Kent Police spokesman said: "A man taking part in a human cannonball event this afternoon has died after it is believed a safety net failed to engage.
"He was taken to Maidstone General Hospital but died shortly afterwards.
"His next-of-kin have been informed but he has yet to be formally identified."
source: google.com
London Claims
Maesycymmer walker, 64, injured in ravine plunge
A WALKER suffered a head injury after plunging down a ravine in the Valleys, emergency crews said yesterday.
The 64-year-old man from Maesycwmmer, Mid Glamorgan, fell more than 8m (26ft) in the accident on a path on the Rhigos mountain on Sunday, which happened in front of his horrified wife.
He was located by the Central Beacons Mountain Rescue Team. The rescue operation involved South Wales Fire and Rescue, Bro Taf NHS Ambulance Service and the Air Ambulance.
The man was found on a path near the old watchman’s hut on the A4061 Rhigos Mountain Road. He was immobilised as a spinal patient before being transferred to Cardiff’s University Hospital of Wales.
The man, who has not been named, had been walking with friends and his wife as part of a ramblers’ group when the accident happened at the end of their walk.
Members of the party gave first aid while emergency services were called, before the Air Ambulance took him to hospital.
source: walesonline.co.uk
Head Injury Claims
The 64-year-old man from Maesycwmmer, Mid Glamorgan, fell more than 8m (26ft) in the accident on a path on the Rhigos mountain on Sunday, which happened in front of his horrified wife.
He was located by the Central Beacons Mountain Rescue Team. The rescue operation involved South Wales Fire and Rescue, Bro Taf NHS Ambulance Service and the Air Ambulance.
The man was found on a path near the old watchman’s hut on the A4061 Rhigos Mountain Road. He was immobilised as a spinal patient before being transferred to Cardiff’s University Hospital of Wales.
The man, who has not been named, had been walking with friends and his wife as part of a ramblers’ group when the accident happened at the end of their walk.
Members of the party gave first aid while emergency services were called, before the Air Ambulance took him to hospital.
source: walesonline.co.uk
Head Injury Claims
Girl is left with serious head injuries following collision in Crewe
POLICE are appealing for witnesses following a collision which has left a six-year-old girl with serious injuries.
The collision happened at just after midday on Easter Monday.
The girl was in collision with a green Fiat Brava driven by a 35-year-old woman from Crewe on Badger Avenue, near the junction with Ford Lane.
The car driver was uninjured but the child, also from Crewe, was taken by ambulance to Leighton Hospital and was later transferred to Alder Hey Hospital with a serious head injury. Her condition this morning is described as poorly.
The road was closed following the collision, and re-opened at 3.15pm.
Police are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed the collision itself, or who may have any information which could assist the collision investigator to contact the roads policing unit at Crewe Police Station on 0845 458 0000, quoting incident number 324 of April 25 2011.
source: crewechronicle.co.uk
Head Injury Claims
The collision happened at just after midday on Easter Monday.
The girl was in collision with a green Fiat Brava driven by a 35-year-old woman from Crewe on Badger Avenue, near the junction with Ford Lane.
The car driver was uninjured but the child, also from Crewe, was taken by ambulance to Leighton Hospital and was later transferred to Alder Hey Hospital with a serious head injury. Her condition this morning is described as poorly.
The road was closed following the collision, and re-opened at 3.15pm.
Police are appealing to anyone who may have witnessed the collision itself, or who may have any information which could assist the collision investigator to contact the roads policing unit at Crewe Police Station on 0845 458 0000, quoting incident number 324 of April 25 2011.
source: crewechronicle.co.uk
Head Injury Claims
Wednesday 20 April 2011
Clinic prevents 17 amputations
A diabetic foot clinic at Morriston Hospital, which has a range of specialist doctors and clinicians working together, has saved the limbs of 17 diabetes patients who could have faced amputation.
One of the 17 patients whose limb was saved was 69-year-old Hugh Jones, from Pontardawe, pictured with Rosalyn Thomas, ABM’s Deputy Head of Podiatry
Across the UK around 15% of diabetics will develop foot ulcers as a side effect of their condition, and one in 10 will end up having an amputation. Each week around 100 UK diabetics lose a foot or part of their leg.
Rosalyn Thomas established a multidisciplinary joint foot clinic to enable patients to undergo medical and diabetic reviews at the same time as their foot problems are addressed. It has cut down on outpatient visits and waits, because the various specialists are all there, ready to organise treatment swiftly.
The clinics have been held eight times, had 58 appointments, and saved the limbs of 17 patients from amputations.
Its success has just been recognised in the UK-wide Advancing Healthcare Awards 2011, where Ros was runner-up in the ‘Leading Integration’ category.
“The judges felt the project was clearly making a difference to patient care through the perseverance of the staff and good use of multidisciplinary teams.”
The clinic is attended by a consultant diabetologist, a vascular surgeon, two consultant orthopaedic surgeons, a diabetes specialist nurse and a musculoskeletal podiatrist.
As well as the reduction in amputations, 68% of ulcers have healed and remained healed out of the 58 patients that have attended to date.
Not only is preventing amputation the best possible outcome for patients, it is also cost effective for the NHS. The direct cost of an amputation is around £60,000, with an addition £17,000 - £24,000 in ongoing social costs.
source: newswales.co.uk
Amputation Claims
Wales Claims
One of the 17 patients whose limb was saved was 69-year-old Hugh Jones, from Pontardawe, pictured with Rosalyn Thomas, ABM’s Deputy Head of Podiatry
Across the UK around 15% of diabetics will develop foot ulcers as a side effect of their condition, and one in 10 will end up having an amputation. Each week around 100 UK diabetics lose a foot or part of their leg.
Rosalyn Thomas established a multidisciplinary joint foot clinic to enable patients to undergo medical and diabetic reviews at the same time as their foot problems are addressed. It has cut down on outpatient visits and waits, because the various specialists are all there, ready to organise treatment swiftly.
The clinics have been held eight times, had 58 appointments, and saved the limbs of 17 patients from amputations.
Its success has just been recognised in the UK-wide Advancing Healthcare Awards 2011, where Ros was runner-up in the ‘Leading Integration’ category.
“The judges felt the project was clearly making a difference to patient care through the perseverance of the staff and good use of multidisciplinary teams.”
The clinic is attended by a consultant diabetologist, a vascular surgeon, two consultant orthopaedic surgeons, a diabetes specialist nurse and a musculoskeletal podiatrist.
As well as the reduction in amputations, 68% of ulcers have healed and remained healed out of the 58 patients that have attended to date.
Not only is preventing amputation the best possible outcome for patients, it is also cost effective for the NHS. The direct cost of an amputation is around £60,000, with an addition £17,000 - £24,000 in ongoing social costs.
source: newswales.co.uk
Amputation Claims
Wales Claims
'Repairs were due' on pothole crash death road
A road where a teenage boy died after his mother's car hit a pothole and crashed into a water-filled ditch was due to be repaired.
Jack Brennan, 16, drowned when Rachel Edwards' Citroen Picasso veered into the dyke near Boston, Lincolnshire.
Speaking after an inquest into his death, the county council said road repairs were being planned at the time.
Deputy coroner Paul Smith said he would write to the authority about the lack of signage about the uneven surface.
He also questioned the value of satellite navigation, after it emerged that Jack's mother was directed onto the "dirt track" by her car's system.
Mrs Edwards, originally from Derbyshire but living in Essex, was six months pregnant at the time.
After getting lost and following the sat nav's directions, she found herself driving along the "bumpy" country road at Midville on 19 August last year.
She told Tuesday's inquest at Horncastle that the car "went into a pothole and swung to the right", before "everything went dark" when it crashed into the water.
Getting out through an open window in the upturned vehicle, she swam to the surface, then dived back down and managed to free her two-year-old daughter Isabella from her car seat.
But she had nowhere to leave the toddler above water, so could not return to the car to save Jack.
Andrew Ratcliffe, area highways manager at Lincolnshire County Council, said: "This was a tragic accident and our deepest sympathies are with Jack's family.
"Significant engineering works were required to repair this whole stretch of road, something that takes time to prepare, along with a number of others across the county.
"These repairs, which have now been completed, were sadly in the process of being planned and programmed at the time of this accident."
Two of Jack's friends, who were also in the car, managed to escape.
Deputy coroner Mr Smith recorded a verdict of accidental death, and said he was satisfied Mrs Edwards was not driving too fast.
He said: "There was no signage warning of uneven road surfaces for some distance, possibly a distance of five miles."
Mr Smith acknowledged the road's condition would have played a significant part in the accident and said he would write to the county council to raise his concerns.
He also questioned the part played by Mrs Edwards' sat nav, saying: "Whilst all systems are for guidance and not to be followed slavishly, I must question the value of any system which directs traffic away from an arterial route to a B road, then on to a C road, then on to what was little more than a dirt track."
source: bbc.co.uk
Lincolnshire Claims
Jack Brennan, 16, drowned when Rachel Edwards' Citroen Picasso veered into the dyke near Boston, Lincolnshire.
Speaking after an inquest into his death, the county council said road repairs were being planned at the time.
Deputy coroner Paul Smith said he would write to the authority about the lack of signage about the uneven surface.
He also questioned the value of satellite navigation, after it emerged that Jack's mother was directed onto the "dirt track" by her car's system.
Mrs Edwards, originally from Derbyshire but living in Essex, was six months pregnant at the time.
After getting lost and following the sat nav's directions, she found herself driving along the "bumpy" country road at Midville on 19 August last year.
She told Tuesday's inquest at Horncastle that the car "went into a pothole and swung to the right", before "everything went dark" when it crashed into the water.
Getting out through an open window in the upturned vehicle, she swam to the surface, then dived back down and managed to free her two-year-old daughter Isabella from her car seat.
But she had nowhere to leave the toddler above water, so could not return to the car to save Jack.
Andrew Ratcliffe, area highways manager at Lincolnshire County Council, said: "This was a tragic accident and our deepest sympathies are with Jack's family.
"Significant engineering works were required to repair this whole stretch of road, something that takes time to prepare, along with a number of others across the county.
"These repairs, which have now been completed, were sadly in the process of being planned and programmed at the time of this accident."
Two of Jack's friends, who were also in the car, managed to escape.
Deputy coroner Mr Smith recorded a verdict of accidental death, and said he was satisfied Mrs Edwards was not driving too fast.
He said: "There was no signage warning of uneven road surfaces for some distance, possibly a distance of five miles."
Mr Smith acknowledged the road's condition would have played a significant part in the accident and said he would write to the county council to raise his concerns.
He also questioned the part played by Mrs Edwards' sat nav, saying: "Whilst all systems are for guidance and not to be followed slavishly, I must question the value of any system which directs traffic away from an arterial route to a B road, then on to a C road, then on to what was little more than a dirt track."
source: bbc.co.uk
Lincolnshire Claims
Liverpool dock container lifter traps driver after crane collapse
A CONTAINER lifter tipped over at a Liverpool dock today trapping the driver.
Emergency services raced to the scene at the Royal Seaforth Container Terminal just after 9.15am after the straddle lifter, a slow-moving crane used to stack shipping containers, collapsed.
It is believed only the cab driver, thought to be in his 20s, was injured but witnesses were treated for shock.
Fire crews were joined by three ambulances and the North West Ambulance Service’s Hazardous Accident Response (HAR) Unit.
Merseyside Police was notified of the incident but it is being handled by the independent Port of Liverpool Police.
Straddle carriers are square shaped cranes that can travel at speeds up to 30km per hour.
source: liverpoolecho.co.uk
Dockers Claims
Liverpool Claims
Merseyside Claims
Emergency services raced to the scene at the Royal Seaforth Container Terminal just after 9.15am after the straddle lifter, a slow-moving crane used to stack shipping containers, collapsed.
It is believed only the cab driver, thought to be in his 20s, was injured but witnesses were treated for shock.
Fire crews were joined by three ambulances and the North West Ambulance Service’s Hazardous Accident Response (HAR) Unit.
Merseyside Police was notified of the incident but it is being handled by the independent Port of Liverpool Police.
Straddle carriers are square shaped cranes that can travel at speeds up to 30km per hour.
source: liverpoolecho.co.uk
Dockers Claims
Liverpool Claims
Merseyside Claims
Plymouth workers exposed to asbestos
A contracting firm was sentenced today after workers at a major renovation site in Plymouth were exposed to asbestos containing material.
CLC Contractors Ltd of Vincent Avenue, Shirley, Southampton, was fined a total of £10,000 and ordered to pay £3,064 in costs in a case brought by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) at Plymouth Magistrates today (18 April).
The incident happened in May 2009 when employees of CLC Contractors, based in Plymouth, were working on the refurbishment of three student blocks at the College of St Mark and St John in Plymouth.
CLC had agreed with a specialist asbestos removal company that they would work simultaneously in parts of the building already cleared by the asbestos removal workers.
However, the builders began work in an area of the building which had not been cleared of asbestos. Four employees were exposed to fibres and had to go through a specialist decontamination process.
The company pleaded guilty to exposing four employees to asbestos under Regulation 11 (1) (a) of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 and pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 6(1)(a) of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006. They were fined £5,000 for each charge.
HSE inspector, Barry Trudgian, said:
"This incident could have been avoided if an adequate risk assessment had been made before the work started and communicated clearly to the workforce.
"Exposure to asbestos can have serious long-term consequences for your health and precautions must be taken to minimise any risks when working on buildings."
Asbestos-related diseases are responsible for around 4,000 deaths every year. Further information on working with asbestos can be found at http://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/
source:hse.gov.uk
Asbestos Claims
CLC Contractors Ltd of Vincent Avenue, Shirley, Southampton, was fined a total of £10,000 and ordered to pay £3,064 in costs in a case brought by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) at Plymouth Magistrates today (18 April).
