I am familiar with the tragic story of 14 year old Kaylee McIntosh, who died while on an Army Cadet training exercise, Thompsons having represented her family at the Fatal Accident Inquiry. The next stage of the process is now in motion as we h...

I was amazed that it was this week revealed that the UK Government have cited the views of an ‘expert’ who has never met a victim of asbestos related disease, as a reason for delaying their decision on whether pleural plaques sufferers are due compensation in England.

Thanks to a successful campaign by Thompsons, together with trade unions and asbestos charities, the Damages (Asbestos Related Conditions) (Scotland) Act 2009 was passed.  This change in the law meant that victims of pleural plaques in Scotland can pursue compensation for their condition provided they contracted their disease while working for a Scottish company.

I am sad to say that if you live down south the same rights do not exist.

The document relied on, Professor Robert Maynard’s report ‘Medical Aspects of Pleural Plaques’ to support the English point of view has been revealed to be “at best dubious” given that Professor Maynard has no experience in the field of Pleural Plaques!

Jane Howie of the Bradford Asbestos Victim Support Group commented:

“It happens time and time again that professors pretend to know what they are talking about and end up defending the indefensible”

The rights of asbestos victims to compensation is an area I feel very strongly about and I hope our campaigning friends down south get the right result soon.

 

 

As someone who represents a lot of bus and train drivers I was pleased to see that Labour MSP Hugh Henry has launched a bill last week aimed at protecting these persons from violence or harassment at work.

Mr. Henry says the Bill will help impose harsher sentencing on a “thuggish minority” who’s thoughtless and inexcusable actions cause the whole community to suffer. For example, if a bus driver is assaulted primarily he or she suffers but secondary to this, others suffer as the bus service is removed causing them to miss work or other appointments.

The Bill aims to be an extension to the Emergency Workers Act 2005.  I have a special interest in this piece of law as Thompsons Solicitors are consulting with Trade Unions and the Scottish government with a view to improving this piece of legislation.

It is a source of shame that a minority of idiots continues to thoughtlessly attack transport workers.

Sanctions under the new bill could be up to a year in jail or a £10,000 fine.

Thompsons together with trade unions will press for the harshest sanctions possible by campaigning to improve the law to protect the working man and woman.

It is again the time of year when lists are being written and checked twice.  It’s also the time of year when I am made aware of clients and friends adding their names to the expanding list of those who have been caught out by internet fraud.

On their own list, the police have busted more than 1,000 scam websites selling everything from fake Ugg boots to supposed Tiffany & Co jewellery so far in the run up to Christmas. Over 1200 of these websites, run by organised criminal networks have been taken down.

Even with the credit crunch the value of internet sales by UK businesses rose by 36.6 per cent this year E-commerce now accounts for 9.8 per cent of UK sales.  The boom in trade has meant a boom in internet fraud.

Misrepresentation (of a fake as genuine) is a ground under the law for claiming against a credit card issuer, but the purchaser must have his eyes open and not pay an obviously wrong price, such as £150 for Rolex watch to claim.

If you have unwittingly bought a counterfeit product costing more than £100 and been unable to get redress from the supplier, you can make a claim against the card issuer.

Although credit card issuers are legally required to make recompense if a supplier refuses to, there are still dangers if you have bought counterfeit goods this way.

An even worse outcome is ordering online and receiving nothing at all.

 

When buying online make sure the company has a contact address and telephone number, not just an email and always keep copies of receipts, order details, confirmations, emails and other correspondence from the supplier.

Always check for secure payment facilities known as 'encryption' facilities to ensure your online transactions are secure. Normally a padlock is displayed at the bottom of the screen. Never send your credit card details via e-mail.

If you do receive your online purchase, but are not happy with it you are entitled to a seven day cooling off period under UK consumer law after the goods are delivered.
 
You are also liable to a full refund if the goods or services are not provided by the date you agreed, presumably December 24 at the latest. 

I have been following the case of Thomas Brown in the Court of Session.  When Thomas was 10 he fell on a foot long paintbrush in his school class causing blindness and brain injury.  Compensation of £2.5 million is being sought by Thomas’s father.  He claims that Council, which runs the school, were negligent for letting the pupils paint on the floor with long painbrushes which were an obvious danger. 

The Council say that an accident like this has never happened before.

It is likely that the case will come down to whether the accident was reasonably foreseeable by a competent school teacher with pupil safety in mind.

I will keep you advised of the outcome when the judgment is issued.

Seeking justice and compensation for victims is what we do.

As well as acting for victims of accidents we at Thompsons also help those who are the innocent victims of assault or other crimes of violence.

The police will investigate the crime and press criminal charges; we will fight for compensation for the victim from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA).

Joshua Harvey is a classic example of the type of person we can help win criminal injuries compensation for.  Joshua was a student, part-time model, who was due to join the RAF as a pilot.  His dream was shattered last year when an unprovoked assault outside a nightclub detached his right eyeball from its socket and left him blind in that eye.

The injury is one that has angered Joshua in the short term as well as destroying his career dreams. 

In a case like this, and in all cases where an innocent victim has been injured, Thompsons will fight for the absolute maximum compensation to cover all the losses suffered by the victim.