A BRIXHAM fishing boat skipper who fell asleep and crashed his 12-metre trawler into the South Devon port's breakwater has been fined £11,873.
Ian Hurford (pictured above), 35, from Lakes Road pleaded guilty to failing to maintain a lookout on board his day trawler Angelina on September 23 last year and failing to discharge his duties when he appeared at Torquay Magistrates court.
Fining Hurford £3,500 for each offence and giving him credit for his early guilty plea, chairman of the bench Anne Tully said his actions were 'dangerous to the extreme'.
She added: "You are an experienced fisherman, who has been out at sea all your life.
"You had recently been on a watch training programme and both these offences show a woeful lack of competence which could have resulted in harm at a busy harbour entrance. It was lucky no one else was injured."
She fined Hurford the maximum possible and also ordered him to pay the full costs of the Maritime and Coastguard Agency costs which totalled £4,858.31 plus the £15 victim surcharge.
Prosecuting on behalf of the MCA, Robert Newman listed a seven-day log of fishing trips running up to the accident at 9pm that frequently saw Hurford setting sail at 4am and not returning until 16 hours later. Three days before the accident he went out on a 42-hour fishing trip without returning to port.
The day before the accident he fished for 18 and a half hours and on the day of the accident he had set sail at 4am.
Hurford was interviewed two months after the accident by Captain Andrew Phillips from the MCA.
During that interview, which was read to the court, he said: "I got into the bay and the heat just got to me and the next thing I know we have hit the shore."
Capt Phillips asked Hurford if he had 'dozed off' and Hurford replied: "Yes I think I must have dozed off.
"We sort of bounced off it a bit, we weren't wedged really hard."
Mr Newman said: "Falling asleep at the helm is not consistent with the skipper's duty and if someone had been there he would not have seen them in any event."
Hurford explained he had since changed his crew working practices and installed a watch alarm that sounds every five minutes.
In mitigation David Hassall, for Hurford, said his client's trawler was 'a tiddler in the fleet' and had needed expensive repairs to the hull which cost £7,000. Repairs to the gearbox are estimated at between £14,000 and £20,000 and winch repairs have cost £10,000. He also broke his fibula in December and has hardly worked, landing a gross total of only £12,000 worth of fish since the injury.
Mr Hassall, said: "He bounced off the breakwater, no one was hurt, no public property was damaged, and the only damage was to his own vessel, his pride and reputation as a skipper.
"He is the third generation of fishermen and has been assisting his father, effectively since he was in nappies."
Mr Hassall also said the prosecution's costs were 'excessive'.
Speaking after the hearing Capt Phillips said: "You must take into account fatigue because it can catch up and bite you when you least expect it.
"The message is clear and unequivocal."
Brixham Harbourmaster, Paul Labistour, said: "This incident highlights the need for mariners to keep a safe look-out at all times, to ensure that they have sufficient rest periods and that they maintain a proper bridge management regime."
source: thisissouthdevon.co.uk
Offshore Claims
Monday, 9 May 2011
How I got my face back
When Kelly-Ann’s face was flattened in a horrific horse-riding accident, doctors warned she might die, or suffer severe brain damage. Now she’s a smart, pretty teenager who’s still happiest in the saddle
Looking down at her little girl lying in a crumpled heap on the grass, Carol Challinor was numb with horror. Thrown from a horse, which reared and hit her square in the head, 9-year-old Kelly-Ann’s face was a bloody, unrecognisable mess.
“I honestly didn’t believe it was my daughter lying there,” remembers Carol. “It was the most horrific thing. Her face was completely crushed.
“Her eyes… One of her eyes looked like it was coming right out. There was blood coming out of her nose and her ear. And she was thrashing around.
“It was just the most awful thing I’ve ever seen. I honestly looked at her and thought ‘There must be some mistake: this isn’t Kelly-Ann’ – but it was.”