The incident happened in May 2009 when employees of CLC Contractors, based in Plymouth, were working on the refurbishment of three student blocks at the College of St Mark and St John in Plymouth.
CLC had agreed with a specialist asbestos removal company that they would work simultaneously in parts of the building already cleared by the asbestos removal workers.
However, the builders began work in an area of the building which had not been cleared of asbestos. Four employees were exposed to fibres and had to go through a specialist decontamination process.
The company pleaded guilty to exposing four employees to asbestos under Regulation 11 (1) (a) of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006 and pleaded guilty to breaching Regulation 6(1)(a) of the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2006. They were fined £5,000 for each charge.
HSE inspector, Barry Trudgian, said:
"This incident could have been avoided if an adequate risk assessment had been made before the work started and communicated clearly to the workforce.
"Exposure to asbestos can have serious long-term consequences for your health and precautions must be taken to minimise any risks when working on buildings."
Asbestos-related diseases are responsible for around 4,000 deaths every year. Further information on working with asbestos can be found at http://www.hse.gov.uk/asbestos/
source:hse.gov.uk
Asbestos Claims
Cancer breath test 'step closer'
A breath test that can sniff-out cancer is a step closer to reality, according to a preliminary study.
Researchers found an "electronic nose" was able to identify chemical signals of cancer in the breath of patients with lung or head and neck cancer.
A cancer charity said it would take years of research to see if the breath test could be used in the clinic.
About 80 volunteers took part in the Israeli research, published in the British Journal of Cancer.
Of these 22 had various head-and-neck cancers, 24 had lung cancer and 36 were healthy.
The prototype breath test uses a chemical method to spot markers of cancer present in the breath.
The hope is that one day such a test could be used in a GP's surgery to give an instant diagnosis.
'Urgent need'
Researchers at the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology - are working on a device called the nano artificial nose.
They looked at head-and-neck cancer, which is often diagnosed late, making it more difficult to treat successfully.
Lead researcher, Professor Hossam Haick, said: "There's an urgent need to develop new ways to detect head-and-neck cancer because diagnosis of the disease is complicated, requiring specialist examinations.
"We've shown that a simple 'breath test' can spot the patterns of molecules which are found in head-and-neck patients in a small, early study.
"We now need to test these results in larger studies to find if this could lead to a potential screening method for the disease."
Dr Lesley Walker, of Cancer Research UK, said it was incredibly important to spot the disease as soon as possible when it was easier to treat successfully.
She added: "These interesting initial results show promise for the development of a breath test to detect head-and-neck cancers which are often diagnosed at an advanced stage.
"But it's important to be clear that this is a small study, at a very early stage, so many more years of research with patients will be needed to see if a breath test could be used in the clinic."
source:bbc.co.uk
Cancer Claims
Researchers found an "electronic nose" was able to identify chemical signals of cancer in the breath of patients with lung or head and neck cancer.
A cancer charity said it would take years of research to see if the breath test could be used in the clinic.
About 80 volunteers took part in the Israeli research, published in the British Journal of Cancer.
Of these 22 had various head-and-neck cancers, 24 had lung cancer and 36 were healthy.
The prototype breath test uses a chemical method to spot markers of cancer present in the breath.
The hope is that one day such a test could be used in a GP's surgery to give an instant diagnosis.
'Urgent need'
Researchers at the Technion - Israel Institute of Technology - are working on a device called the nano artificial nose.
They looked at head-and-neck cancer, which is often diagnosed late, making it more difficult to treat successfully.
Lead researcher, Professor Hossam Haick, said: "There's an urgent need to develop new ways to detect head-and-neck cancer because diagnosis of the disease is complicated, requiring specialist examinations.
"We've shown that a simple 'breath test' can spot the patterns of molecules which are found in head-and-neck patients in a small, early study.
"We now need to test these results in larger studies to find if this could lead to a potential screening method for the disease."
Dr Lesley Walker, of Cancer Research UK, said it was incredibly important to spot the disease as soon as possible when it was easier to treat successfully.
She added: "These interesting initial results show promise for the development of a breath test to detect head-and-neck cancers which are often diagnosed at an advanced stage.
"But it's important to be clear that this is a small study, at a very early stage, so many more years of research with patients will be needed to see if a breath test could be used in the clinic."
source:bbc.co.uk
Cancer Claims
Energy saving bulbs 'release cancer causing chemicals', say scientists
Energy saving bulbs emit cancer causing chemicals it was claimed last night as new fears were raised about their safety.
Scientists said they should not be left on for long periods of time or placed close to a person's head because they release poisonous materials.
The EU has unveiled plans to phase out 'normal' incandescent bulbs by the end of next year as they try to cut carbon emissions.
They should not be used by adults to read or kept near a child's head all night, the experts said.
While it is already known that harmful amounts of Mercury are released if one of the new 'green' bulbs is broken, the latest research shows other carcinogenic chemicals are emitted when they are switched on.
The German research shows that the chemicals are released as a form of steam.
The harmful substances include phenol - a poison injected by the Nazis to kill thousands of concentration camp victims during World War II - and the human toxins naphthalene and styrene.
Tests showed that the materials used to make the lamps are probably responsible for their potentially harmful side effects.
Andreas Kirchner, from the Federation of German Engineers, said: 'Electrical smog develops around these lamps. I therefore use them only very economically. They should not be used in unventilated areas and definitely not in the proximity of the head.'
'They should not be used in unventilated areas and definitely not in the proximity of the head.'
The report on German television forced the country’s environmental protection agency to issue a warning against 'public hysteria.'
The Department for the Environment has insisted that the bulbs are safe.
Dr Michelle Bloor, lecturer in Environmental Science at Portsmouth University, told the Daily Express: 'Further independent studies would need to be undertaken to back up the presented German research.'
source: dailymail.co.uk
Cancer Claims
Scientists said they should not be left on for long periods of time or placed close to a person's head because they release poisonous materials.
The EU has unveiled plans to phase out 'normal' incandescent bulbs by the end of next year as they try to cut carbon emissions.
They should not be used by adults to read or kept near a child's head all night, the experts said.
While it is already known that harmful amounts of Mercury are released if one of the new 'green' bulbs is broken, the latest research shows other carcinogenic chemicals are emitted when they are switched on.
The German research shows that the chemicals are released as a form of steam.
The harmful substances include phenol - a poison injected by the Nazis to kill thousands of concentration camp victims during World War II - and the human toxins naphthalene and styrene.
Tests showed that the materials used to make the lamps are probably responsible for their potentially harmful side effects.
Andreas Kirchner, from the Federation of German Engineers, said: 'Electrical smog develops around these lamps. I therefore use them only very economically. They should not be used in unventilated areas and definitely not in the proximity of the head.'
'They should not be used in unventilated areas and definitely not in the proximity of the head.'
The report on German television forced the country’s environmental protection agency to issue a warning against 'public hysteria.'
The Department for the Environment has insisted that the bulbs are safe.
Dr Michelle Bloor, lecturer in Environmental Science at Portsmouth University, told the Daily Express: 'Further independent studies would need to be undertaken to back up the presented German research.'
source: dailymail.co.uk
Cancer Claims
Desk job 'doubles bowel cancer risk'
Having a desk job for more than a decade doubles the risk of a major type of bowel cancer, according to new research.
Worse still, scientists found even office workers who regularly exercise are still twice as likely to get a tumour as similarly active people who have less sedentary jobs.
Every year almost 40,000 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer, while more than 16,000 die. About 70 per cent survive for at least a year past diagnosis, while half survive to at least five years.
Thousands die soon after diagnosis because they miss early warning signs and only seek medical help once the cancer has advanced.
It is well established that the main lifestyle risk factors are diets high in fat and red meat, drinking a lot of alcohol, and not taking enough exercise. Genes also play a part.
However, now Australian researchers have shown that long periods of physical inactivity during the working day could also significantly increase the risk, even among those who exercise a lot in their free time.
The team, from the University of Western Australia, found that people who spent more than 10 years in sedentary jobs were almost twice as likely (94 per cent) to have developed a tumour in the area of the lower bowel called the distal colon. They were also 44 per cent more likely to have developed rectum cancer.
There are almost 13,000 distal colon cancer cases a year in Britain, and about 14,500 rectum cancers, according to the charity Bowel Cancer UK.
The results, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, compared 918 people with bowel cancer with 1,021 cancer-free volunteers.
They were quizzed on their job history, lifestyles and levels of physical activity.
Researchers also found sedentary working patterns increased the chances of cancer of the rectum by 44 per cent over a ten year period.
The researchers said their findings suggest no amount of leisure time activity can offset the harm done from long periods of sitting down on the job.
In a report on their findings they said: ‘We found those who spent the most time in sedentary work had a risk of distal colon cancer that was twice that of those who spent the most time in a job requiring light activity.
‘Even a high level of vigorous recreational physical activity did not modify the effect of sedentary work.’ And they warned: ‘The findings have occupational health implications, given that advances in technology have led to increasing amounts of sedentary behaviour at work.’ Sitting down on the job is thought to lead to increased blood sugar levels and damage insulin production, both of which have been linked with the development of bowel cancer.
It could also be that it leads to inflammation deep inside the body, another known risk factor for tumours, researchers said.
Dr Claire Knight, health information officer at Cancer Research UK, said the findings back up other studies on physical inactivity and cancer, but warned the findings need to be replicated in larger studies.
source: telegraph.co.uk
Cancer Claims
Worse still, scientists found even office workers who regularly exercise are still twice as likely to get a tumour as similarly active people who have less sedentary jobs.
Every year almost 40,000 people are diagnosed with bowel cancer, while more than 16,000 die. About 70 per cent survive for at least a year past diagnosis, while half survive to at least five years.
Thousands die soon after diagnosis because they miss early warning signs and only seek medical help once the cancer has advanced.
It is well established that the main lifestyle risk factors are diets high in fat and red meat, drinking a lot of alcohol, and not taking enough exercise. Genes also play a part.
However, now Australian researchers have shown that long periods of physical inactivity during the working day could also significantly increase the risk, even among those who exercise a lot in their free time.
The team, from the University of Western Australia, found that people who spent more than 10 years in sedentary jobs were almost twice as likely (94 per cent) to have developed a tumour in the area of the lower bowel called the distal colon. They were also 44 per cent more likely to have developed rectum cancer.
There are almost 13,000 distal colon cancer cases a year in Britain, and about 14,500 rectum cancers, according to the charity Bowel Cancer UK.
The results, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology, compared 918 people with bowel cancer with 1,021 cancer-free volunteers.
They were quizzed on their job history, lifestyles and levels of physical activity.
Researchers also found sedentary working patterns increased the chances of cancer of the rectum by 44 per cent over a ten year period.
The researchers said their findings suggest no amount of leisure time activity can offset the harm done from long periods of sitting down on the job.
In a report on their findings they said: ‘We found those who spent the most time in sedentary work had a risk of distal colon cancer that was twice that of those who spent the most time in a job requiring light activity.
‘Even a high level of vigorous recreational physical activity did not modify the effect of sedentary work.’ And they warned: ‘The findings have occupational health implications, given that advances in technology have led to increasing amounts of sedentary behaviour at work.’ Sitting down on the job is thought to lead to increased blood sugar levels and damage insulin production, both of which have been linked with the development of bowel cancer.
It could also be that it leads to inflammation deep inside the body, another known risk factor for tumours, researchers said.
Dr Claire Knight, health information officer at Cancer Research UK, said the findings back up other studies on physical inactivity and cancer, but warned the findings need to be replicated in larger studies.
source: telegraph.co.uk
Cancer Claims
Warning over Easter DIY risks
PEOPLE in South Tyneside are being warned to take care in the garden and home this Easter.
The holiday traditionally marks the start of the gardening year and ‘DIY season’, and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) is urging people to stay safe, inside and out.
It is estimated more than 200,000 people need medical treatment each year after being injured during DIY, maintenance or gardening at home.
There were 4,347 admissions to hospital after accidents involving contact with non-powered hand tools, 460 after injuries caused by powered lawnmowers, and 3,415 after contact with other power tools and household machinery.
Sheila Merrill, RoSPA’s public safety adviser, said: “Over-ambition and lack of knowledge are among the main causes of DIY accidents, and we advise people to be honest about their abilities.
“Accidents happen more easily when people are unprepared and in a rush, so they should think through the tasks they intend to do before starting work.”
source: shieldsgazette.com
Machinery Claims
The holiday traditionally marks the start of the gardening year and ‘DIY season’, and the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) is urging people to stay safe, inside and out.
It is estimated more than 200,000 people need medical treatment each year after being injured during DIY, maintenance or gardening at home.
There were 4,347 admissions to hospital after accidents involving contact with non-powered hand tools, 460 after injuries caused by powered lawnmowers, and 3,415 after contact with other power tools and household machinery.
Sheila Merrill, RoSPA’s public safety adviser, said: “Over-ambition and lack of knowledge are among the main causes of DIY accidents, and we advise people to be honest about their abilities.
“Accidents happen more easily when people are unprepared and in a rush, so they should think through the tasks they intend to do before starting work.”
source: shieldsgazette.com
Machinery Claims
Working safely with machinery
FARMERS Guardian is working with a number of industry organisations to help promote farm safety. This latest guide highlights the key risks to you, employees and visitors from farm machinery and provides practical safety advice. Copies of the guide will also be available from NFU stands at agricultural shows throughout the summer.
Machinery related accidents account for nearly one in 10 deaths in farming every year, with balers and PTO shafts causing the most fatalities. Machines need to be properly maintained, guarded and functioning and people should be trained how to use them.
Over the past two years more than 300 people have been injured after coming into contact with farm machinery.
Many of these incidents have occurred when a machine has been left running, not stopped fully or been restarted while someone was in contact with the moving parts.
