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Further to discussions in recent articles, the turn of the weather as the clocks go back, the skies go greyer, and the air gets colder sees an increase in accidents as a result of the winter weather.
And it’s not just the wetter roads and darker skies that lead to increases in all sorts of accidents.
According to a mirror.co.uk report, car owners have been warned that the autumn leaves, as pretty as they may be, are the cause of crashes due to the leaves affecting onboard computer systems that many modern cars are fitted with nowadays (source)
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Many of you may have been as shocked, as I was, to read the story about Mohammed Patel, the guy who has been staging accidents on behalf of vehicle owners so that they may make bogus claims from insurers – all for the great price of £500 a time!
In the last 3 years he has caused 93 crashes in the Greater Manchester area and each claim averaged at approximately £17,000.00.
Patel was making enough money for himself and his unemployed girlfriend to live a fairly luxurious standard of living. The courts heard that their home was filled with expensive furniture and they had holidayed in France and Barcelona recently.
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A £240,000 payout has been awarded to the holidaymaker whose banquet meal left her fighting for her life and with a seven year legal battle with tour operator First Choice, the mirror.co.uk reports.
Beryl Rushton paid £700.00 for a five star Christmas break in December 2001 at the Tropical Beach resort in Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic. After a second mouthful of a snapper fish steak, the holidaymaker was stunned to discover a large bloodied black worm in the centre of her meal which left her feeling sick, leading to an early night.
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Woman on Trial for Shaking Baby
A mother from Luton may have killed her 13-week-old son as a result of shaking him violently.
According to the BBC, the jury at Luton Crown Court heard that young Mohammed Zaid, who died in hospital on 1st November 2007, was found following a post mortem to have suffered bleeding in his brain, spinal cord and both eyes. The Prosecutor told the court that such evidence suggested a ‘violent death’ rather than illness.
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Risk of Noise Induced Injury from Power Station
A power station in Devon is undergoing safety tests over the next few weeks. As part of the testing the station at Langage in Plymptom will create short loud bursts of “jet like” noise as the steam pressure release valves are checked.
According to the BBC, twenty pressure valves will be tested and the noise is expected to last for about one to two minutes for each valve.
Local residents have been warned about the operation, as have the emergency services.
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Woman Dies from Asbestos Exposure
BBC reports today confirmed that a mother has sadly passed away from contracting an asbestos related illness as a result of asbestos exposure while at school.
Diane Wilmore from North Wales was exposed to asbestos particles in the 1970’s during her attendance at a Merseyside School, the report confirms (source). Her death came just one day after a judge ordered an award of £240,000 in damages as a result of her suffering and illness.
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Zip Wire Accident Woman Falls To Her Death
A woman fell to her death from a zip wire while on a gap year in Namibia, after an instructed failed to undertake safety checks.
Sally Whitcomb, 32, plunged 23 feet and was pronounced dead at the scene. She was on a training day organised by expedition charity Raleigh International. At the inquest in to the death, the instructor was described as having a complacent attitude towards safety.
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Plaster of Paris Burns Teenager
A school in Lincolnshire has been fined £19,000 for ignoring safety procedures, leaving a 16 year old girl with terrible burns to her hands and the loss of all but two of her fingers.
According to The Times, the girl was attempting to make a sculpture of her own hands during an art lesson using a plaster of Paris mould, and having submerged her hands in to the wet clay, the mould began to heat up and set due to a chemical reaction, the Boston Magistrates Court was told.
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School Sprinkler System Leaves Children At Risk
Almost half of new school buildings do not have fire safety sprinkler systems in place, according to new findings. 43% of schools built or refurbished in the governments Building Schools for the future programme are without the sprinklers. These figures are in spite of government guidance issued 2 years ago that almost all new schools should be fitted with sprinkler systems.
The worry regarding this comes from another surprising statistic. Every week 20 schools are destroyed or damaged by fire.
The Chief Fire Officers Association says local authorities who choose not to fit sprinklers are putting the safety of pupils and staff at risk.
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Bacterium Affecting Chickens Causes Food Poisoning
Two-thirds of chickens on sale in the UK are carrying a bacterium which can cause food poisoning. According to the BBC, the birds carry the bacteria known as campylobacter, which can cause diarrhoea and abdominal pain. The bacterium is responsible for 55,000 cases of food poisoning annually in the UK.
Worryingly, there has been little evidence of an effective way to stop the spread of the bacterium among birds, however, minimising of contact between the birds at slaughter does seem to reduce the risk of infection.
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