Kelly-Ann had sustained major head injuries. Her entire face had been flattened: her jaw, cheekbones, eye orbits, nose and skull were all fractured in multiple places. Rushed to Addenbrooke’s, doctors warned Kelly-Ann might die; if she survived, they cautioned she could have severe brain damage.
To see Kelly-Ann now, a bright, outgoing and seriously sporty 15-year-old, it’s clear her recovery has been little short of miraculous. Her face – which had to be almost completely rebuilt by surgeons – looks totally normal; the only sign of her traumatic accident is a long scar, hidden in her hairline.
Excelling at school, she is predicted straight As and A*s in her upcoming GCSEs. She has a busy social life and appears to live for sport, listing rowing, rounders, athletics, netball and rugby among her favoured pastimes.
Most amazingly of all, Kelly-Ann is a keen and accomplished horsewoman who harbours ambitions of becoming a top-flight eventer; last summer saw her compete in the British Riding Club Junior National Eventing Championships.
So didn’t her accident put her off? “Oh no,” smiles Kelly-Ann, who lives in Exning. “I just saw it as a bit of a blip, which meant I couldn’t ride for a while. For me it’s always been horses, ever since I started riding at about five or six.”
Carol and husband Noel moved to Britain, from their native South Africa, when Kelly-Ann and younger brother Robert were still tots. “It’s really horses that brought us here,” explains Carol – Noel works at Exning’s Northmoor Stud, and the couple also keep a small yard of their own. “But this is home now, most definitely our home.”
At the time of her accident, Kelly-Ann had her own pony, Chrissy. But that day she was riding another, decidedly more temperamental horse. “I asked her to do something a second time and she decided she didn’t want to do it,” recounts the teenager. “She reared up, knocked me out and fell over backwards; instead of landing right on top of me, she hit me with the side of her head. I actually don’t remember anything about it, not a thing.”
Carol, in a nearby barn, heard screaming: “I heard someone saying ‘Kelly, breathe!’ and I knew something was majorly wrong. I ran over to where she was… I thought ‘This is it. Our lives are never going to be the same again’.”
Within minutes First Responders and then Magpas were on the scene. “I was dead calm. Dead, dead calm,” continues Carol. “Once they all arrived I just stepped back, to let them get on with their jobs. It wasn’t until we got to the hospital that it really hit me – and then my wheels just fell off… I was convinced that, if she survived, she would be severely brain damaged.”
Blue-lighted to Addenbrooke’s, Noel says a team of 15 medics was waiting ‘like a scene from ER’. Putting Kelly-Ann in a drug-induced coma, they proceeded to take numerous x-rays in attempt to assess the damage.
The Challinors still have copies of those images – and they make frightening viewing. A side view shows that Kelly-Ann’s whole face had been pushed back into her head; among the most serious injuries was a huge rip across her forehead, and a split at the base of her skull.
“Those fractures occurred either side of her riding hat,” says Noel. “If she hadn’t been wearing that, everything in between would have been crushed too. Without a doubt, that hat saved her life.”
Kelly-Ann remained in the coma, on drips and ventilation in paediatric intensive care (known as PICU), for five days. Coming round was, she says, something of a blur: “To start with, I thought I was having a dream. I dreamt I was flying, then I heard all these voices around me… And I can remember a lady coming and helping me do some drawings: typically, I wanted to draw my pony.”
As the swelling in her head subsided, doctors were pleased with Kelly-Ann’s brain function. But it was clear she would need complex surgery to reconstruct her face; the surgeons, remembers Carol, were frank about the risks involved.
A team of experts – including maxillofacial, neuro and ophthalmic surgeons – all played a part. Reassembling Kelly-Ann’s bone structure was extra-challenging because of her age: aware she had a lot more growing to do, surgeons were reluctant to insert too much metalwork; in the end, only two metal plates were used (in her forehead and one cheekbone) along with some wiring.