These may have been prevented by the Safe Stop procedure.
Safe purchase
When hiring machinery or buying new equipment, check:
The machine is ‘CE’ marked and supplied with a Certificate of Conformity.
The machine is fitted with roll-over protection.
The machine clears under any overhead power lines.
Whether operators need training to use the new machine safely.
When buying second-hand equipment, check the machine complies with PUWER requirements and has guards in place.
If not, you must bring it up to a safe standard and replace or repair guards before you use it.
source:farmersguardian.com
Machinery Claims
Machinery related accidents account for nearly one in 10 deaths in farming every year, with balers and PTO shafts causing the most fatalities. Machines need to be properly maintained, guarded and functioning and people should be trained how to use them.
Over the past two years more than 300 people have been injured after coming into contact with farm machinery.
Many of these incidents have occurred when a machine has been left running, not stopped fully or been restarted while someone was in contact with the moving parts.
These may have been prevented by the Safe Stop procedure.
Safe purchase
When hiring machinery or buying new equipment, check:
The machine is ‘CE’ marked and supplied with a Certificate of Conformity.
The machine is fitted with roll-over protection.
The machine clears under any overhead power lines.
Whether operators need training to use the new machine safely.
When buying second-hand equipment, check the machine complies with PUWER requirements and has guards in place.
If not, you must bring it up to a safe standard and replace or repair guards before you use it.
source:farmersguardian.com
Machinery Claims
Tuesday 19 April 2011
Trapped under water: Top medical student drowns as she cave dives with her boyfriend
A U.S. student who was about to graduate has died after getting stuck underwater during a cave diving trip with friends.
Amy Ryan, 22, visited the springs off S.Riviera Point in Chassahowitzka, Florida with her boyfriend Steven Orosz and another couple.
Miss Ryan, who was two weeks from graduating, had been following her friends through the cave system but failed to come to the surface after them.
It is thought she took a wrong turn and became disoriented. Her distraught friends could not find her.
Emergency teams were quickly on the scene and a firefighter who was also a certified cave diver discovered the girl but by then she had been under water for 14 minutes.
A spokeswoman for the sheriff's office told 10 News in America that the group had not been wearing scuba gear, just goggles.
Jack Calbeck, who lives near the beauty spot, told the St Petersburg Times: 'I heard a voice scream out "My girlfriend just died." It was horrible.'
Tommy Fletcher, the cave diver who found her, said Miss Ryan was in exactlyt he same spot as a man who died in the system a few years ago.
'We began to survey the offshoots going up underneath the ground and were able to find her 25ft back up into those offshoots,' he said.
The underwater tunnel stretches about 15ft wide and connects two springs - one around 8ft around and 10ft deep and the other around 3ft across and up to 12ft deep.
It had initially been hoped Miss Ryan, from Palm Bay, could still have been alive but she was pronounced dead on arrival at Oak Hill Hospital in Hernando County.
Mr Fletcher said: 'Anytime you go into an overhead environment cave system where you have rock or ledges between you and the surface, it requires specialty training.'
Mr Orosz paid tribute to his girlfriend, who had just been accepted into medical school, describing her as strong-willed, smart and with a 'perfect smile'.
He said: 'She was a perfect, smart, beautiful person. [This] Shouldn't have happened this way.'
Miss Ryan had been expected to graduate summa cum laude in biology from the University of South Florida and was well known to dean of its Honors College Stuart Silverman.
He said: 'If I said to you that she's got sparkle, you'd know what I'd mean: the smile, enthusiasm. She'd be successful at anything she wanted to do.'
Kelli Vaughn, one of Miss Ryan's roommates, said her friend had watched as others swam through the tunnel and then decided to do it herself.
'She was kind of hesitant at first, but her being her adventurous self, she wasn't going to let anybody talk her down,' she said.
'Steven went first, that's what I'm hearing from him. He went in first and she followed because she wanted to follow and he kept checking on her and she was fine and he finally made it up and notice that she wasn't there.'
She added that Mr Orosz was 'devastated'. 'He would do anything for her and he tried so hard to go get her. He's just heartbroken.'
Ryan, from Palm Bay, was a biology major at USF and was about to graduate in two weeks with honors. She was recently accepted into the Lake Erie College of Ostepathic Medicine.
In a written statement, Miss Vaughn added: 'My roommate Amy was someone I could trust with my life and confide in always. Everyone knew her as the girl who always smiled.
'Her time on earth was cut short, but it was a life her parents and she herself should be extremely proud of.'
source: dailymail.co.uk
Diving Claims
Amy Ryan, 22, visited the springs off S.Riviera Point in Chassahowitzka, Florida with her boyfriend Steven Orosz and another couple.
Miss Ryan, who was two weeks from graduating, had been following her friends through the cave system but failed to come to the surface after them.
It is thought she took a wrong turn and became disoriented. Her distraught friends could not find her.
Emergency teams were quickly on the scene and a firefighter who was also a certified cave diver discovered the girl but by then she had been under water for 14 minutes.
A spokeswoman for the sheriff's office told 10 News in America that the group had not been wearing scuba gear, just goggles.
Jack Calbeck, who lives near the beauty spot, told the St Petersburg Times: 'I heard a voice scream out "My girlfriend just died." It was horrible.'
Tommy Fletcher, the cave diver who found her, said Miss Ryan was in exactlyt he same spot as a man who died in the system a few years ago.
'We began to survey the offshoots going up underneath the ground and were able to find her 25ft back up into those offshoots,' he said.
The underwater tunnel stretches about 15ft wide and connects two springs - one around 8ft around and 10ft deep and the other around 3ft across and up to 12ft deep.
It had initially been hoped Miss Ryan, from Palm Bay, could still have been alive but she was pronounced dead on arrival at Oak Hill Hospital in Hernando County.
Mr Fletcher said: 'Anytime you go into an overhead environment cave system where you have rock or ledges between you and the surface, it requires specialty training.'
Mr Orosz paid tribute to his girlfriend, who had just been accepted into medical school, describing her as strong-willed, smart and with a 'perfect smile'.
He said: 'She was a perfect, smart, beautiful person. [This] Shouldn't have happened this way.'
Miss Ryan had been expected to graduate summa cum laude in biology from the University of South Florida and was well known to dean of its Honors College Stuart Silverman.
He said: 'If I said to you that she's got sparkle, you'd know what I'd mean: the smile, enthusiasm. She'd be successful at anything she wanted to do.'
Kelli Vaughn, one of Miss Ryan's roommates, said her friend had watched as others swam through the tunnel and then decided to do it herself.
'She was kind of hesitant at first, but her being her adventurous self, she wasn't going to let anybody talk her down,' she said.
'Steven went first, that's what I'm hearing from him. He went in first and she followed because she wanted to follow and he kept checking on her and she was fine and he finally made it up and notice that she wasn't there.'
She added that Mr Orosz was 'devastated'. 'He would do anything for her and he tried so hard to go get her. He's just heartbroken.'
Ryan, from Palm Bay, was a biology major at USF and was about to graduate in two weeks with honors. She was recently accepted into the Lake Erie College of Ostepathic Medicine.
In a written statement, Miss Vaughn added: 'My roommate Amy was someone I could trust with my life and confide in always. Everyone knew her as the girl who always smiled.
'Her time on earth was cut short, but it was a life her parents and she herself should be extremely proud of.'
source: dailymail.co.uk
Diving Claims
Welder's death caused by asbestos lining of his protective clothing
A WELDER who worked in nuclear power plants wore asbestos-lined clothing for protection – but it ended up killing him.
Raymond Stanley, of Borrowash, spent years welding and fitting pipes in power stations across the country.
As protection, he wore gloves and overalls made from, or lined with, asbestos.
But Mr Stanley died at the age of 97 from asbestosis.
At an inquest into his death, Derby deputy coroner Louise Pinder said to his family: "It's ironic, isn't it?"
Joyce Stanley, his wife, told the hearing her husband started as a welder in 1956.
"He worked in most of the nuclear power stations all over the country," she said.
He was responsible for welding pressure valves inside nuclear reactors, Derby Coroner's Court heard.
Welding blankets, gloves and aprons were previously made from, or lined with, asbestos to protect people working with high temperatures.
That was before the full, potentially fatal impact of breathing in deadly asbestos dust was known. Modern welding equipment contains asbestos substitutes.
In June last year, Mr Stanley, of Charnwood Avenue, first started to show signs of asbestosis.
His wife said: "He would do something and have to sit a bit to get his breath, but then he got worse and worse.
"They kept giving him different tablets. Eventually, he couldn't shower, he couldn't do anything for himself.
"He couldn't eat and lost about two-and-a-half stone. It was tragic to see him."
Neil Sandy, partner of Mr Stanley's daughter, said workers used to see asbestos as their "friend".
"I imagine he would have been wearing asbestos clothing – that's my understanding," he said.
"We all see it now as being dangerous. But if you were working in dangerous environments in those days, especially as a welder, you saw it as being your friend."
Mrs Pinder asked Mrs Stanley: "Do you think he was aware of the dangers?"
Mrs Stanley replied: "I do not think he was aware, no."
Mr Stanley later worked at Boots, working inside an asbestos-lined boiler.
Pathologist Andrew Hitchcock carried out a postmortem examination. He said Mr Stanley's lungs were "abnormal" and both showed signs of heavy scarring.
The lung damage he found was almost exclusively restricted to people who have worked with asbestos in the past, the doctor said.
Ms Pinder, recording a verdict of death by industrial disease, said: "There were two different types of employment, but during both of those he has been exposed to asbestos. He clearly had been exposed from 1956, right up to his retirement at 65."
source: thisisderbyshire.co.uk
Link: Asbestos Claims
Raymond Stanley, of Borrowash, spent years welding and fitting pipes in power stations across the country.
As protection, he wore gloves and overalls made from, or lined with, asbestos.
But Mr Stanley died at the age of 97 from asbestosis.
At an inquest into his death, Derby deputy coroner Louise Pinder said to his family: "It's ironic, isn't it?"
Joyce Stanley, his wife, told the hearing her husband started as a welder in 1956.
"He worked in most of the nuclear power stations all over the country," she said.
He was responsible for welding pressure valves inside nuclear reactors, Derby Coroner's Court heard.
Welding blankets, gloves and aprons were previously made from, or lined with, asbestos to protect people working with high temperatures.
That was before the full, potentially fatal impact of breathing in deadly asbestos dust was known. Modern welding equipment contains asbestos substitutes.
In June last year, Mr Stanley, of Charnwood Avenue, first started to show signs of asbestosis.
His wife said: "He would do something and have to sit a bit to get his breath, but then he got worse and worse.
"They kept giving him different tablets. Eventually, he couldn't shower, he couldn't do anything for himself.
"He couldn't eat and lost about two-and-a-half stone. It was tragic to see him."
Neil Sandy, partner of Mr Stanley's daughter, said workers used to see asbestos as their "friend".
"I imagine he would have been wearing asbestos clothing – that's my understanding," he said.
"We all see it now as being dangerous. But if you were working in dangerous environments in those days, especially as a welder, you saw it as being your friend."
Mrs Pinder asked Mrs Stanley: "Do you think he was aware of the dangers?"
Mrs Stanley replied: "I do not think he was aware, no."
Mr Stanley later worked at Boots, working inside an asbestos-lined boiler.
Pathologist Andrew Hitchcock carried out a postmortem examination. He said Mr Stanley's lungs were "abnormal" and both showed signs of heavy scarring.
The lung damage he found was almost exclusively restricted to people who have worked with asbestos in the past, the doctor said.
Ms Pinder, recording a verdict of death by industrial disease, said: "There were two different types of employment, but during both of those he has been exposed to asbestos. He clearly had been exposed from 1956, right up to his retirement at 65."
source: thisisderbyshire.co.uk
Link: Asbestos Claims
Fire chief dies in Cotswold Airport explosion
TRIBUTES have been paid to a fireman who died following a suspected explosion at Cotswold Airport.
Steve Mills, fire services manager at the Kemble-based airport, died following an industrial accident at the airfield at 12.45pm on Friday.
Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service confirmed to the Standard that the incident related to a high pressure cylinder. It is believed the cylinder exploded.
Wiltshire Police said the 45-year-old, who had also been a retained firefighter at Malmesbury for 10 years, was not believed to be responding to an incident at the time.
One fire crew from Cirencester and one from Tetbury attended the incident.
The Health and Safety Executive confirmed they were investigating the accident, which shut the A429 through Kemble for several hours. Wiltshire Police carried out initial inquiries and said the incident was not being treated as suspicious. It is understood the police will hand over the investigation to the HSE.
A tribute on the airport's website this week said: "Ronan Harvey, the board of directors and staff wish to pay tribute to our fire chief, colleague and much-loved friend.
"We also wish to offer our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and loved ones at what is clearly a difficult and emotional time."
Mr Mills was a long-standing senior member of staff at the airport and played a key role in helping develop the facility after it changed into private ownership. He became fire services manager in 2009, soon after the airport was re-branded as Cotswold Airport.
A Cotswold Airport spokesman added: "His enthusiasm for the job and skills in the field were of the highest calibre.
"His diligence, leadership qualities and affable nature earned him the utmost respect and affection of all his colleagues.
"His untimely death is a tragedy to us all and the sense of loss felt by everyone is immense."
Chief fire officer at Wiltshire fire and rescue service Simon Routh-Jones said everyone had been devastated by the news.
"Steve was a dedicated and popular member of the team at Malmesbury," he said.
"We were able to draw on his knowledge, contacts and expertise, which in turn strengthened our ability to serve our local communities, and we recognise and are grateful for the contribution he made.
"Steve will be greatly missed by everyone who had the pleasure of knowing him. All of the crew at Malmesbury are devastated by the loss of a friend and colleague, and the service is giving them as much support as possible at this difficult time."
