Pothole damage racks up after two cold winters

Two harsh winters in a row have taken their toll on Britain’s roads, with a new report by the Labour Party’s Transport Team estimating some £13 billion of damage has been done. The report has raised concerns about the safety of motorcyclists and motorists, since budget cuts mean that pothole repairs are not being carried out.

The survey, of 152 local authorities, found that some 40 per cent of councils had a backlog of pothole repairs, totalling over £5 billion. 92% of the councils also said they didn’t have the funds needed to fix the roads in their area, with three quarters of councils cutting their road maintenance budgets.

And, in some cases potholes are being reinvented – Lambeth Council, for example, has changed the measurement criteria for pothole maintenance. A pothole now refers to a hole more than 40mm deep, where previously it was 25mm.

INCREASE IN SLIP ACCIDENTS AMONG LOCAL SHOPPERS

Lawson-West has seen an increase in the number of slip, trip and fall accidents recently, and are currently advising a number of clients who have all been injured in a fall at a local shopping centre.

Slipping accidents can lead to a number of injuries, some of which may require prolonged treatment to overcome. If you have been injured as a result of a slip in a shopping centre, or in any area leading to or from the centre or its car park, you may have a claim for compensation.

Owners of shops and shopping centres have a duty to ensure that shoppers are safe when on their premises, and are not at risk of foreseeable injury. They must have an inspection system to identify potential hazards, and a maintenance programme to remove obstacles and hazards such as slippery floors. Click here for more information.

Lawson-West Solicitors welcome Sunbed Ban for Under 18s

Under 18s will be banned from using sunbeds in a law passed by the House of Lords which will become effective in April 2011.  A private member’s bill was raised with the aim of protecting children and teenagers from problems in over-use of sunbeds and had support from Cancer Research UK.

The British Medical Journal published research showing that a quarter of a million children aged between 11 and 17 regularly use sunbeds.  Sunbeds are classified as the same carcinogenic level as tobacco, with the intensity of some UV rays from sunbeds being up to 10 – 15 times higher than that of the midday sun.  Sunbed users aged under 35 have a 75% higher risk of developing malignant melanoma and similar skin cancers.

Cancer Research UK is continuing to campaign for all sunbed salons to be properly staffed and all sunbed users to be given appropriate information on sunbed use.

Last year there were several cases of teenagers suffering severe burns after using sunbeds.  One 14 year old girl was rushed to hospital after suffering first degree burns after using a coin-operated sunbed for 19 minutes despite posters in the salon urging safe use of sunbeds.  In another unstaffed salon, a boy used a tanning booth three times in one day for 21 minutes despite signs in the salon stating under 16s were not allowed to use the booths and should not tan for longer than 6 minutes.  A 10 year old girl suffered 70% burns after using a sunbed for 16 minutes at an unstaffed salon.

Lawson-West recommend anyone using a sunbed salon read and comply with any safety posters and leaflets and that children and teenagers should be encouraged to avoid unstaffed salons and consider a spray tan instead.