Related insights: Health and Safety Litigation

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Casualty disputes 2021: six key cases

20 Jan 2022
As we begin 2022, Womble Bond Dickinson looks back at six key legal cases from 2021 which we think will be of particular relevance during the new year to those defending casualty claims.

A constructive conference: construction claims, building and site safety, and more

23 Mar 2021
Hot topics in the construction industry at the moment are legal developments affecting claims, time and cost claims, loss and expense claims, building safety, and health and safety. We covered all of these in our construction update on 11 March, where our speakers and contributors from Decipher, 4 Pump Court Chambers, and Womble Bond Dickinson highlighted challenges for the industry, and offered practical advice on addressing these.

Scotland: building and fire safety regulation post-Grenfell

22 Feb 2021
Following the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, the UK Government has been reviewing and taking steps to reform our building and fire safety regimes.

However, one thing that is often overlooked in discussions around building and fire safety is the fact that the starting points for reviewing and improving this around the UK, particularly England and Scotland, are different.
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Transport operators and COVID-19 one year on: a new wave of litigation?

19 Feb 2021
In June last year, we published an article on managing the risk of injury claims in light of COVID-19 and the enhanced workplace practices for employers in the public transport industry. We are now nearly 12 months on from the start of the pandemic and, while the majority of the population is still living under tight restrictions, the vaccine roll-out has provided us with the very much needed light at the end of the tunnel. Transport operators are now able to begin to plan for the future with greater certainty and work on a road map back to full operability.

Government funding for unsafe cladding - who really foots the bill?

11 Feb 2021
The discussion around building safety, and particularly the replacement of combustible cladding, continues to dominate the headlines for the construction sector. Yesterday's announcement by the government comes against a backdrop of increasing pressure to improve its existing funding arrangements, which were launched to deal with unsafe cladding in the wake of the Grenfell tragedy.
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Swift & Carpenter – what does it mean in practice?

16 Oct 2020
The Court of Appeal last week handed down its decision in Swift v Carpenter [2020] EWCA Civ 1295. The issue at stake was the valuing of claims for damages where an injured claimant is obliged to purchase alternative accommodation as a consequence of the injuries suffered. The scope for such an award arises in any claim for long term disability where mobility is affected. Insurers will need to re-assess their approach to such claims and what follows is some practical guidance on the implications of the judgment and we set out the methodology for calculating awards for special accommodation going forwards.
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Employers' liability claims for COVID-19 in the workplace: are the floodgates opening?

25 Jun 2020
The coronavirus pandemic is likely to throw up some interesting challenges for employers and their liability insurers. How are the courts likely to approach the novel situation where employees may seek to claim for injuries arising through exposure to COVID-19 in the workplace, and how can employers and their insurers take steps to protect themselves from a tidal wave of claims?