The Gloucestershire coroner has been informed.
source: wiltsglosstandard.co.uk
Link: gocompensate.com
Steve Mills, fire services manager at the Kemble-based airport, died following an industrial accident at the airfield at 12.45pm on Friday.
Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service confirmed to the Standard that the incident related to a high pressure cylinder. It is believed the cylinder exploded.
Wiltshire Police said the 45-year-old, who had also been a retained firefighter at Malmesbury for 10 years, was not believed to be responding to an incident at the time.
One fire crew from Cirencester and one from Tetbury attended the incident.
The Health and Safety Executive confirmed they were investigating the accident, which shut the A429 through Kemble for several hours. Wiltshire Police carried out initial inquiries and said the incident was not being treated as suspicious. It is understood the police will hand over the investigation to the HSE.
A tribute on the airport's website this week said: "Ronan Harvey, the board of directors and staff wish to pay tribute to our fire chief, colleague and much-loved friend.
"We also wish to offer our heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and loved ones at what is clearly a difficult and emotional time."
Mr Mills was a long-standing senior member of staff at the airport and played a key role in helping develop the facility after it changed into private ownership. He became fire services manager in 2009, soon after the airport was re-branded as Cotswold Airport.
A Cotswold Airport spokesman added: "His enthusiasm for the job and skills in the field were of the highest calibre.
"His diligence, leadership qualities and affable nature earned him the utmost respect and affection of all his colleagues.
"His untimely death is a tragedy to us all and the sense of loss felt by everyone is immense."
Chief fire officer at Wiltshire fire and rescue service Simon Routh-Jones said everyone had been devastated by the news.
"Steve was a dedicated and popular member of the team at Malmesbury," he said.
"We were able to draw on his knowledge, contacts and expertise, which in turn strengthened our ability to serve our local communities, and we recognise and are grateful for the contribution he made.
"Steve will be greatly missed by everyone who had the pleasure of knowing him. All of the crew at Malmesbury are devastated by the loss of a friend and colleague, and the service is giving them as much support as possible at this difficult time."
The Gloucestershire coroner has been informed.
source: wiltsglosstandard.co.uk
Link: gocompensate.com
Monday 18 April 2011
Man injured after motorbike passenger fired shotgun at car in Bootle
A MAN escaped with minor injuries after a drive-by shooting on Merseyside.
Police are investigating after the pillion passenger on a motorbike fired a shotgun at a Vauxhall Insignia.
A 25-year-old man in the car suffered superficial injuries to his upper body but did not require hospital treatment.
Police were called to Glover Place, Bootle, at around 2.30pm yesterday and began house to house inquiries.
They believe the attack was targeted but stepped up patrols in the area.
The attackers were described as wearing dark coloured clothing with their faces covered. They were riding a dark coloured bike.
Anyone with information is asked to contact 0151 777 5699 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
source: liverpoolecho.co.uk
Passenger Claims
Police are investigating after the pillion passenger on a motorbike fired a shotgun at a Vauxhall Insignia.
A 25-year-old man in the car suffered superficial injuries to his upper body but did not require hospital treatment.
Police were called to Glover Place, Bootle, at around 2.30pm yesterday and began house to house inquiries.
They believe the attack was targeted but stepped up patrols in the area.
The attackers were described as wearing dark coloured clothing with their faces covered. They were riding a dark coloured bike.
Anyone with information is asked to contact 0151 777 5699 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
source: liverpoolecho.co.uk
Passenger Claims
Asbestos on husband's overalls caused fatal lung cancer in his wife
A WOMAN died from a huge tumour caused by years of washing her husband's asbestos-covered work clothes.
Pamela Whitemore, of Spondon, was married to a lorry driver who used to load asbestos by hand.
Her family said she was a typical housewife, "cooking, cleaning and washing".
She developed mesothelioma – a cancer of the lung lining – and died at Royal Derby Hospital in November, aged 80.
She was diagnosed just five days earlier.
An inquest into Mrs Whitemore's death heard how she had a job in a bedding factory but gave it up when she married her husband, Ronald, in 1950.
Their daughter, Jacqueline Higgins, said her mother was a "traditional housewife".
She said: "Mum was a housewife and dad went out to work. That was the way it was. She took care of my father and washed his overalls. Dad did not know what a washing machine was."
Mrs Higgins said her father, who lived with his wife in The Pingle, had been a lorry driver since he came out of the Army, although he spent a short time in the 1960s working at British Rail.
During his work as a driver, he used to carry bricks, pipes and slabs and also asbestos.
He used to "hump" it on and off his lorry, his daughter said. Much of the asbestos was collected in Watford and delivered across the country.
Talking about his overalls, she said: "They were always dirty and dusty. If it was not dirt it was grease – he had a very dirty job."
She said her mother would "shake them outside the back door, then throw them in the washing machine".
It was a manual machine, rather than automatic, and had a mangle to wring away excess water, she said.
When the dangers of asbestos later become known, her father – who died from prostate cancer – talked about his experiences.
"My dad used to say 'I humped loads of those asbestos sheets and it's never done me any harm'," his daughter said.
Pathologist Andrew Hitchcock said it was an "extensive" tumour and there was evidence to show it was caused by asbestos exposure.
"It fits into a well-recognised pattern from my point of view," he said.
"We have a good history of exposure to asbestos.
"The link there is very strong."
Louise Pinder, the deputy coroner for Derby, recorded a verdict of death by industrial disease.
Ms Pinder said: "There was more handling of clothes than there would have been in the modern-day process.
"Mrs Whitemore was exposed indirectly.
"She was exposed in some way that was connected to employment, albeit her husband's employment."
source: thisisderbyshire.co.uk
Link: Asbestos Claims
Pamela Whitemore, of Spondon, was married to a lorry driver who used to load asbestos by hand.
Her family said she was a typical housewife, "cooking, cleaning and washing".
She developed mesothelioma – a cancer of the lung lining – and died at Royal Derby Hospital in November, aged 80.
She was diagnosed just five days earlier.
An inquest into Mrs Whitemore's death heard how she had a job in a bedding factory but gave it up when she married her husband, Ronald, in 1950.
Their daughter, Jacqueline Higgins, said her mother was a "traditional housewife".
She said: "Mum was a housewife and dad went out to work. That was the way it was. She took care of my father and washed his overalls. Dad did not know what a washing machine was."
Mrs Higgins said her father, who lived with his wife in The Pingle, had been a lorry driver since he came out of the Army, although he spent a short time in the 1960s working at British Rail.
During his work as a driver, he used to carry bricks, pipes and slabs and also asbestos.
He used to "hump" it on and off his lorry, his daughter said. Much of the asbestos was collected in Watford and delivered across the country.
Talking about his overalls, she said: "They were always dirty and dusty. If it was not dirt it was grease – he had a very dirty job."
She said her mother would "shake them outside the back door, then throw them in the washing machine".
It was a manual machine, rather than automatic, and had a mangle to wring away excess water, she said.
When the dangers of asbestos later become known, her father – who died from prostate cancer – talked about his experiences.
"My dad used to say 'I humped loads of those asbestos sheets and it's never done me any harm'," his daughter said.
Pathologist Andrew Hitchcock said it was an "extensive" tumour and there was evidence to show it was caused by asbestos exposure.
"It fits into a well-recognised pattern from my point of view," he said.
"We have a good history of exposure to asbestos.
"The link there is very strong."
Louise Pinder, the deputy coroner for Derby, recorded a verdict of death by industrial disease.
Ms Pinder said: "There was more handling of clothes than there would have been in the modern-day process.
"Mrs Whitemore was exposed indirectly.
"She was exposed in some way that was connected to employment, albeit her husband's employment."
source: thisisderbyshire.co.uk
Link: Asbestos Claims
Firefighters battle asbestos garage fire in Kingston
Firefighters were forced to use breathing apparatus due to asbestos in an abandoned garage which went up in flames.
The fire this morning at about 1.30am in Hawks Road, Kingston, also spread to nearby trees.
Watch manager Jeff Hall, of Kingston's white watch, said: "The awkward thing about was as soon as we started our firefighting operation it was determined it was made of asbestos and we had to retreat on a 25 metre exclusion zone."
Four firefighters in breathing apparatus put the flames out about an hour later.
None of the neighbours knew who owned the garage which was in an overgrown area of Hawks Road, he said.
Kingston Council's environmental health team were called out to discover who owned the garage.
source: surreycomet.co.uk
Link: Asbestos Claims
The fire this morning at about 1.30am in Hawks Road, Kingston, also spread to nearby trees.
Watch manager Jeff Hall, of Kingston's white watch, said: "The awkward thing about was as soon as we started our firefighting operation it was determined it was made of asbestos and we had to retreat on a 25 metre exclusion zone."
Four firefighters in breathing apparatus put the flames out about an hour later.
None of the neighbours knew who owned the garage which was in an overgrown area of Hawks Road, he said.
Kingston Council's environmental health team were called out to discover who owned the garage.
source: surreycomet.co.uk
Link: Asbestos Claims
Sunday 17 April 2011
Had a breast implant in the past 20 years? Call your clinic to check they're not faulty
Since the announcement last year that some breast implants may leak toxic chemicals into the body, there has been a steady stream of worried women arriving at my hospital.
But the real concern is that we have not seen more.
The alarm was raised in France when surgeons noticed implants made by Poly Implant Prosthese (PIP) were rupturing, causing a raft of symptoms from immune system problems to debilitating pain, fever, rashes and extreme fatigue.
After an investigation the company was closed down by French authorities, which accused it of fraudulently using a non-approved silicone gel more commonly used in the manufacture of mattresses and pillows, for almost ten years.
About 8,000 British women a year have breast augmentation, most for cosmetic reasons, but many undergo reconstruction after a mastectomy.
Initially it was thought that 50,000 Britons may have been given PIP implants, but plastic surgeons now believe the figure could be 100,000. There are 2,000 names on a class action against the French company, and we, similar to most clinics, have seen a few hundred patients with PIP implants.
In most cases we tell them to watch and wait, as there is no reason to undergo major revisional surgery unless a rupture is found.
So far three patients have had symptoms and been found to have silicone gel moving freely within their breast. In these circumstances we take out the implant, clean the wound and put in a safer replacement.
Although it has been suggested only women who underwent cutprice surgery in overseas clinics were at risk, all these women had their implants fitted at UK clinics - some at supposedly reputable Harley Street firms.
Our hospital has never used PIP products. Quality implants cost upwards of £300 each, depending on the type, and the French company were selling theirs for a fraction of this.
There may be tens of thousands of women with no idea that they have a PIP implant.
Since the Nineties, every woman given a breast augmentation should have had the make, size and serial number of her prostheses given to her and recorded in the medical notes.
This is the only way to tell if you have a PIP implant, and I urge all women who have undergone a breast enlargement in the past 20 years to contact their surgeon to find out.
If a PIP implant was used, they should consider undergoing an ultrasound scan to detect if there has been any leakage.
All modern breast implants are made up of multiple layers of silicone shell filled with a silicone gel. The body normally reacts to a foreign object placed under the skin by building up a capsule of scar tissue around it, sealing it off from the rest of the body.
This can cause the implant to become hard or misshapen. The outer layers of today's implants are textured, a bit like felt, which helps prevent this from happening. Inside that is a tough layer that stops the implant from breaking, and an inner layer that is impermeable so the content can't leak out.
Silicone itself comes in a variety of forms, from oils to gels and hard rubber, which is often used in finger joint replacements, catheters and the lines of intravenous drips. In the right forms, the body doesn't react to it in an allergic fashion.
Some reports suggested that the problem with PIP implants, aside from the industrial-grade filling, was that protective layers were missing.
We are still awaiting the outcome of tests by the French authorities to determine what dangers the gel used may pose. The fear is that it could be carcinogenic.
The faulty implants were also sold under different names, including Rofil Medical M-Implant in Holland.
Those given PIP implants are at a risk of illness through no fault of their own, yet we have heard from patients that some GPs are refusing requests for ultrasound scans as the original procedure was paid for privately.
If we are to rescue the reputation of our profession, all private clinics must offer scans at a cost price of £50 rather than the usual £200 and offer corrective surgery if required at a reasonable cost.
And if any women have reason to think they might be at risk, they should act now before it is too late.
source: dailymail.co.uk
Link: PIP Implant Claims
But the real concern is that we have not seen more.
The alarm was raised in France when surgeons noticed implants made by Poly Implant Prosthese (PIP) were rupturing, causing a raft of symptoms from immune system problems to debilitating pain, fever, rashes and extreme fatigue.
After an investigation the company was closed down by French authorities, which accused it of fraudulently using a non-approved silicone gel more commonly used in the manufacture of mattresses and pillows, for almost ten years.
About 8,000 British women a year have breast augmentation, most for cosmetic reasons, but many undergo reconstruction after a mastectomy.
Initially it was thought that 50,000 Britons may have been given PIP implants, but plastic surgeons now believe the figure could be 100,000. There are 2,000 names on a class action against the French company, and we, similar to most clinics, have seen a few hundred patients with PIP implants.
In most cases we tell them to watch and wait, as there is no reason to undergo major revisional surgery unless a rupture is found.
So far three patients have had symptoms and been found to have silicone gel moving freely within their breast. In these circumstances we take out the implant, clean the wound and put in a safer replacement.
Although it has been suggested only women who underwent cutprice surgery in overseas clinics were at risk, all these women had their implants fitted at UK clinics - some at supposedly reputable Harley Street firms.
Our hospital has never used PIP products. Quality implants cost upwards of £300 each, depending on the type, and the French company were selling theirs for a fraction of this.
There may be tens of thousands of women with no idea that they have a PIP implant.
Since the Nineties, every woman given a breast augmentation should have had the make, size and serial number of her prostheses given to her and recorded in the medical notes.