By making incisions high on her forehead and inside her mouth, scarring was kept to a minimum. But doctors did have to remove all Kelly-Ann’s hair, which she remembers as ‘one of the worst moments’. “I woke up and all my hair was gone. It sounds silly, but that seemed really awful. That was one of the worst moments, second only to removing the plaster from my head: the nurses let me do it myself, it was so painful, and it took me forever.”
“That was the first time in all of this that this child cried,” says Carol.
“And she was very upset about her hair: she had long, blonde locks at the time and she loved them. Robert was so supportive: he said straight away
‘I’m going to shave my head too’. I took my hair off as well, so the three of us were skinheads together.”
Among Carol’s most abiding memories is the moment Kelly-Ann first saw herself in the mirror. “It was about two days before she was discharged and her grandmother and I took her for a bath. She looked at herself in the mirror and didn’t say a word; the tears just rolled silently down her cheeks.”
“We’d been warned that, because of the location of her forehead injury, two things might happen: she might lose her sense of smell, and her personality could be affected,” continues Carol. “Well, as you can see, she has plenty of personality. And, a few days after the op, Noel took in some flowers; as he walked through the door, Kelly-Ann said ‘Oh, those flowers smell lovely’. At the time, her eyes were still so swollen she couldn’t even see the flowers were there. That seemed amazing.”
A week after the surgery, Kelly-Ann was allowed home. But it was months before life began to get back to normal. So weak she had to use a wheelchair to begin with, the schoolgirl couldn’t bathe or dress or even walk unaided. “I had to literally crawl up the stairs,” she remembers. “As well as having a headache I was really dizzy, so I couldn’t even walk in a straight line. Going from being a really sporty person to that was a bit of a shock.”
Kelly-Ann’s main focus was getting back in the saddle. The accident happened on April 21 and by the following August, less than four months later, she was aboard a pony and taking part in a riding school fun day. Soon after that, Kelly-Ann was once again riding at every opportunity.
Aside from some eye problems – for a time she suffered with double vision – and a second op on her sinuses, Kelly-Ann’s health has gone from strength to strength and, last year, she was finally discharged from Addenbrooke’s. The Challinors say they cannot praise both hospital and Magpas staff enough and make no bones about the fact they saved their daughter’s life.
“We are incredibly blessed,” adds Carol. “I’m not an overly religious person, but the power of prayer is unbelievable. That’s one thing I did a lot of that first night – praying. And I know a lot of family and friends were praying for Kelly-Ann too; we had so much support.”
Now looking to the future, Kelly-Ann has the ‘joy’ of exams ahead and intends ‘to see just how far we can take the riding’.
“She does really well at school. We went to a parents’ evening the other day and it was just ridiculous,” laughs Noel. “Every single teacher said ‘Her marks are pretty well straight As, what else can I tell you?’.
“She’s got a great circle of friends and she works hard – everything she does, she gives it 100 per cent. She’s amazed us all. To be honest, we couldn’t be more proud.”
source: cambridge-news.co.uk
Brain Injury Claims
Looking down at her little girl lying in a crumpled heap on the grass, Carol Challinor was numb with horror. Thrown from a horse, which reared and hit her square in the head, 9-year-old Kelly-Ann’s face was a bloody, unrecognisable mess.
“I honestly didn’t believe it was my daughter lying there,” remembers Carol. “It was the most horrific thing. Her face was completely crushed.
“Her eyes… One of her eyes looked like it was coming right out. There was blood coming out of her nose and her ear. And she was thrashing around.
“It was just the most awful thing I’ve ever seen. I honestly looked at her and thought ‘There must be some mistake: this isn’t Kelly-Ann’ – but it was.”
Kelly-Ann had sustained major head injuries. Her entire face had been flattened: her jaw, cheekbones, eye orbits, nose and skull were all fractured in multiple places. Rushed to Addenbrooke’s, doctors warned Kelly-Ann might die; if she survived, they cautioned she could have severe brain damage.
