Welcome to Industrial Injuries
Industrial injuries can be defined as effects which cause physical harm to you during work. The most affected areas are the limbs, spine, lungs, eyes, ears, etc.
It is the duty of the company you work with to provide safe premises and ergonomics so that you are not subject to physical discomfort after a certain period. Most of the companies are covered by insurance to settle such cases and hence, nothing can stop you from claiming compensation if you have been injured.
After Stephen Hepburn, MP for Jarrow, asked Blair to address the issue of employers who fail to compensate employees with asbestos-related disease at Prime Minister's Questions this week, the Prime Minister has agreed to meet MPs to discuss the issue.
The MPs want the government to reverse a legal ruling made by the House of Lords by tabling a brief amendment to the Compensation Bill. Over thirty MPs have signed a Commons motion asking for action.
Compensation culture has handed a boost to the dying National Union of Miners with sick miners being misled into handing over millions of pounds by a firm of solicitors.
The mining industry had almost collapsed after the 1984 strike. By 1998, the roll was down to 13,000 from 171,000 at the start of the dispute. With each pit closure, membership plunged. Today, Britain has only eight deep mines in production and 9,300 working miners.
The two schemes set up for miners to claim damages for vibration white finger and respiratory ailments have been a gold mine for NUM and their lawyers, Raleys. The union knocked down to a fraction of its heyday membership was struggling along with only 13, 000 member in 1998 after a membership of 171,000 in 1984.
But the victory of miners against British Coal in 1997 and 1998 was an eye opener for NUM. They wanted to help their ex-members and in the process they helped themselves- to millions.
From the 1940's until 1967 when the National Docks Labour Board was disbanded, being a dockworker was a hard, insecure way to make a living. Men collected at the dockyard each morning and were herded into pens.
When ships arrived the dock board staff would choose men to go and off load a ship. If you refused to do the job, you were sacked. You got paid on a daily basis, with no job security or benefits.
For the first time in history, a High Court justice has ruled that smokers need to accept responsibility for the damage caused to their own bodies by their smoking. Justice Stanley Burton was ruling in the case brought by the widow of Reginald Badger. Badger worked as a boilermaker on docks in Devonport in Plymouth and in Gibraltar and was exposed to asbestos.
Mrs. Badger won the case and was to receive £148,000 in compensation, but Justice Burton slashed 20% off the award saying that Badger needed to be held accountable for the affect on his health from his smoking.
A report investigating the administration of the multi billion pound scheme for miners criticises the government for poor administration.
The scheme was set up to compensate British miners for ailments they acquired through their work.
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