This is the only way to tell if you have a PIP implant, and I urge all women who have undergone a breast enlargement in the past 20 years to contact their surgeon to find out.
If a PIP implant was used, they should consider undergoing an ultrasound scan to detect if there has been any leakage.
All modern breast implants are made up of multiple layers of silicone shell filled with a silicone gel. The body normally reacts to a foreign object placed under the skin by building up a capsule of scar tissue around it, sealing it off from the rest of the body.
This can cause the implant to become hard or misshapen. The outer layers of today's implants are textured, a bit like felt, which helps prevent this from happening. Inside that is a tough layer that stops the implant from breaking, and an inner layer that is impermeable so the content can't leak out.
Silicone itself comes in a variety of forms, from oils to gels and hard rubber, which is often used in finger joint replacements, catheters and the lines of intravenous drips. In the right forms, the body doesn't react to it in an allergic fashion.
Some reports suggested that the problem with PIP implants, aside from the industrial-grade filling, was that protective layers were missing.
We are still awaiting the outcome of tests by the French authorities to determine what dangers the gel used may pose. The fear is that it could be carcinogenic.
The faulty implants were also sold under different names, including Rofil Medical M-Implant in Holland.
Those given PIP implants are at a risk of illness through no fault of their own, yet we have heard from patients that some GPs are refusing requests for ultrasound scans as the original procedure was paid for privately.
If we are to rescue the reputation of our profession, all private clinics must offer scans at a cost price of £50 rather than the usual £200 and offer corrective surgery if required at a reasonable cost.
And if any women have reason to think they might be at risk, they should act now before it is too late.
source: dailymail.co.uk
Link: PIP Implant Claims
Asbestos was to blame
AN IT engineer from Petersfield died from an asbestos related illness, an inquest has ruled.
Martin Harbord (73), of Heath Road, passed away in July last year from mesothelioma.
Portsmouth Coroner’s Court heard that Mr Harbord, who used to work for Marconi and IBM, had spent time working on submarines and ships during the early 1950s while completing his national service with the Royal Navy.
Coroner David Horsley established his time spent on the vessels during his youth was when he was most likely to have been exposed to asbestos. He said: “It is a terrible thing that hides itself for decades in people who are in pretty good shape, and then it appears.”
source: petersfieldpost.co.uk
Link: Asbestos Claims
Martin Harbord (73), of Heath Road, passed away in July last year from mesothelioma.
Portsmouth Coroner’s Court heard that Mr Harbord, who used to work for Marconi and IBM, had spent time working on submarines and ships during the early 1950s while completing his national service with the Royal Navy.
Coroner David Horsley established his time spent on the vessels during his youth was when he was most likely to have been exposed to asbestos. He said: “It is a terrible thing that hides itself for decades in people who are in pretty good shape, and then it appears.”
source: petersfieldpost.co.uk
Link: Asbestos Claims
Girl, 8, paid £8.75m by hospital after blunders at birth left her with permanent brain damage
An eight-year-old girl who was left severely brain damaged at birth following blunders by maternity staff was today awarded £8.75m at London's High Court.
Darcie Hooper was born at St Mary's Hospital, Portsmouth, on March 16, 2003, having been starved of oxygen in the womb, due to clinical staff missing vital signs on monitoring equipment indicating foetal distress.
The 'affectionate' little girl suffers from tetraplegic cerebral palsy as a result of her birth injuries and will be dependent upon others for the rest of her life.
Her mother Janet Hooper sued Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust on behalf of Darcie. The Trust admitted liability for her tragic injuries at an early stage, and have released funds to the family in a series of interim payments.
Today Mrs Justice Cox approved the final settlement of her claim, which consists of a £4.2m lump sum, plus annual, index-linked and tax-free payments, bringing the total value of the settlement to around £8.75m.
Neil Block QC, representing the Trust, today apologised to the family for what happened to Darcie.
'I would like to take the opportunity to apologise - it is a matter of profound regret that Darcie was so gravely injured and also the circumstances that led to that injury, and we apologise to the family for the mistakes that were made,' he said.
'We hope that some assurance has been given that such mistakes will not be made in the future,' he added.
'Clearly money cannot ever replace what Darcie and her family would most wish to be replaced, but at least this settlement will provide for her financial future, and her parents will know that her future is secure, in terms of care and accommodation.'
The judge, giving her seal to the agreement, said: 'I approve this settlement - I have no doubt it is in this young person's best interests.
'It is clear that Darcie is an affectionate little girl and had clearly benefited from all the input she has received to date, and that is in no small part due to the efforts of her parents,' she concluded.
In a statement outside court, the family's solicitor, Alison McClure, said: 'This is an excellent settlement for Darcie, which will provide the help and assistance that she will need for the rest of her life.
'Her parents are delighted, and are now able to move forward with confidence in caring for their daughter.'
source.dailymail.co.uk
Links:
Birth Injury Claims
Brain Injury Claims
Cerebral Palsy Claims
Darcie Hooper was born at St Mary's Hospital, Portsmouth, on March 16, 2003, having been starved of oxygen in the womb, due to clinical staff missing vital signs on monitoring equipment indicating foetal distress.
The 'affectionate' little girl suffers from tetraplegic cerebral palsy as a result of her birth injuries and will be dependent upon others for the rest of her life.
Her mother Janet Hooper sued Portsmouth Hospitals NHS Trust on behalf of Darcie. The Trust admitted liability for her tragic injuries at an early stage, and have released funds to the family in a series of interim payments.
Today Mrs Justice Cox approved the final settlement of her claim, which consists of a £4.2m lump sum, plus annual, index-linked and tax-free payments, bringing the total value of the settlement to around £8.75m.
Neil Block QC, representing the Trust, today apologised to the family for what happened to Darcie.
'I would like to take the opportunity to apologise - it is a matter of profound regret that Darcie was so gravely injured and also the circumstances that led to that injury, and we apologise to the family for the mistakes that were made,' he said.
'We hope that some assurance has been given that such mistakes will not be made in the future,' he added.
'Clearly money cannot ever replace what Darcie and her family would most wish to be replaced, but at least this settlement will provide for her financial future, and her parents will know that her future is secure, in terms of care and accommodation.'
The judge, giving her seal to the agreement, said: 'I approve this settlement - I have no doubt it is in this young person's best interests.
'It is clear that Darcie is an affectionate little girl and had clearly benefited from all the input she has received to date, and that is in no small part due to the efforts of her parents,' she concluded.
In a statement outside court, the family's solicitor, Alison McClure, said: 'This is an excellent settlement for Darcie, which will provide the help and assistance that she will need for the rest of her life.
'Her parents are delighted, and are now able to move forward with confidence in caring for their daughter.'
source.dailymail.co.uk
Links:
Birth Injury Claims
Brain Injury Claims
Cerebral Palsy Claims
North-East cancer patients begin trials of new vaccine
PATIENTS at two North-East hospitals will trial a revolutionary new vaccine which has the potential to become a universal treatment for all cancers.
The trial is testing the effectiveness of the TeloVac jab for advanced pancreatic cancer.
The South Korean company which has developed the vaccine said it has the potential to be a universal treatment for cancer within a few years.
The James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, and The Freeman Hospital, in Newcastle, are among 53 UK centres trialling the vaccine, which primes the body’s immune system to recognise and kill cancer cells.
About 7,600 people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in Britain each year. It is particularly difficult to treat, and only three per cent of those diagnosed, live for more than five years.
Smaller studies have found that people given the vaccine, called GV1001, as well as chemotherapy, live three months longer than those given only chemotherapy.
John Neoptolemos, director of the Liverpool Cancer Research UK Centre, said: “If it is successful, it would make a real difference.”
GV1001 contains a fragment of an enzyme called telomerase, which is usually found in human embryos and which cancer cells use to divide unchecked.
The vaccine teaches T-cells, a part of the immune system, to recognise cells that produce telomerase – which in adults are all cancer cells – and attack them. The results of the trial will be announced next autumn, and, if successful, a vaccine could be approved in late 2013 or 2014.
Scientists hope the method could work on other types of tumour and a trial for lung cancer is planned.
Cancer Research UK, which funded the research, stressed the vaccine was not a cure for cancer, but could prolong the lives of sufferers.
source: thenorthernecho.co.uk
www.cancerclaims.co.uk
The trial is testing the effectiveness of the TeloVac jab for advanced pancreatic cancer.
The South Korean company which has developed the vaccine said it has the potential to be a universal treatment for cancer within a few years.
The James Cook University Hospital, in Middlesbrough, and The Freeman Hospital, in Newcastle, are among 53 UK centres trialling the vaccine, which primes the body’s immune system to recognise and kill cancer cells.
About 7,600 people are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in Britain each year. It is particularly difficult to treat, and only three per cent of those diagnosed, live for more than five years.
Smaller studies have found that people given the vaccine, called GV1001, as well as chemotherapy, live three months longer than those given only chemotherapy.
John Neoptolemos, director of the Liverpool Cancer Research UK Centre, said: “If it is successful, it would make a real difference.”
GV1001 contains a fragment of an enzyme called telomerase, which is usually found in human embryos and which cancer cells use to divide unchecked.
The vaccine teaches T-cells, a part of the immune system, to recognise cells that produce telomerase – which in adults are all cancer cells – and attack them. The results of the trial will be announced next autumn, and, if successful, a vaccine could be approved in late 2013 or 2014.
Scientists hope the method could work on other types of tumour and a trial for lung cancer is planned.
Cancer Research UK, which funded the research, stressed the vaccine was not a cure for cancer, but could prolong the lives of sufferers.
source: thenorthernecho.co.uk
www.cancerclaims.co.uk
Thursday 14 April 2011
Man in marathon for Cambridgeshire brain injury charity
A man who was brain-damaged in a car accident is running the London Marathon to raise funds for the charity that helped him recover.
Luke Flatman, from Ely, has no memory of the accident in 2008 and has trouble remembering what he has done each day.
Staff at Fen House, a centre run by the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Trust, are helping him piece together the present.
Now he plans to run the marathon to raise funds for the centre in Ely which he still attends.
Mr Flatman was a 22-year-old student when he was involved in the accident near his college in Scarborough.
He was transferred to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge with serious injuries, and remained in a coma for a week. When he woke, he was suffering from post-traumatic amnesia as a result of brain injury.
'Visualising memories'
While Mr Flatman can clearly recall his childhood in Ely and his days as a choral scholar in the city, he remembers nothing of the months leading up to the accident, and refers to his memory loss as "quite random".
"It's the formation of new memories that's a problem," Mr Flatman explained.
"If I've watched a film, I might not even remember I've seen it the next day."
Staff at Fen House have been teaching him different methods of "visualising memories" and he said he was now "90% of the way to recovery".
However, he has been told that the final 10% of his rehabilitation could be the most challenging.
"I write things down a lot and keep a journal to remind me what I've been doing.
"My life is lived off a calendar. If it wasn't written down, it wouldn't get done."
Mr Flatman hopes to complete the London Marathon in under five hours and said , although he still has trouble remembering what he has done on a day-to-day basis, he "will not be forgetting that run in a very long time".
source: bbc.co.uk
Link: Brain Injury Claims
Luke Flatman, from Ely, has no memory of the accident in 2008 and has trouble remembering what he has done each day.
Staff at Fen House, a centre run by the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Trust, are helping him piece together the present.
Now he plans to run the marathon to raise funds for the centre in Ely which he still attends.
Mr Flatman was a 22-year-old student when he was involved in the accident near his college in Scarborough.
He was transferred to Addenbrooke's Hospital in Cambridge with serious injuries, and remained in a coma for a week. When he woke, he was suffering from post-traumatic amnesia as a result of brain injury.
'Visualising memories'
While Mr Flatman can clearly recall his childhood in Ely and his days as a choral scholar in the city, he remembers nothing of the months leading up to the accident, and refers to his memory loss as "quite random".
"It's the formation of new memories that's a problem," Mr Flatman explained.
"If I've watched a film, I might not even remember I've seen it the next day."
Staff at Fen House have been teaching him different methods of "visualising memories" and he said he was now "90% of the way to recovery".
However, he has been told that the final 10% of his rehabilitation could be the most challenging.
"I write things down a lot and keep a journal to remind me what I've been doing.
"My life is lived off a calendar. If it wasn't written down, it wouldn't get done."
Mr Flatman hopes to complete the London Marathon in under five hours and said , although he still has trouble remembering what he has done on a day-to-day basis, he "will not be forgetting that run in a very long time".
source: bbc.co.uk
Link: Brain Injury Claims
Cheam crash put pensioner in hospital
An elderly man was taken to hospital after a car crash in Cheam.
The pensioner, 80, was travelling along The Broadway at around 4.30pm on Saturday, when he lost control of the white panel van he was driving.
The van hit two cars before mounting the pavement and hitting a traffic sign.
A woman working in the Cancer Research Shop, next to where the crash took place, said she heard a loud bang before rushing outside.
The woman, who did not want to be named, said: "All I heard was an almighty bang. I went out and saw an elderly man and woman in a white van.
"The man looked woozy and concussed, he was definitely in shock.”
A cordon was put up around the scene, whilst police dealt with the incident. It is believed this was removed at around 6pm.
A spokesman for London Ambulance said: "We were called just before 4.30pm to a road traffic accident involving a car and van on the Broadway.
"We sent two ambulance crews and staff treated one patient, an 80 year old man, who was taken as a priority to St Helier hospital."
source: thisislocallondon.co.uk
www.london-claims.co.uk
The pensioner, 80, was travelling along The Broadway at around 4.30pm on Saturday, when he lost control of the white panel van he was driving.
The van hit two cars before mounting the pavement and hitting a traffic sign.
A woman working in the Cancer Research Shop, next to where the crash took place, said she heard a loud bang before rushing outside.
