Dundee woman witnesses rottweiler attack on granddaughter

August 30, 2010/0 Comments/in , /by

In the month when the number of dog attacks in Edinburgh has rocketed, there has been yet another appalling dog attack on a child in Scotland this weekend.

A Scots gran has described the terrifying moment she saw her 10-year-old granddaughter being mauled by two rottweilers.

Rhianna Kidd was attacked by the dogs while riding her bicycle in Dundee yesterday.
The primary school pupil was being treated for a fractured jaw today and has had to have plastic surgery. Irene Grady, the girls’ grandmother added: “Her jaw’s broken in two places and pins have been put in. They’ll be in for the rest of her life. She’s got bites everywhere and she’s got chunks out of her leg. She’s got bites all over her arms and she can’t open her left eye properly.”

Under the new Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act, passed earlier this year by the Scottish Parliament, councils will soon have to compile a list of potentially dangerous dogs.
Dundee West MSP Joe FitzPatrick said: “This horrific attack has shocked everyone and our sympathies go to Rhianna and her family. The new Act, which comes into force next year, has reformed the law around dangerous or out of control dogs, and will give local authorities greater powers to act.”

A Tayside Police spokesman said: “A 33-year-old woman has been charged under section three of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 for failing to keep the dogs under control and a full report will be submitted to the procurator fiscal.”

The deeply distressing truth of the matter is that, once again, the pain, suffering and psychological damage inflicted by a terrifying dog attack could have been avoided.    

We have a very experienced team available to handle claims on behalf of dog attack victims. If you or a member of your family would like a no obligation review of your legal options following a dog attack, please call Bonnar & Company Solicitors FREE on 0800 163 978.

Construction site worker killed in vehicle accident

August 27, 2010/0 Comments/in , , /by

A tragic incident yesterday reinforced the dangers inherent in construction site operations in Scotland.

A workman, understood to have been a subcontractor, was killed in a horrific accident when a dumper truck overturned at the site of a new £86 million bottling plant.

A police officer attempted to revive the workman after the accident at drink giant Diageo’s plant in Leven, Fife, but he was declared dead at the scene at 12:50pm yesterday

The Scottish Ambulance Service confirmed that an ambulance crew attended the scene following an emergency call at 12:50pm, but had been unable to do anything to help save the worker. The Health & Safety Executive is investigatng the incident.

Bonnar & Company specialises in construction industry accident and illness claims on behalf of direct and subcontract workers and the self-employed. If you or a member of your family needs to discuss a potential claim please call FREE on 0800 163 978 for a no obligation case review and independent legal advice.

Insurer resists the urge to blame personal injury claims for rising premiums

August 25, 2010/0 Comments/in , , /by

Admiral Insurance said today that it had not seen “any unusual trends in bodily injury or damage claims” and reported a 21% rise in pre-tax profit to £126.9m for the first six months of 2010.

Admiral’s chief operating officer David Stevens blamed an “annus horribilis” in the car industry business for a 14% rise in premiums in just six months. He said that costs will continue to go up as the firm responds to changing market pricing, commenting that:

“For the first time in a number of years in 2009, the number of claims actually went up slightly. That was partly due to the bad weather in the winter of last year.”

Firms such as RBS Insurance have recently reported motor insurance losses at the end of 2009 and typically blamed a strong rise in the number and severity of personal injury claims. So let’s not hold our breath in the expectation that more insurers will avoid stigmatising genuine road traffic accident claimants and blaming innocent car injury victims for rising motor insurance premiums. 

Of course, what the insurance companies fail to mention is that bogus injury claims are weeded out early on and never get settled. Unless insurers are  actually paying out on fraudulent claims and therefore sustaining AVOIDABLE LOSSES, there should not be any problem in dealing with those few individuals who are determined to fabricate an accident or an injury.

At Bonnar & Company we receive very few enquiries from people seeking to defraud the system but we take immediate and robust action to immediately kick these claims out. A personal injury solicitor has to build a case for compensation based on the evidence. If the evidence falls short, the claim falls flat on its face – end of story. 

You should also be aware of one of the insurance industry’s favourite ploys, which is to group the dubious claims with genuine accident victims in order to perpetuate the myth of a compensation culture when their real motive is to boost profits by discouraging claimants and making the process as difficult and as stressful as possible.

If you or a member of your family need to discuss a road traffic injury claim with a personal injury expert, please call us FREE on 0800 163 978 for a no obligation case review and independent legal advice.

HSE warns oil companies on North Sea accidents

August 24, 2010/0 Comments/in , , , , , /by

Just a few short months ago government appointee Lord Young was proclaiming that much of UK health & safety legislation is ‘just plain silly’.

Today, Steve Walker, head of the Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) offshore division, has bluntly told companies that their health and safety record covering 27,000 workers is “simply not good enough.”

He said: “The industry has shown it can do better and it must do in future.”

Figures released on Tuesday by the HSE show that while there were no fatalities in the offshore operations it regulates for the third year in a row last year, the number of major injury cases rose from 30 in 2008-09 to 50.

The deaths of 16 in a helicopter crash and a fatality involving a diving support vessel are not covered by the HSE figures but the report says the combined fatal and major injury rate almost doubled to 192 per 100,000 workers compared with 106 in 2008-09.

Mr Walker also expresses concern at the increase from 61 to 85 in the number of incidents involving a major and significant escape of oil and gas that could have led to a major incident.

In the wake of the recent BP Deepwater Horizon tragedy in the Gulf of Mexico, it will be interesting to hear Lord Young’s pronouncemnts on UK health & safety legislation when his review is complete. Let’s hope meantime that the oil and gas industry pays attention to the HSE’s concerns for worker safety on the rigs.

Bonnar & Company specialises in industrial accident and injury claims and has a particular expertise in dealing with claims brought by workers in dangerous occupations. If you or a member of your family needs to discuss a potential claim please call us FREE on 0800 163 978 for a no obligation discussion.

Near miss as double-decker bus slams into low bridge in Glasgow

August 20, 2010/0 Comments/in , , /by

The need for careful route planning by bus operating companies and constant driver vigilence on the road was highlighted yesterday after the roof of a double-decker was ripped off as it tried to pass under a Glasgow rail bridge.

The First bus crashed into the Cook Street bridge on the city’s southside causing the area to be cordoned off by police. Fortunately there were no passengers on board at the time and the driver wasn’t injured.

In March 2005 an empty First bus crashed into the same low bridge and in September 1994, a bus carrying a party of Girl Guides hit a low bridge in nearby West Street, killing three girls and two Guide leaders.

If you or a member of your family has been hurt or injured in an accident on public transport you can call Bonnar & Company Solicitors FREE on 0800 163 978 for a no obligation case review and expert independent legal advice.