Transcontinental Group Preston fined following employee's serious fall from height

Preston City Council Environmental Health Officers recently held an investigation into an employee's accident at work, which saw Transcontinental Group Preston fined in a hearing in Preston Magistrates' Court on November 15^th.

Agency worker Craig Gregory, who had been engaged by Workforce Recruitment, was working at the firm's Olivers Place premises in Fulwood on May 4^th 2011. On the first day at work at the premises, while unloading a shipping container, Mr Gregory fell 1.44m from the unguarded ramp and landed on a concrete floor. Personal injury solicitors Preston are concerned that some employers have not fitted guard rails on elevated working platforms - something the council's Environmental Health Officers noticed Transcontinental had failed to do.

Working practices at the site were found to be well below those legally required, which saw the company issued with an improvement notice. A new health and safety consultant has since been hired to help the firm deal with this issue and arrangements were made to fit guard rails on the ramp.

Transcontinental said they regretted the incident and said they had previously used a consultant to help them complete risk assessments. After admitting four breaches of health and safety regulations, the firm was fined £18,750 with a £15 victim surcharge and costs of £6,500. Mr Gregory may also be able to make a claim with no win no fee solicitors Preston.

Project protects Preston residents from flooding

Personal injury solicitors Preston thank the county council for their work in protecting the city from flooding, as severe floods affected swathes of the country.

Lancashire County Council is to repair drains and pipes on Cliff Street, which is near Preston's city centre. They will replace four drains, installe two additional ones, and replace or repair blocked and damaged pipes.

The county council was designated a Led Local Flood Authority in 2007, following widespread floods. 

Cliff Street and surrounding areas have historically experienced flooding problems, so this location was deemed as a key place for flood mitigation measures. There is a natural dip at the end of the street, and this can collect water in heavy rainfall. 

The new work the council will perform should help the water to drain away from this area safely.

Flooding can occur due to a wide range of factors, including rising groundwater levels, rivers and streams bursting, or sewerage and drainage systems being unable to cope with a rapid influx of water during a storm.

Oldham Council prosecutes rodent-infested restaurant owner

Personal injury solicitors Oldham have praised the good work of Oldham Council's Environmental Health officers in protecting the safety of the public.

The no win no fee solicitors Oldham at Clearwater Solicitors will collaborate with the local authority's Environmental Health team when dealing with personal injury claims relating to food poisoning, so they can gather evidence and give claimants the best possible chance of winning their cases.

On May 16^th, an investigation by the council's Environmental Health officers revealed that in the Taj Palace Restaurant on Kings Street in Oldham had an uncontrolled mouse infestation and poor cleaning standards. Despite the fact that problems had been brought to the attention of Mohammed Saleem, the restaurant's owner, there was no food safety management system in the establishment.

Lytham is 'Champion of Champions' in Britain in Bloom awards

Personal injuries Lytham St Anne's are delighted that the neighbouring town of Lytham has been crowned Britain's most beautiful, greenest and cleanest town by Britain in Bloom judges.

This means that according to the Royal Horticultural Society's awards, Lytham is the 'Champion of Champions' and the best place for people to visit in the UK - something no win no fee solicitors Lytham St Anne's are pleased to agree with.

To achieve this commendation, the town beat off stiff competition from towns such as Staghow, North Berwick, Hern and Halstead, representing the first time that a North Western town has won the Champion of Champions in the Britain in Bloom competition.

Dozens of people collaborated to beautify Lytham in the competition, and while the town now looks beautiful, Lytham St Anne's and the rest of the Fylde district also look amazing nowadays and seem to look better and better every year. The council, dozens of volunteers, community groups and individuals themselves have all played a role in helping Lytham secure this victory and in ensuring the rest of Fylde looks so pleasing.

London personal injury solicitors' unlicensed taxi warning

With TNS Global research commissioned by Transport for London (TfL) showing that 43% of young women in Birmingham, Manchester or London admitting that they would be likely to use the services of illegal minicabs, personal injury solicitors Burnley are worried that people in the capital are putting their safety at risk when they go home after a night out.

TfL has recently called for people to use pre-booked minicabs or official black cabs when getting home with a taxi. When minicab drivers line up outside clubs and pubs and take people on journeys without the passenger pre-booking the cab, they are acting unlawfully and are driving without proper insurance, no win no fee solicitors London warn.

The TfL poll also showed that 14% of the women questioned make no plans for getting home after a night out, which puts their personal safety at risk and increases their likelihood of making bad choices such as using unlicensed and uninsured taxis.