To see Kelly-Ann now, a bright, outgoing and seriously sporty 15-year-old, it’s clear her recovery has been little short of miraculous. Her face – which had to be almost completely rebuilt by surgeons – looks totally normal; the only sign of her traumatic accident is a long scar, hidden in her hairline.
Excelling at school, she is predicted straight As and A*s in her upcoming GCSEs. She has a busy social life and appears to live for sport, listing rowing, rounders, athletics, netball and rugby among her favoured pastimes.
Most amazingly of all, Kelly-Ann is a keen and accomplished horsewoman who harbours ambitions of becoming a top-flight eventer; last summer saw her compete in the British Riding Club Junior National Eventing Championships.
So didn’t her accident put her off? “Oh no,” smiles Kelly-Ann, who lives in Exning. “I just saw it as a bit of a blip, which meant I couldn’t ride for a while. For me it’s always been horses, ever since I started riding at about five or six.”
Carol and husband Noel moved to Britain, from their native South Africa, when Kelly-Ann and younger brother Robert were still tots. “It’s really horses that brought us here,” explains Carol – Noel works at Exning’s Northmoor Stud, and the couple also keep a small yard of their own. “But this is home now, most definitely our home.”
At the time of her accident, Kelly-Ann had her own pony, Chrissy. But that day she was riding another, decidedly more temperamental horse. “I asked her to do something a second time and she decided she didn’t want to do it,” recounts the teenager. “She reared up, knocked me out and fell over backwards; instead of landing right on top of me, she hit me with the side of her head. I actually don’t remember anything about it, not a thing.”
Carol, in a nearby barn, heard screaming: “I heard someone saying ‘Kelly, breathe!’ and I knew something was majorly wrong. I ran over to where she was… I thought ‘This is it. Our lives are never going to be the same again’.”
Within minutes First Responders and then Magpas were on the scene. “I was dead calm. Dead, dead calm,” continues Carol. “Once they all arrived I just stepped back, to let them get on with their jobs. It wasn’t until we got to the hospital that it really hit me – and then my wheels just fell off… I was convinced that, if she survived, she would be severely brain damaged.”
Blue-lighted to Addenbrooke’s, Noel says a team of 15 medics was waiting ‘like a scene from ER’. Putting Kelly-Ann in a drug-induced coma, they proceeded to take numerous x-rays in attempt to assess the damage.
The Challinors still have copies of those images – and they make frightening viewing. A side view shows that Kelly-Ann’s whole face had been pushed back into her head; among the most serious injuries was a huge rip across her forehead, and a split at the base of her skull.
“Those fractures occurred either side of her riding hat,” says Noel. “If she hadn’t been wearing that, everything in between would have been crushed too. Without a doubt, that hat saved her life.”
Kelly-Ann remained in the coma, on drips and ventilation in paediatric intensive care (known as PICU), for five days. Coming round was, she says, something of a blur: “To start with, I thought I was having a dream. I dreamt I was flying, then I heard all these voices around me… And I can remember a lady coming and helping me do some drawings: typically, I wanted to draw my pony.”
As the swelling in her head subsided, doctors were pleased with Kelly-Ann’s brain function. But it was clear she would need complex surgery to reconstruct her face; the surgeons, remembers Carol, were frank about the risks involved.
A team of experts – including maxillofacial, neuro and ophthalmic surgeons – all played a part. Reassembling Kelly-Ann’s bone structure was extra-challenging because of her age: aware she had a lot more growing to do, surgeons were reluctant to insert too much metalwork; in the end, only two metal plates were used (in her forehead and one cheekbone) along with some wiring.
By making incisions high on her forehead and inside her mouth, scarring was kept to a minimum. But doctors did have to remove all Kelly-Ann’s hair, which she remembers as ‘one of the worst moments’. “I woke up and all my hair was gone. It sounds silly, but that seemed really awful. That was one of the worst moments, second only to removing the plaster from my head: the nurses let me do it myself, it was so painful, and it took me forever.”