The woman, who did not want to be named, said: "All I heard was an almighty bang. I went out and saw an elderly man and woman in a white van.
"The man looked woozy and concussed, he was definitely in shock.”
A cordon was put up around the scene, whilst police dealt with the incident. It is believed this was removed at around 6pm.
A spokesman for London Ambulance said: "We were called just before 4.30pm to a road traffic accident involving a car and van on the Broadway.
"We sent two ambulance crews and staff treated one patient, an 80 year old man, who was taken as a priority to St Helier hospital."
source: thisislocallondon.co.uk
www.london-claims.co.uk
Wednesday 13 April 2011
Landmark asbestos ruling: Insurance firms urged to 'do the right thing' and pay up
A thousand Scots victims of a lung condition caused by asbestos yesterday won a landmark legal fight to get compensation.
But in the five years it has taken Scottish judges to overturn a UK legal ruling, 40 people who had pleural plaques have died.
They will never see a payout of around s10,000 which has been denied to them by the UK legal system and the big insurance companies.
Last night, insurance chiefs - who have fought the case tooth and nail - pledged to take it all the way to the UK Supreme Court.
But one of the relatives involved pleaded: "We were confident the Scottish courts would do the right thing. I can only now appeal to these insurance companies also to do the right thing."
Fight At the Court of Session, Lords Hamilton, Eassie and Hardie upheld the 2009 Scottish Parliament Damages Act to allow people - mainly former shipyard and building workers - the right to seek compensation.
For Scotland, it tears up a 2007 House of Lords ruling that compensation would not be paid in the UK.
The big insurers, including AXA, Zurich and Aviva, challenged the law all the way.
Pleural plaques - asbestos particles lodged in the lungs - in itself is not life-threatening. But it can be the first sign of fatal conditions such as mesothelioma, asbestosis and cancer.
Yesterday's ruling found that asbestos-related pleural plaques constitute "personal injury which is not negligible and is therefore actionable under Scots law".
Elaine Darling's dad George O'Donnell, 79, has incurable mesothelioma after being diagnosed with pleural plaques two years ago.
She said: "It has been very hard seeing the effect this has had on my dad. This ruling has come too late to help him but he will be pleased for all those other people who have pleural plaques."
Great-grandad Michael Johnstone, 67, who worked in a board and panels factory in Glasgow, has pleural plaques. He said: "The compensation is for the worry and stress. Knowing that it could develop into something fatal is very unsettling."
Former shipyard worker Robert Adam, now a pensioner, also has the condition. He said: "As joiners, we had to cut asbestos boards.
"There is no doubt our employers kept us doing it long after they knew the dangers."
Widow Annette Smith, 67, lost her husband Alexander to mesothelioma in June 2008, just months after he was diagnosed.
She said: "We knew he only had a few months and we made the most of it. People who have pleural plaques have a high chance of getting this fatal condition.
"It is vital that they are compensated."
Frank Maguire is with Glasgow solicitors firm Thompson, who represent 90 per cent of Scottish victims of pleural plaques. He said 40 Scots with the condition have died since the Lords denied them compensation in 2007.
He added: "This is a great victory for everyone involved. The insurers must now stop their unjust delaying tactics."
But the Association of British Insurers vowed they will now fight the law.
Nick Starling, director of general insurance and health, said: "Insurers remain committed to paying compensation and pay out s200million a year to those with asbestos-related conditions that impact on health, like mesothelioma.
"However, pleural plaques do not impact on quality of life and do not in themselves lead to asbestos-related conditions, such as mesothelioma."
source: dailyrecord.co.uk
www.asbestoscompensationclaim.co.uk
www.claims4scotland.com
But in the five years it has taken Scottish judges to overturn a UK legal ruling, 40 people who had pleural plaques have died.
They will never see a payout of around s10,000 which has been denied to them by the UK legal system and the big insurance companies.
Last night, insurance chiefs - who have fought the case tooth and nail - pledged to take it all the way to the UK Supreme Court.
But one of the relatives involved pleaded: "We were confident the Scottish courts would do the right thing. I can only now appeal to these insurance companies also to do the right thing."
Fight At the Court of Session, Lords Hamilton, Eassie and Hardie upheld the 2009 Scottish Parliament Damages Act to allow people - mainly former shipyard and building workers - the right to seek compensation.
For Scotland, it tears up a 2007 House of Lords ruling that compensation would not be paid in the UK.
The big insurers, including AXA, Zurich and Aviva, challenged the law all the way.
Pleural plaques - asbestos particles lodged in the lungs - in itself is not life-threatening. But it can be the first sign of fatal conditions such as mesothelioma, asbestosis and cancer.
Yesterday's ruling found that asbestos-related pleural plaques constitute "personal injury which is not negligible and is therefore actionable under Scots law".
Elaine Darling's dad George O'Donnell, 79, has incurable mesothelioma after being diagnosed with pleural plaques two years ago.
She said: "It has been very hard seeing the effect this has had on my dad. This ruling has come too late to help him but he will be pleased for all those other people who have pleural plaques."
Great-grandad Michael Johnstone, 67, who worked in a board and panels factory in Glasgow, has pleural plaques. He said: "The compensation is for the worry and stress. Knowing that it could develop into something fatal is very unsettling."
Former shipyard worker Robert Adam, now a pensioner, also has the condition. He said: "As joiners, we had to cut asbestos boards.
"There is no doubt our employers kept us doing it long after they knew the dangers."
Widow Annette Smith, 67, lost her husband Alexander to mesothelioma in June 2008, just months after he was diagnosed.
She said: "We knew he only had a few months and we made the most of it. People who have pleural plaques have a high chance of getting this fatal condition.
"It is vital that they are compensated."
Frank Maguire is with Glasgow solicitors firm Thompson, who represent 90 per cent of Scottish victims of pleural plaques. He said 40 Scots with the condition have died since the Lords denied them compensation in 2007.
He added: "This is a great victory for everyone involved. The insurers must now stop their unjust delaying tactics."
But the Association of British Insurers vowed they will now fight the law.
Nick Starling, director of general insurance and health, said: "Insurers remain committed to paying compensation and pay out s200million a year to those with asbestos-related conditions that impact on health, like mesothelioma.
"However, pleural plaques do not impact on quality of life and do not in themselves lead to asbestos-related conditions, such as mesothelioma."
source: dailyrecord.co.uk
www.asbestoscompensationclaim.co.uk
www.claims4scotland.com
Hospital worst for bowel cancer op deaths
DEATHS after surgery for bowel cancer are higher at Burton’s Queen’s Hospital than at any other hospital in the country.
Newly released figures have revealed the postcode lottery that exists between hospitals across the country when it comes to treating the second most common form of cancer.
Patients who undergo surgery to treat bowel cancer in Burton were nearly 10 times more likely to die within 30 days of the operation than patients receiving identical surgery in Manchester.
The study, funded by Cancer Research UK, found that 15.6 per cent of bowel cancer surgery patients at Queen’s Hospital died within one month of the operation.
That was compared to just 1.6 per cent of patients who died following the same treatment at the Manchester Royal Infirmary, run by Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Trust.
Queen’s Hospital, however, has defended its record and said that survival rates had improved since 2006, when the figures for this latest study were compiled.
A hospital spokesman said the latest available figures showed a rise in the number of diagnosed cases of bowel cancer in Burton from 125 in 2002 to 197 in 2009.
The spokesman said: “The National Cancer Intelligence Network (NCIN) report on 30-day post operative mortality after major colorectal cancer surgery covers the years 1998 to 2006.
“Since that time, a number of important developments in the care and treatment of colorectal cancer has taken place at the trust.
“NCIN has confirmed, since publication of the earlier figures, that available information from 2007 to 2008 demonstrates that the trust’s figures have improved and is no longer considered an outlier.”
Consultant surgeon James Eccersley said: “The trust is aware that constant vigilance and improvement has reduced our mortality rate after surgery.
“We always strive to take on board new innovations to make surgery even safer.”
source:burtonmail.co.uk
www.cancerclaims.co.uk
Newly released figures have revealed the postcode lottery that exists between hospitals across the country when it comes to treating the second most common form of cancer.
Patients who undergo surgery to treat bowel cancer in Burton were nearly 10 times more likely to die within 30 days of the operation than patients receiving identical surgery in Manchester.
The study, funded by Cancer Research UK, found that 15.6 per cent of bowel cancer surgery patients at Queen’s Hospital died within one month of the operation.
That was compared to just 1.6 per cent of patients who died following the same treatment at the Manchester Royal Infirmary, run by Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Trust.
Queen’s Hospital, however, has defended its record and said that survival rates had improved since 2006, when the figures for this latest study were compiled.
A hospital spokesman said the latest available figures showed a rise in the number of diagnosed cases of bowel cancer in Burton from 125 in 2002 to 197 in 2009.
The spokesman said: “The National Cancer Intelligence Network (NCIN) report on 30-day post operative mortality after major colorectal cancer surgery covers the years 1998 to 2006.
“Since that time, a number of important developments in the care and treatment of colorectal cancer has taken place at the trust.
“NCIN has confirmed, since publication of the earlier figures, that available information from 2007 to 2008 demonstrates that the trust’s figures have improved and is no longer considered an outlier.”
Consultant surgeon James Eccersley said: “The trust is aware that constant vigilance and improvement has reduced our mortality rate after surgery.
“We always strive to take on board new innovations to make surgery even safer.”
source:burtonmail.co.uk
www.cancerclaims.co.uk
New move to reduce oral cancer death rate
SCIENTISTS in Yorkshire are planning an investigation into a cancer that each year claims the lives of more than 1,800 people in the UK.
Only half of oral cancer patients survive for five years after being diagnosed with the disease.
Despite advances in treatment, many people suffer from an advanced and incurable forms of the illness usually because the cancer has invaded surrounding tissue and spread.
Now experts from Sheffield University’s school of clinical dentistry plan to examine how and why the cancer spreads in a project backed by the charity Yorkshire Cancer Research.
They hope the work will enable doctors to predict the patients likely to be affected by the disease spreading and identify strategies to prevent it.
The study will look specifically at how the cancer cells communicate with other cells around them to help the disease to spread.
Dan Lambert, who is leading the project, said: “The processes enabling cancer cells to invade and spread are still not fully understood, but it is known that communication between cancer cells and other cells surrounding them, such as cells called fibroblasts, plays an important role.
“Proteins released by the cancer cells appear to change the levels of certain genes in neighbouring fibroblasts, causing them in turn to change and release proteins which promote cancer cell spread.”
Dr Lambert said a new group of molecules had been recently discovered which change the way cells behave by altering the levels of specific genes. The study would identify changes in the molecules caused by the cancer cells.
“This information will allow us to understand more fully how cancer spreads and possibly lead to developing new ways to prevent it,” he added.
Kathryn Scott, research liaison officer at Yorkshire Cancer Research, said: “Cancers are a lot easier to treat successfully if the spread can be prevented so we are very excited to be funding this world-class project.”
source: yorkshirepost.co.uk
www.cancerclaims.co.uk
Only half of oral cancer patients survive for five years after being diagnosed with the disease.
Despite advances in treatment, many people suffer from an advanced and incurable forms of the illness usually because the cancer has invaded surrounding tissue and spread.
Now experts from Sheffield University’s school of clinical dentistry plan to examine how and why the cancer spreads in a project backed by the charity Yorkshire Cancer Research.
They hope the work will enable doctors to predict the patients likely to be affected by the disease spreading and identify strategies to prevent it.
The study will look specifically at how the cancer cells communicate with other cells around them to help the disease to spread.
Dan Lambert, who is leading the project, said: “The processes enabling cancer cells to invade and spread are still not fully understood, but it is known that communication between cancer cells and other cells surrounding them, such as cells called fibroblasts, plays an important role.
“Proteins released by the cancer cells appear to change the levels of certain genes in neighbouring fibroblasts, causing them in turn to change and release proteins which promote cancer cell spread.”
Dr Lambert said a new group of molecules had been recently discovered which change the way cells behave by altering the levels of specific genes. The study would identify changes in the molecules caused by the cancer cells.
“This information will allow us to understand more fully how cancer spreads and possibly lead to developing new ways to prevent it,” he added.
Kathryn Scott, research liaison officer at Yorkshire Cancer Research, said: “Cancers are a lot easier to treat successfully if the spread can be prevented so we are very excited to be funding this world-class project.”
source: yorkshirepost.co.uk
www.cancerclaims.co.uk
BBC finds unseen footage of Goole dockers in the 1980s
Watch the video by clicking here
Previously unseen footage of a historic moment in industrial history has been uncovered as part of a new BBC Look North project about the Humber Docks.
The amateur footage from spring 1989 shows Goole dock workers picking up compensation cheques.
The pay-out came after the abolition of the National Dock Labour Board.
The workers were involved in a long-running industrial dispute as the government of Margaret Thatcher sought to remove union control of the docks.
The National Dock Labour Board, which had operated since the end of World War II, had guaranteed jobs and wages for decades, but was increasingly seen by the government of the day as a bar to UK ports modernising.
Long-serving workers who signed away their trades union rights received up to £35,000, but many also found they had signed away any job security.
By the following year there were fewer than 10,000 dock workers, down from the peak in the 1960s of 65,000, yet traffic through UK ports had doubled.
The film of Goole docks was found as part of the Look North project examining the importance of the Humber docks to the region.
source: bbc.co.uk
www.dockersclaims.co.uk
Previously unseen footage of a historic moment in industrial history has been uncovered as part of a new BBC Look North project about the Humber Docks.
The amateur footage from spring 1989 shows Goole dock workers picking up compensation cheques.
The pay-out came after the abolition of the National Dock Labour Board.
The workers were involved in a long-running industrial dispute as the government of Margaret Thatcher sought to remove union control of the docks.
