As a recent government report criticises what it calls this country’s “compensation culture” two tragic local cases demonstrate why taking care of workers health and safety is still so important.
In Runcorn 54-year-old Alan Catterall died after becoming trapped in an oven at a canoe factory in Cheshire. Mr Catterall from Murdishaw was cleaning machinery at Pyranha Mouldings in Runcorn. He was discovered in the oven on 23rd December.
The same day a 39-year-old man was killed while working at Gaskells Waste Services in Kirkdale, Merseyside.
In October 2010 Lord Young , who later resigned because of comments made in an interview, released a review of workplace health and safety in the UK called "Common Sense Common Safety". Many commentators feel that some of Lord Young’s proposals could set back workplace health and safety at a time when workers are still losing their lives.
Personal Injury solicitor, Martyn Brown, commented “the government has latched onto the idea that we have a ‘compensation culture’ in this country when in fact workplace accidents are falling. Despite this the government want to do away with vital protection for workers which I fear will just lead to more tragedies like those in Runcorn and Kirkdale. The government need to think very carefully before rushing into any reforms based on the myth of a ‘compensation culture’”.
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