“That was the first time in all of this that this child cried,” says Carol.
“And she was very upset about her hair: she had long, blonde locks at the time and she loved them. Robert was so supportive: he said straight away
‘I’m going to shave my head too’. I took my hair off as well, so the three of us were skinheads together.”
Among Carol’s most abiding memories is the moment Kelly-Ann first saw herself in the mirror. “It was about two days before she was discharged and her grandmother and I took her for a bath. She looked at herself in the mirror and didn’t say a word; the tears just rolled silently down her cheeks.”
“We’d been warned that, because of the location of her forehead injury, two things might happen: she might lose her sense of smell, and her personality could be affected,” continues Carol. “Well, as you can see, she has plenty of personality. And, a few days after the op, Noel took in some flowers; as he walked through the door, Kelly-Ann said ‘Oh, those flowers smell lovely’. At the time, her eyes were still so swollen she couldn’t even see the flowers were there. That seemed amazing.”
A week after the surgery, Kelly-Ann was allowed home. But it was months before life began to get back to normal. So weak she had to use a wheelchair to begin with, the schoolgirl couldn’t bathe or dress or even walk unaided. “I had to literally crawl up the stairs,” she remembers. “As well as having a headache I was really dizzy, so I couldn’t even walk in a straight line. Going from being a really sporty person to that was a bit of a shock.”
Kelly-Ann’s main focus was getting back in the saddle. The accident happened on April 21 and by the following August, less than four months later, she was aboard a pony and taking part in a riding school fun day. Soon after that, Kelly-Ann was once again riding at every opportunity.
Aside from some eye problems – for a time she suffered with double vision – and a second op on her sinuses, Kelly-Ann’s health has gone from strength to strength and, last year, she was finally discharged from Addenbrooke’s. The Challinors say they cannot praise both hospital and Magpas staff enough and make no bones about the fact they saved their daughter’s life.
“We are incredibly blessed,” adds Carol. “I’m not an overly religious person, but the power of prayer is unbelievable. That’s one thing I did a lot of that first night – praying. And I know a lot of family and friends were praying for Kelly-Ann too; we had so much support.”
Now looking to the future, Kelly-Ann has the ‘joy’ of exams ahead and intends ‘to see just how far we can take the riding’.
“She does really well at school. We went to a parents’ evening the other day and it was just ridiculous,” laughs Noel. “Every single teacher said ‘Her marks are pretty well straight As, what else can I tell you?’.
“She’s got a great circle of friends and she works hard – everything she does, she gives it 100 per cent. She’s amazed us all. To be honest, we couldn’t be more proud.”
source: cambridge-news.co.uk
Brain Injury Claims
2011 Asbestos Liability & Legacy Seminars
A range of asbestos seminars are being held across the UK between May and July 2011 for the purpose of instilling industry minimum standards and best practice.
This year's series of seminars are client focused with an aim to educate and instil industry minimum standards and best practice for clients, managers and directors who are directly and indirectly involved with asbestos management.
The seminars will provide a recent review of changes to asbestos management, current asbestos industry standards which should be employed by clients and also there is ample opportunity to answer any questions that are of concern to you.
The aim is for delegates to leave the seminars empowered with up to date knowledge which will help them understand fully the legal obligations they are under but also with the tools on how to manage their asbestos in the most efficient, cost effective and health and safety conscious manner especially during times of austerity.
The events have been arranged by ATAC (Asbestos Testing And Consulting association) and also the BOHS (British Occupational Hygiene Society). Full details of the events or for further asbestos information can be found at atac.org.uk or delegates can book directly at bohs.org/asbestos2011.