The National Dock Labour Board, which had operated since the end of World War II, had guaranteed jobs and wages for decades, but was increasingly seen by the government of the day as a bar to UK ports modernising.
Long-serving workers who signed away their trades union rights received up to £35,000, but many also found they had signed away any job security.
By the following year there were fewer than 10,000 dock workers, down from the peak in the 1960s of 65,000, yet traffic through UK ports had doubled.
The film of Goole docks was found as part of the Look North project examining the importance of the Humber docks to the region.
source: bbc.co.uk
www.dockersclaims.co.uk
Tuesday 12 April 2011
Callum Davies wins £2.2m Nevill Hall birth case payout
An eight-year-old boy has won a High Court multi-million pound settlement for being starved of oxygen at birth, which left him severely brain damaged.
Callum Davies was left with cerebral palsy due to a 15-minute delay at Nevill Hall Hospital, Abergavenny, Monmouthshire.
The ex-Gwent Healthcare NHS Trust is to pay a £2.275m lump sum plus annual payments for his care.
Health officials apologised and said there were "lessons to learn".
The health board which succeeded Gwent Healthcare NHS Trust admitted a breach of duty and said Callum's case had led to "lots of soul-searching".
The court heard Callum was starved of oxygen due to the delay in his delivery in November 2002, resulting in him being left with dyskinetic cerebral palsy and brain damage.
He will need extensive care for the rest of his life, the court heard.
His barrister, David Westcott QC, said the money will cover the cost of adaptations to the family home and an education programme which would allow Callum to "reach his full potential".
Alexander Hutton, for the NHS, said: "It led to lots of soul-searching at the trust, which has attempted to improve services since then.
"An apology may be scant consolation, but it is sincere."
Judge Mrs Justice Nicola Davies approved the compensation package and paid tribute to Callum's family.
Addressing his father, Paul, at the back of court, she said: "It is clear that the care which you and your wife have given is of the highest order.
"I know that Callum's injuries have impacted on you and your whole family as a unit and that is something which at times is very, very difficult for families.
"I am well aware that the settlement approved by the court is not the complete answer, but what I do hope for the family is that these monies will make life easier.
"Not just the increased level of care, improvements to the home and education, but also down to holidays, so you and your family can spend some time together."
Gwent Healthcare NHS Trust was replaced in October 2009 by Anuerin Bevan Health Board.
A spokesperson for the board said: "This is an extremely sad case, and our thoughts today are with Callum and his family.
"We would like to repeat the apology that the health service has previously given in this case - we are very sorry.
"There were lessons to learn from this difficult case. We have worked in collaboration with the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology to improve training across the NHS for all those involved in monitoring babies during childbirth.
"Maintaining a high quality for maternity services is a priority for the health board and we will be doing all that we can to reduce the risks to mothers and babies."
source: bbc.co.uk
www.birthinjuryclaims.co.uk
www.cerebralpalsycompensationclaims.co.uk
www.claims4wales.com
Callum Davies was left with cerebral palsy due to a 15-minute delay at Nevill Hall Hospital, Abergavenny, Monmouthshire.
The ex-Gwent Healthcare NHS Trust is to pay a £2.275m lump sum plus annual payments for his care.
Health officials apologised and said there were "lessons to learn".
The health board which succeeded Gwent Healthcare NHS Trust admitted a breach of duty and said Callum's case had led to "lots of soul-searching".
The court heard Callum was starved of oxygen due to the delay in his delivery in November 2002, resulting in him being left with dyskinetic cerebral palsy and brain damage.
He will need extensive care for the rest of his life, the court heard.
His barrister, David Westcott QC, said the money will cover the cost of adaptations to the family home and an education programme which would allow Callum to "reach his full potential".
Alexander Hutton, for the NHS, said: "It led to lots of soul-searching at the trust, which has attempted to improve services since then.
"An apology may be scant consolation, but it is sincere."
Judge Mrs Justice Nicola Davies approved the compensation package and paid tribute to Callum's family.
Addressing his father, Paul, at the back of court, she said: "It is clear that the care which you and your wife have given is of the highest order.
"I know that Callum's injuries have impacted on you and your whole family as a unit and that is something which at times is very, very difficult for families.
"I am well aware that the settlement approved by the court is not the complete answer, but what I do hope for the family is that these monies will make life easier.
"Not just the increased level of care, improvements to the home and education, but also down to holidays, so you and your family can spend some time together."
Gwent Healthcare NHS Trust was replaced in October 2009 by Anuerin Bevan Health Board.
A spokesperson for the board said: "This is an extremely sad case, and our thoughts today are with Callum and his family.
"We would like to repeat the apology that the health service has previously given in this case - we are very sorry.
"There were lessons to learn from this difficult case. We have worked in collaboration with the Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology to improve training across the NHS for all those involved in monitoring babies during childbirth.
"Maintaining a high quality for maternity services is a priority for the health board and we will be doing all that we can to reduce the risks to mothers and babies."
source: bbc.co.uk
www.birthinjuryclaims.co.uk
www.cerebralpalsycompensationclaims.co.uk
www.claims4wales.com
Scottish appeal judges uphold asbestos compensation law
Insurers have lost a legal bid to overturn a law in Scotland which gives victims of an asbestos-related illness the right to claim damages.
The Scottish parliament passed the Damages (Asbestos-related Conditions)(Scotland) Act in 2009.
It allows sufferers of pleural plaques, a benign scarring of the lungs, to make compensation claims.
Insurers argued the law was "flawed" but the Court of Session upheld the Scottish Parliament's decision.
Some of the biggest names in the insurance industry, such as AXA, opposed the Damages Act, passed at Holyrood in March 2009.
The law had already overturned a landmark House of Lords ruling that people with pleural plaques, a symptomless thickening of lung membranes, cannot claim compensation.
Pleural plaques can be caused by past exposure to asbestos but have no ill-effects and are not considered a disease in their own right.
Supporters of the law, such as Clydeside Action On Asbestos, argued that the benign scarring on lungs proves past exposure to asbestos and increases the risk of fatal disease.
'Justified interference'
Insurers warned that MSPs ignored medical opinion and had opened the "floodgates" for claims.
The industry argued that the law breaks European Convention on Human Rights provisions on property rights and constitutes unreasonable legal interference.
A summary of the court opinion rejected the overall challenge, which was brought forward on two bases.
The Lord President, Lord Eassie and Lord Hardie rejected the first challenge that the legislation was unlawful.
They agreed that insurers' rights are interfered with but that the interference "was justified" overall.
During scrutiny of the legislation, the Scottish government estimated that costs were likely to peak between £7m and £19m in the next decade.
But the insurance industry claimed the costs over the next 20 years would average between £76m and £607m.
The Court of Session's judgement was welcomed by Grahame Smith, general secretary of the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC).
"We would sincerely hope that the insurance industry will now accept that the introduction of this legislation was entirely within the competence of the Scottish Parliament and now begin to pay compensation to those suffering from pleural plaques," he said.
"It is deeply disappointing that insurers, having accepted the employers business and their insurance premiums continue to challenge any efforts to compensate workers suffering asbestos-related conditions.
"Sufferers of pleural plaques suffer years of anxiety and distress and we believe should always have been compensated for this suffering."
source: bbc.co.uk
www.asbestoscompensationclaim.co.uk
The Scottish parliament passed the Damages (Asbestos-related Conditions)(Scotland) Act in 2009.
It allows sufferers of pleural plaques, a benign scarring of the lungs, to make compensation claims.
Insurers argued the law was "flawed" but the Court of Session upheld the Scottish Parliament's decision.
Some of the biggest names in the insurance industry, such as AXA, opposed the Damages Act, passed at Holyrood in March 2009.
The law had already overturned a landmark House of Lords ruling that people with pleural plaques, a symptomless thickening of lung membranes, cannot claim compensation.
Pleural plaques can be caused by past exposure to asbestos but have no ill-effects and are not considered a disease in their own right.
Supporters of the law, such as Clydeside Action On Asbestos, argued that the benign scarring on lungs proves past exposure to asbestos and increases the risk of fatal disease.
'Justified interference'
Insurers warned that MSPs ignored medical opinion and had opened the "floodgates" for claims.
The industry argued that the law breaks European Convention on Human Rights provisions on property rights and constitutes unreasonable legal interference.
A summary of the court opinion rejected the overall challenge, which was brought forward on two bases.
The Lord President, Lord Eassie and Lord Hardie rejected the first challenge that the legislation was unlawful.
They agreed that insurers' rights are interfered with but that the interference "was justified" overall.
During scrutiny of the legislation, the Scottish government estimated that costs were likely to peak between £7m and £19m in the next decade.
But the insurance industry claimed the costs over the next 20 years would average between £76m and £607m.
The Court of Session's judgement was welcomed by Grahame Smith, general secretary of the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC).
"We would sincerely hope that the insurance industry will now accept that the introduction of this legislation was entirely within the competence of the Scottish Parliament and now begin to pay compensation to those suffering from pleural plaques," he said.
"It is deeply disappointing that insurers, having accepted the employers business and their insurance premiums continue to challenge any efforts to compensate workers suffering asbestos-related conditions.
"Sufferers of pleural plaques suffer years of anxiety and distress and we believe should always have been compensated for this suffering."
source: bbc.co.uk
www.asbestoscompensationclaim.co.uk
Lottery of death rates after cancer ops revealed
Major differences in death rates after surgery for a common cancer are revealed today in a landmark study.
Experts found on average 6.7 per cent of patients – more than 10,700 people – died within a month of operations for bowel cancer in England between 1998-2006.
The study of 160,000 cases at 150 hospitals found fewer than two per cent of patients died at one Manchester NHS trust, rising to 15 per cent in Burton, Staffordshire.
In Rotherham, a mortality rate of 11.4 per cent was among five described as “very high”, while rates overall in South Yorkshire and the North Midlands were “high”.
York hospital had the lowest death rate in the region at 4.2 per cent.
The findings today prompted one top expert to call on all cancer surgeons to follow the lead of heart specialists and make their results public. In a pioneering initiative, surgical masterclasses are also being launched in Yorkshire by local specialists which they hope will be adopted nationwide.
Leeds pathologist Prof Phil Quirke, a lead author of the study funded by the charities Yorkshire Cancer Research and Cancer Research UK, said death rates were falling but there was “considerable scope for improvement”.
“It is now time for colorectal cancer, and subsequently other cancer teams, to follow the example of the UK’s cardiothoracic surgeons who have openly reported their surgical outcomes since 1998, leading to improved outcomes for cardiothoracic surgical mortality across the country.”
Co-author Prof Paul Finan, of Leeds General Infirmary, said: “It’s vital to learn from the trusts with very low post-operative mortality so that we can identify and spread best practice across the NHS and so help to reduce post-operative mortality further.”
Ciarán Devane, chief executive at Macmillan Cancer Support, described the differences as “worrying” and added: “Such variation in care, and the fact it impacts on how likely a patient is to live, is simply unacceptable.”
Prof Walid Al-Wali, medical director at Rotherham, said latest figures showed mortality rates had significantly improved. “However, it is vital that we identify any issues that may still need to be addressed and the trust is therefore undertaking its own internal review in conjunction with the team of specialist surgeons responsible for delivering this service,” he added.
A North Trent Cancer Network spokesman said latest figures showed mortality rates were now similar to the national average.
source: yorkshirepost.co.uk
www.cancerclaims.co.uk
Experts found on average 6.7 per cent of patients – more than 10,700 people – died within a month of operations for bowel cancer in England between 1998-2006.
The study of 160,000 cases at 150 hospitals found fewer than two per cent of patients died at one Manchester NHS trust, rising to 15 per cent in Burton, Staffordshire.
In Rotherham, a mortality rate of 11.4 per cent was among five described as “very high”, while rates overall in South Yorkshire and the North Midlands were “high”.
York hospital had the lowest death rate in the region at 4.2 per cent.
The findings today prompted one top expert to call on all cancer surgeons to follow the lead of heart specialists and make their results public. In a pioneering initiative, surgical masterclasses are also being launched in Yorkshire by local specialists which they hope will be adopted nationwide.
Leeds pathologist Prof Phil Quirke, a lead author of the study funded by the charities Yorkshire Cancer Research and Cancer Research UK, said death rates were falling but there was “considerable scope for improvement”.
“It is now time for colorectal cancer, and subsequently other cancer teams, to follow the example of the UK’s cardiothoracic surgeons who have openly reported their surgical outcomes since 1998, leading to improved outcomes for cardiothoracic surgical mortality across the country.”
Co-author Prof Paul Finan, of Leeds General Infirmary, said: “It’s vital to learn from the trusts with very low post-operative mortality so that we can identify and spread best practice across the NHS and so help to reduce post-operative mortality further.”
Ciarán Devane, chief executive at Macmillan Cancer Support, described the differences as “worrying” and added: “Such variation in care, and the fact it impacts on how likely a patient is to live, is simply unacceptable.”
Prof Walid Al-Wali, medical director at Rotherham, said latest figures showed mortality rates had significantly improved. “However, it is vital that we identify any issues that may still need to be addressed and the trust is therefore undertaking its own internal review in conjunction with the team of specialist surgeons responsible for delivering this service,” he added.
A North Trent Cancer Network spokesman said latest figures showed mortality rates were now similar to the national average.
source: yorkshirepost.co.uk
www.cancerclaims.co.uk
Oil firm diver dies at sea
A DIVER working for an oil company has died at sea.
The 49-year-old oil worker took ill while diving with the Acergy Osprey, operated by Subsea7 which is based in Westhill.
A helicopter was scrambled to Unst, in the Shetland Islands, where the incident happened, but by the time it reached the ship, the diver had died.
source: eveningexpress.co.uk
www.divingclaims.co.uk
The 49-year-old oil worker took ill while diving with the Acergy Osprey, operated by Subsea7 which is based in Westhill.