Mayor unveils £147.8m road safety investment

With commuter safety a key issue in the capital, personal injury solicitors Burnley hope the recently-unveiled investment in transport reduces the number of deaths and serious injuries on the capital's roads.

Mayor of London Boris Johnson confirmed that the Local Implementation Fund will see £147.8 million of investment in local transport projects every year, with this continuing for three years until 2016 to 2017.

He said this investment, alongside his cycling and road plans, means that the amount of investment taking part through partnership programmes in the capital is "unprecedented".

No win no fee solicitors London hope planning authorities use foresight and planning when deciding where to spend these investments. The funding should be used to improve cyclist safety, upgrade the safety of roads and deal with the high levels of air pollution in the city.

Some of the initiatives that have already been announced include:

No win no fee solicitors Lytham St Anne's issue child seat safety warning

The consequences of a road traffic accident can be far more serious if children are not put in a car seat, personal injury solicitors Burnley have warned, after checks on motorists in Weston-super-Mare revealed a huge proportion of car seats appear to be badly-fitted.

North Somerset Council road safety officers and Avon and Somerset Police recently ran a safety enforcement day, waiting on Winterstoke Road in Weston to stop vehicles with children inside. Car safety specialists looked at a total of 169 car seats and discovered that while 95 were fitted properly, the remaining 74 were badly fitted, unsuitable for the child or incompatible for the car. Many parents were told that they should buy a new child car seat as soon as possible.

Furthermore, a total of nine children were found to be sat in a car with an adult seat-belt, despite being under the legally required height of 135cm. Vehicles containing these children were forbidden to continue on their journey until safe transport arrangements had been organised for the children.

Lancashire Constabulary issues cyclist safety advice

With Lancashire Constabulary warning cyclists and motorists to take care to look out for each other, personal injury solicitors Lytham St Anne's would like to remind motorists that this is increasingly important as the winter draws in and road conditions become more dangerous.

Overall, cyclists represent 10.2% of the deaths on Lancashire's roads and 6.5% of all injuries, with the rate of deaths increasing year-on-year. Between January and September 2013, 97 cyclists were seriously injured or killed on the county's roads, compared with only 64 over the same timeframe in 2012.

This means that while Lancashire's roads are becoming safer in general, the number of cycling accidents is increasing - something no win no fee solicitors Lytham St Anne's have also noticed. 

Lancashire Constabulary Chief Inspector Debbie Howard - a member of the force's Road Policing Unit - noted that the responsibility for cycling accidents appears to be split half-way between drivers and other road users, and with around 80% of all cyclists also owning a driving license, there is common ground between both parties.

Licensed premises staff 'should have fire safety training'

Personal injury solicitors Manchester are advising all nightclubs, bars and restaurants to train their supervisory staff - such as door supervisors - in fire safety.

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) recently held a training session for Unique Security Solutions employees who worked at licensed premises in the Northern Quarter. The event, which took place on November 21st at Manchester Central fire Station, was also attended by members of the Licensing Team at Manchester City Council and Protection Officers from GMFRS. 

The no win no fee solicitors Manchester at Clearwater Solicitors suggest that any licensed premises that have not sent their staff to one of these courses should do so now. Doing so will help them fulfill the business' duty of care towards their patrons and minimise the likelihood of them becoming involved in personal injury claims.

GMFRS' course informed supervisors about how important it is to know where fire exits are located, why fire exit routes must be kept clear, why exits must be properly operable, general information about fire safety management, and legal requirements for emergency lighting and fire alarms.

House Fire Survivor Underlines Importance of Smoke Detectors

All residential properties must be fitted with a smoke detector, personal injury solicitors Bolton have warned, echoing the comments of an unidentified man who escaped from his burning house after being alerted by a smoke alarm.

The 20-year-old leapt from his loft bedroom, jumping three floors to safety, after the blaze broke out on November 14^th just before 1pm.

He was sleeping in the Bolton Road property in Swinton when the alarm woke him up. He revealed that he went downstairs to find his dad, but was unable to do so, so went back to his loft room and closed the door.

He then jumped on to the kitchen roof and attempted to break the window of the back bedroom, where he thought his father was. He was unable to do so, but when he reached the front of his house he saw his dad had successfully escaped.

Watch Manager Mark Coffey - a fire officer - happened to be passing by the house when it was on fire. He saw the father reentering the smoke-filled house to look for his son, and took him out of the house.

While both occupants survived this fire with no significant injuries, personal injury solicitors Preston know the consequences could have easily been far worse.

The fire service used a fan and hose reels to clear the smoke and extinguish the fire. The emergency services, which came from Agecroft and Salford, had to use breathing apparatus.