Ian Stone Association Manager of ATAC commented "We are really looking forward to this years round of seminars which follow on from the survey guide seminars which we organised last year. I have changed the format of the seminars with a view to educate rather than just inform delegates with information, I have also included more Q&A sessions with an open forum at the end of all the sessions where delegates can network and discuss any issues they have with the speakers"
The seminars are open to anyone and there are special rates for various organisation members (ATAC, BOHS, IOSH, APS, BIFM, ARCA, SCI) at £100 + VAT.
The Non Members price is £130 + VAT, however discounts will still be offered on group bookings
source: industrytoday.co.uk
Asbestos Claims
This year's series of seminars are client focused with an aim to educate and instil industry minimum standards and best practice for clients, managers and directors who are directly and indirectly involved with asbestos management.
The seminars will provide a recent review of changes to asbestos management, current asbestos industry standards which should be employed by clients and also there is ample opportunity to answer any questions that are of concern to you.
The aim is for delegates to leave the seminars empowered with up to date knowledge which will help them understand fully the legal obligations they are under but also with the tools on how to manage their asbestos in the most efficient, cost effective and health and safety conscious manner especially during times of austerity.
The events have been arranged by ATAC (Asbestos Testing And Consulting association) and also the BOHS (British Occupational Hygiene Society). Full details of the events or for further asbestos information can be found at atac.org.uk or delegates can book directly at bohs.org/asbestos2011.
Ian Stone Association Manager of ATAC commented "We are really looking forward to this years round of seminars which follow on from the survey guide seminars which we organised last year. I have changed the format of the seminars with a view to educate rather than just inform delegates with information, I have also included more Q&A sessions with an open forum at the end of all the sessions where delegates can network and discuss any issues they have with the speakers"
The seminars are open to anyone and there are special rates for various organisation members (ATAC, BOHS, IOSH, APS, BIFM, ARCA, SCI) at £100 + VAT.
The Non Members price is £130 + VAT, however discounts will still be offered on group bookings
source: industrytoday.co.uk
Asbestos Claims
Healthier lifestyle ‘could save 20,000 from breast cancer’
Almost 20,000 breast cancer cases could be avoided every year in Britain if women drank less alcohol, improved their diets and exercised more, experts claim.
The World Cancer Research Fund said about two in five cases would be prevented if people adopted healthier lifestyles.
Studies show being more physically active, reducing alcohol consumption and keeping to a healthy weight can minimise the risk of developing the disease.
More than one in five British women is classified as obese, and research has found those affected are almost 50 per cent more likely to die from breast cancer than women carrying less weight.
It is unclear exactly why larger women are more prone to the disease. Changes in sex-hormone levels triggered by weight gain may be behind oestrogen-dependent tumours, which form the majority of cases.
Drinking just one large glass of wine a day also increases the chance of developing breast cancer by a fifth, say experts.
Again, the exact reason is unclear but it is thought alcohol raises levels of oestrogen in the body.
Dr Rachel Thompson, deputy head of science at the WCRF, said: ‘We still have a long way to go to raise awareness about what women can do.
‘It is very worrying that in the UK there are tens of thousands of cases of breast cancer which could be prevented every year. People can do a lot to reduce their chances of developing cancer.
‘Overall, we estimate about a third of the most common cancers could be prevented through a healthy diet, being physically active and maintaining a healthy weight.’
The proportion of breast cancer cases believed to be avoidable is considerably higher.
The charity has produced a revised estimate of the number of avoidable breast cancers which is 2,000 cases higher than its 2009 figure, to reflect the rising number of cases.
The most recent figures available show there were 47,600 new instances of breast cancer in the UK in 2008. The WCRF estimates about 42 per cent of these – roughly 20,000 – could have been prevented through healthier lifestyle choices.
The charity recommends women should attempt to be as lean as possible without becoming underweight, be physically active for at least 30 minutes a day, and limit alcoholic drinks, if consumed at all, to one a day.