A helicopter was scrambled to Unst, in the Shetland Islands, where the incident happened, but by the time it reached the ship, the diver had died.
source: eveningexpress.co.uk
www.divingclaims.co.uk
More than just maintenance...
You won't necessarily notice the savings from maintaining your equipment well. But you will notice the hefty cost if you don't.
Your machinery will run at maximum performance and efficiency if it is well maintained. Neglect any element, or fail to check moving parts regularly and you could face large repair bills that could have been averted. If these fall in the middle of harvest or silage-making, the downtime can be very costly indeed.
Perhaps more serious are the legal implications. Injuries at work are both costly and harrowing, and most farm accidents involve poorly maintained machinery. So a little time spent on a proper maintenance plan is a worthwhile investment.
Daily duty
The first thing you do every morning and the last thing you do at night should be to check around your machine. Check there is no damage or wear, that nuts are not loose or missing, that weights are secure, pins are intact and no oil is leaking. Wearing parts on a plough, for example, should always be tightened, adjusted or renewed as necessary.
For the tractor, follow the FLOWER procedure:
Fuel: Refill before every job
Lights: Check they are all working, especially before going on the road
Oil: Check all levels, including engine, back end and hydraulics
Water: Check coolant and top up as necessary
Electrics: Wipers, horn, in-cab electrics and especially trailer electrics should be checked before moving off
Rubber: Check your tyres for wear and condition
You should also check the general condition of your cab, bearing safety in mind. Stray drinks cans, flasks and dogs should not be allowed to get under the clutch or brake pedals.
Filter thought
Air filters are very susceptible to clogging up on a farm. During harvest and when cultivating a filter can accrue enough dust in just half a day to cause a noticeable drop in engine efficiency. These should be cleaned out daily with compressed air.
As well as a daily oil check, oil filters should be changed regularly. On a turbocharged engine, the filter needs to be changed every 200-250 hours, which may mean three changes within a season for some tractors. Oil not only lubricates, but takes out the carbon and transfers heat. Over a period it thins and engine efficiency will drop as a result. Leave it too long before changes and engine rings will wear down quicker, leading to costly repairs. Oil levels in power harrow gearboxes also need regular checks.
Greased and sharp
Grease points need regular attention. Key ones to maintain are around the steering axle and pto shafts. Pushing grease in regularly keeps the dirt out and they wear less quickly. Moving parts on combines and some implements need daily greasing. Where the grease points are remote from the moving part, check the line is still intact and grease is getting to where it should be.
Cutting blades on combines, forage harvesters, mowers and balers should be checked for wear and that they are cutting cleanly. A machine will work a lot harder and perform a poorer job with blunt blades, costing you money. Take extra care when maintaining these - lock the drive shaft or ram so that it doesn't move.
Knotters on the baler can be infuriating when they go wrong. They need regular adjustment so that tolerances are good. Keep them well greased and check for free play every day.
Winter wisdom
A little time spent on implements at the end of the season or during quiet times can save a lot of time getting them ready for the next. On tractors, winter is a good opportunity to change fuel filter, flush out the engine, change radiator coolant and other points and filters that need only occasional servicing. The operator manual will usually point to these. Clean out the cab filter before air gets damp and things start to grow out of the accumulated dust.
On implements check for movement and wear. It's a time to build up weld and take things to pieces, replace worn belts and chains. Always clear straw and chaff out of combines and balers before parking up for the winter. Otherwise they will attract mice who will gnaw seals and could contaminate next year's crop.
Record reward
At the heart of a good maintenance plan lies accurate recording.
The essential elements are that it should be as easy as possible to maintain and should log everything, from fuel fill-ups to gearbox changes. A clipboard or notebook in the tractor cab is the easiest way to keep it. If you also keep an easy-reference periodic chart of when filters and checks should be made, this ensures nothing is missed.
The best systems keep a log of all associated costs. You can then keep an accurate check on the machines and processes costing you the most, and that's when you can make some serious savings.
source: farmersweeklyinteractive - fwi.co.uk
www.machineryclaims.co.uk
Your machinery will run at maximum performance and efficiency if it is well maintained. Neglect any element, or fail to check moving parts regularly and you could face large repair bills that could have been averted. If these fall in the middle of harvest or silage-making, the downtime can be very costly indeed.
Perhaps more serious are the legal implications. Injuries at work are both costly and harrowing, and most farm accidents involve poorly maintained machinery. So a little time spent on a proper maintenance plan is a worthwhile investment.
Daily duty
The first thing you do every morning and the last thing you do at night should be to check around your machine. Check there is no damage or wear, that nuts are not loose or missing, that weights are secure, pins are intact and no oil is leaking. Wearing parts on a plough, for example, should always be tightened, adjusted or renewed as necessary.
For the tractor, follow the FLOWER procedure:
Fuel: Refill before every job
Lights: Check they are all working, especially before going on the road
Oil: Check all levels, including engine, back end and hydraulics
Water: Check coolant and top up as necessary
Electrics: Wipers, horn, in-cab electrics and especially trailer electrics should be checked before moving off
Rubber: Check your tyres for wear and condition
You should also check the general condition of your cab, bearing safety in mind. Stray drinks cans, flasks and dogs should not be allowed to get under the clutch or brake pedals.
Filter thought
Air filters are very susceptible to clogging up on a farm. During harvest and when cultivating a filter can accrue enough dust in just half a day to cause a noticeable drop in engine efficiency. These should be cleaned out daily with compressed air.
As well as a daily oil check, oil filters should be changed regularly. On a turbocharged engine, the filter needs to be changed every 200-250 hours, which may mean three changes within a season for some tractors. Oil not only lubricates, but takes out the carbon and transfers heat. Over a period it thins and engine efficiency will drop as a result. Leave it too long before changes and engine rings will wear down quicker, leading to costly repairs. Oil levels in power harrow gearboxes also need regular checks.
Greased and sharp
Grease points need regular attention. Key ones to maintain are around the steering axle and pto shafts. Pushing grease in regularly keeps the dirt out and they wear less quickly. Moving parts on combines and some implements need daily greasing. Where the grease points are remote from the moving part, check the line is still intact and grease is getting to where it should be.
Cutting blades on combines, forage harvesters, mowers and balers should be checked for wear and that they are cutting cleanly. A machine will work a lot harder and perform a poorer job with blunt blades, costing you money. Take extra care when maintaining these - lock the drive shaft or ram so that it doesn't move.
Knotters on the baler can be infuriating when they go wrong. They need regular adjustment so that tolerances are good. Keep them well greased and check for free play every day.
Winter wisdom
A little time spent on implements at the end of the season or during quiet times can save a lot of time getting them ready for the next. On tractors, winter is a good opportunity to change fuel filter, flush out the engine, change radiator coolant and other points and filters that need only occasional servicing. The operator manual will usually point to these. Clean out the cab filter before air gets damp and things start to grow out of the accumulated dust.
On implements check for movement and wear. It's a time to build up weld and take things to pieces, replace worn belts and chains. Always clear straw and chaff out of combines and balers before parking up for the winter. Otherwise they will attract mice who will gnaw seals and could contaminate next year's crop.
Record reward
At the heart of a good maintenance plan lies accurate recording.
The essential elements are that it should be as easy as possible to maintain and should log everything, from fuel fill-ups to gearbox changes. A clipboard or notebook in the tractor cab is the easiest way to keep it. If you also keep an easy-reference periodic chart of when filters and checks should be made, this ensures nothing is missed.
The best systems keep a log of all associated costs. You can then keep an accurate check on the machines and processes costing you the most, and that's when you can make some serious savings.
source: farmersweeklyinteractive - fwi.co.uk
www.machineryclaims.co.uk
Monday 11 April 2011
Teenage girl gets cancer after using sunbeds since the age of 12
A teenage girl has been diagnosed with skin cancer after visiting tanning salons from the age of 12.
The 17-year-old, from Billingham, Teesside, was diagnosed with malignant melanoma, the most aggressive form of skin cancer, last year.
She told specialists she had been visiting tanning booths using her school dinner money to pay for sessions.
It comes less than a week after student Cerys Harding, from Cardiff, died of skin cancer despite never having used a sunbed in her life.
Susan Waterfield, clinical lead at the Specialist Skin Service, in Linthorpe Road, Middlesbrough, said: 'She is one of the youngest we have seen here. She had been using sunbeds from the age of 12.
'That is extremely young. I don't think it really sunk in to her how life-threatening her cancer was.
'It was her mother who was more upset and shocked. She didn't know her daughter had been using these booths.
It was a very serious situation and thankfully she had the cancer removed and she now has the all-clear.'
Ms Waterfield said clinic had nine referrals for malignant melanoma last year, compared to five the previous year.
She added: 'Nine is a high number for us as we are quite a small service.
'The second youngest we had was a 21-year-old and the others were in their 30s. All of them confessed to using sunbeds from a young age.'
In contrast, Miss Harding's mother Beverly told how her daughter had always tried to avoid sunburn - and never used sunbeds.
'Cerys was so careful,' she said: 'She was the only person on the beach that had a towel over her as well as under her.'
Details of the young girl's battle with skin cancer came as new regulations come into force across the country, banning under 18s from using sunbeds.
Businesses such as tanning salons, beauty shops, leisure centres, gyms and hotels have been told they will face fines of up to £20,000 if under 18s use their sunbeds.
New research has found that more and more young people are being diagnosed with skin cancer compared to 30 years ago, and sunbeds and not being careful in the sun are being blamed.
Ms Waterfield said that more needed to be done to raise the awareness of the dangers of skin cancer.
'Sunbeds really are a nightmare for us,' she said. 'We encourage young people to use fake tan instead. It is a lot safer.
'It is great to hear that salons will be fined. Too many young people are using sunbeds and are just not aware of the dangers they are causing to their health.'
source: dailymail.co.uk
www.cancerclaims.co.uk
The 17-year-old, from Billingham, Teesside, was diagnosed with malignant melanoma, the most aggressive form of skin cancer, last year.
She told specialists she had been visiting tanning booths using her school dinner money to pay for sessions.
It comes less than a week after student Cerys Harding, from Cardiff, died of skin cancer despite never having used a sunbed in her life.
Susan Waterfield, clinical lead at the Specialist Skin Service, in Linthorpe Road, Middlesbrough, said: 'She is one of the youngest we have seen here. She had been using sunbeds from the age of 12.
'That is extremely young. I don't think it really sunk in to her how life-threatening her cancer was.
'It was her mother who was more upset and shocked. She didn't know her daughter had been using these booths.
It was a very serious situation and thankfully she had the cancer removed and she now has the all-clear.'
Ms Waterfield said clinic had nine referrals for malignant melanoma last year, compared to five the previous year.
She added: 'Nine is a high number for us as we are quite a small service.
'The second youngest we had was a 21-year-old and the others were in their 30s. All of them confessed to using sunbeds from a young age.'
In contrast, Miss Harding's mother Beverly told how her daughter had always tried to avoid sunburn - and never used sunbeds.
'Cerys was so careful,' she said: 'She was the only person on the beach that had a towel over her as well as under her.'
Details of the young girl's battle with skin cancer came as new regulations come into force across the country, banning under 18s from using sunbeds.
Businesses such as tanning salons, beauty shops, leisure centres, gyms and hotels have been told they will face fines of up to £20,000 if under 18s use their sunbeds.
New research has found that more and more young people are being diagnosed with skin cancer compared to 30 years ago, and sunbeds and not being careful in the sun are being blamed.
Ms Waterfield said that more needed to be done to raise the awareness of the dangers of skin cancer.
'Sunbeds really are a nightmare for us,' she said. 'We encourage young people to use fake tan instead. It is a lot safer.
'It is great to hear that salons will be fined. Too many young people are using sunbeds and are just not aware of the dangers they are causing to their health.'
source: dailymail.co.uk
www.cancerclaims.co.uk
Mobile theatres in use at Glan Clwyd hospital
Patients are being treated in two mobile operating theatres on a north Wales hospital car park while work is under way to upgrade existing facilities.
The first patients used the portable facilities at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, Bodelwyddan, Denbighshire, on Monday.
They are being used while asbestos is removed from existing theatres.
The theatres are also being "refurbished to modern standards" as part of a £100m hospital development.
Neil Bradshaw, executive director of planning at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, described the mobile theatres as a "state of the art facility".
He said they will help hospital staff "maintain services" whilst the "essential work" is carried out.
The theatres - occupying a consultants' car park at the side of the main hospital building - have an anaesthetics room and a recovery area and will be in use until spring 2012.
They have electrical and mechanical services, a ventilation system to provide clean air, a medical gas system and operating table.
The asbestos removal and theatre upgrade - costing £5.7m - is the first phase of the hospital development.
Other work includes improvements to facilities and services in accident and emergency and critical care.
source: bbc.co.uk
www.claims4wales.com
www.asbestoscompensationclaim.co.uk
The first patients used the portable facilities at Ysbyty Glan Clwyd, Bodelwyddan, Denbighshire, on Monday.
They are being used while asbestos is removed from existing theatres.
The theatres are also being "refurbished to modern standards" as part of a £100m hospital development.
Neil Bradshaw, executive director of planning at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, described the mobile theatres as a "state of the art facility".
He said they will help hospital staff "maintain services" whilst the "essential work" is carried out.
The theatres - occupying a consultants' car park at the side of the main hospital building - have an anaesthetics room and a recovery area and will be in use until spring 2012.
They have electrical and mechanical services, a ventilation system to provide clean air, a medical gas system and operating table.
The asbestos removal and theatre upgrade - costing £5.7m - is the first phase of the hospital development.
Other work includes improvements to facilities and services in accident and emergency and critical care.
source: bbc.co.uk
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