Dr Lisa Wilde, director of research at the Breast Cancer Campaign, agreed that ‘diet and lifestyle are significant breast cancer risk factors’.
She said: ‘We would recommend that people who want to lower their risk of developing the disease reduce their alcohol consumption, take exercise whenever possible and maintain a healthy weight.
‘However, it is important to remember that there are many other breast cancer risk factors and we cannot control two of the biggest – age and family history of the disease.
‘Therefore, finding breast cancer early when most treatable gives the best possible chance of survival – so it is vital to be breast aware and report any changes to your GP.’
source: dailymail.co.uk
Cancer Claims
The World Cancer Research Fund said about two in five cases would be prevented if people adopted healthier lifestyles.
Studies show being more physically active, reducing alcohol consumption and keeping to a healthy weight can minimise the risk of developing the disease.
More than one in five British women is classified as obese, and research has found those affected are almost 50 per cent more likely to die from breast cancer than women carrying less weight.
It is unclear exactly why larger women are more prone to the disease. Changes in sex-hormone levels triggered by weight gain may be behind oestrogen-dependent tumours, which form the majority of cases.
Drinking just one large glass of wine a day also increases the chance of developing breast cancer by a fifth, say experts.
Again, the exact reason is unclear but it is thought alcohol raises levels of oestrogen in the body.
Dr Rachel Thompson, deputy head of science at the WCRF, said: ‘We still have a long way to go to raise awareness about what women can do.
‘It is very worrying that in the UK there are tens of thousands of cases of breast cancer which could be prevented every year. People can do a lot to reduce their chances of developing cancer.
‘Overall, we estimate about a third of the most common cancers could be prevented through a healthy diet, being physically active and maintaining a healthy weight.’
The proportion of breast cancer cases believed to be avoidable is considerably higher.
The charity has produced a revised estimate of the number of avoidable breast cancers which is 2,000 cases higher than its 2009 figure, to reflect the rising number of cases.
The most recent figures available show there were 47,600 new instances of breast cancer in the UK in 2008. The WCRF estimates about 42 per cent of these – roughly 20,000 – could have been prevented through healthier lifestyle choices.
The charity recommends women should attempt to be as lean as possible without becoming underweight, be physically active for at least 30 minutes a day, and limit alcoholic drinks, if consumed at all, to one a day.
Dr Lisa Wilde, director of research at the Breast Cancer Campaign, agreed that ‘diet and lifestyle are significant breast cancer risk factors’.
She said: ‘We would recommend that people who want to lower their risk of developing the disease reduce their alcohol consumption, take exercise whenever possible and maintain a healthy weight.
‘However, it is important to remember that there are many other breast cancer risk factors and we cannot control two of the biggest – age and family history of the disease.
‘Therefore, finding breast cancer early when most treatable gives the best possible chance of survival – so it is vital to be breast aware and report any changes to your GP.’
source: dailymail.co.uk
Cancer Claims
Thursday, 5 May 2011
Motorcyclist died after month-long battle with his crash injuries
THE inquest into the death of a motorcyclist who died after losing control of his bike has heard how he fought for almost a month before succumbing to his injuries.
David Anthony Forward, 41, a self- employed fencer, had been taking a corner on his blue Yamaha 600cc bike when it left the B1225 Caistor High Street at Thoresway, near Market Rasen, and hit a wall on August 12, 2009.
The court heard how despite the "best efforts" of staff at Lincoln County Hospital, he died on September 9, 2009 from multiple organ failure and sepsis due to his injuries, which included bruising on his brain, 11 fractured ribs, a fractured arm and two spinal fractures as well as a head injury.
The coroner's court at Lincoln Registry Office yesterday heard how Mr Forward, from Grimsby, had not yet passed his test and was driving on a provisional licence, but had clocked up more than 9,000 miles in less than a year of owning the bike.
A statement from friend Michael Richie read out in court said: "He was out every opportunity he could when the weather was good.
"He was a competent rider and always willing to seek advice and listen and learn."
Evidence showed that on the day of accident, Mr Forward had gone out with three friends on a ride, when he lost control on a right-hand turn.
He had drifted onto the verge but applied the front brake, forcing him into a slide, sending him across the road and slamming him into a wall headfirst, cracking his helmet.
Mr Forward had been going no more than 40mph, witnesses said.
"I was saying in my head 'don't pull the front brake, don't pull the front brake, don't pull the front break," said Mr Richie. "It was the slowest, most ridiculous accident I have ever seen."
Immediately after the crash, Mr Forward was conscious and talking, but his condition got steadily worse over the next month, the court heard. Giving evidence at the inquest yesterday, Dr Edward Cowley, consultant in critical care and anaesthesia at Lincoln County Hospital, told the court how his team had "done everything" to ensure Mr Forward would still be able to walk after discovering the cracks in his spine.
"The view that we took was that there was little point in saving a man's life to have him paralysed from the neck down," said Dr Cowley.
"Therefore, paramount above all was not to paralyse him if he was not already paralysed."
He added that severe fevers and further complications led to more brain damage, and after talks with Mr Forward's family, treatment was stopped.
Giving his verdict, deputy assistant coroner Paul Smith said: "In isolation his injures were serious; in totality they were life-threatening.
"Sadly, Mr Forward died as a result of those injuries, despite the best efforts of the medical professionals at Lincoln County Hospital. I record a verdict of accidental death."
source: thisislincolnshire.co.uk
Lincolnshire Claims
David Anthony Forward, 41, a self- employed fencer, had been taking a corner on his blue Yamaha 600cc bike when it left the B1225 Caistor High Street at Thoresway, near Market Rasen, and hit a wall on August 12, 2009.
The court heard how despite the "best efforts" of staff at Lincoln County Hospital, he died on September 9, 2009 from multiple organ failure and sepsis due to his injuries, which included bruising on his brain, 11 fractured ribs, a fractured arm and two spinal fractures as well as a head injury.
The coroner's court at Lincoln Registry Office yesterday heard how Mr Forward, from Grimsby, had not yet passed his test and was driving on a provisional licence, but had clocked up more than 9,000 miles in less than a year of owning the bike.
A statement from friend Michael Richie read out in court said: "He was out every opportunity he could when the weather was good.
"He was a competent rider and always willing to seek advice and listen and learn."
Evidence showed that on the day of accident, Mr Forward had gone out with three friends on a ride, when he lost control on a right-hand turn.
He had drifted onto the verge but applied the front brake, forcing him into a slide, sending him across the road and slamming him into a wall headfirst, cracking his helmet.
Mr Forward had been going no more than 40mph, witnesses said.
"I was saying in my head 'don't pull the front brake, don't pull the front brake, don't pull the front break," said Mr Richie. "It was the slowest, most ridiculous accident I have ever seen."
Immediately after the crash, Mr Forward was conscious and talking, but his condition got steadily worse over the next month, the court heard. Giving evidence at the inquest yesterday, Dr Edward Cowley, consultant in critical care and anaesthesia at Lincoln County Hospital, told the court how his team had "done everything" to ensure Mr Forward would still be able to walk after discovering the cracks in his spine.
"The view that we took was that there was little point in saving a man's life to have him paralysed from the neck down," said Dr Cowley.
"Therefore, paramount above all was not to paralyse him if he was not already paralysed."
He added that severe fevers and further complications led to more brain damage, and after talks with Mr Forward's family, treatment was stopped.
Giving his verdict, deputy assistant coroner Paul Smith said: "In isolation his injures were serious; in totality they were life-threatening.
"Sadly, Mr Forward died as a result of those injuries, despite the best efforts of the medical professionals at Lincoln County Hospital. I record a verdict of accidental death."
source: thisislincolnshire.co.uk
Lincolnshire Claims
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