MPH Solicitors warmly congratulate Edith Macauley, who has been recognised for her services to the community in the Queen’s New Years Honours list. She has been awarded the MBE for services to the community.

Edith is a senior member of the Communication Workers Union’s Legal Services Department and we have worked with her over many years in helping to provide legal assistance to the Union’s members. We know of her hard work and commitment to serving both union members and her local community and are thrilled that her tireless efforts and valuable contribution has gained fitting recognition.

Congratulations Edith… and thank you.

To read the full article please click here

Geraldine has been instructed by Julia Rice, the mother of Nicholas Rice who as a 15 year old Air Cadet died on 14 June 2009 following the crash of a Grob Tutor aircraft. Nicholas was undertaking an air cadet experience flight from RAF Benson. The crash happened after the aircraft was conducting aerobatics when it collided with a glider. Both the AAIB report and Service Enquiry indicate that both aircraft were serviceable prior to the mid-air collision. The Grob was on a constant bearing with the glider which could indicate that its pilot, a retired RAF pilot who rejoined as a Volunteer Reserve pilot, did not see the glider. The glider pilot attempted evasive action.

The AAIB report found that the damage sustained by the Grob during the collision would not have prevented it from being recovered from a spin and steep dive. The report considered a long-standing medical condition of the Grob pilot (Ankylosing Spondilitis) and found as a contributory factor that this condition had limited the pilot’s ability to conduct an effective lookout. A general finding was that the impact of the collision probably fractured the Grob pilot’s spine, leaving him incapacitated after the collision.

The Inquest will commence 13 February 2012 at the Oxford Coroner’s Court and is likely to look at the “See-and-avoid” principle for collision avoidance, high traffic density in uncontrolled airspace including 128 gliders launched from Lasham, the RAF’s system for reviewing the medical history of pilots including medical limitations and the passenger’s safety brief given to the air cadets.

The incident happened 4 months after a mid-air collision near Porthcawl involving two Grob tutors from RAF Saint Athan in which two air Cadets, cousins aged 13 and 14, died together with the two RAF pilots.

We have been involved in previous cases involving mid-air collisions between light aircraft, an RAF Tornado and a helicopter inspecting pipelines and RAF aircraft and crop-sprayers. These have all involved a consideration of the principle of see-and-avoid and communication in uncontrolled airspace.

The Coroner will be sitting with a Jury and the Inquest will examine the circumstances of both deaths. Paul Kilcoyne of Temple Garden Chambers has been instructed and was involved in the Inquest into the death of the two air cadets four months previously. We will of course be looking at the findings at that Inquest.

Please click here for the AAIB report.

RAF Service Enquiry held under Section 343 of AFA 06 Convening Order 15 June 2009 – Please click here for the MOD publications

Nicholas was a Cadet with the Combined Cadet Force at Elvian School in Reading.

Geraldine McCool features strongly in an article by Richard Smyth in this month’s Legal and Medical examining why the North West is a hotbed for personal injury work.
Gerldine’s aviation work is featured together with her comments on the supportive work of the City Council and Sir Howard Bernstein.

Click here to read the full article

The Ministry of Defence is governed by Health and Safety laws in almost exactly the same way as any other employer. This means that the MOD must comply with the control of Noise at Work Regulations 2005 and their predecessor the Noise at Work Regulations 1989 and must not negligently expose forces personnel to excessive noise capable of damaging hearing and causing other noise induced conditions such as sensitivity to noise (hyperacusis) and tinnitus (ringing in the ears or in the head or other similar noises).
 
Health and Safety laws require that employers do not expose employees to excessive noise capable of damaging their hearing and impose a duty to reduce the level of noise to the lowest level reasonably practicable.
 
In certain circumstances personal hearing protectors must also be provided together with instructions and training on the maintenance and use of the equipment and Health surveillance to employees who are or are liable to be exposed to noise.  This means hearing should be tested on an annual basis.  
 
At the moment the one area where the Ministry of Defence cannot be successfully sued is where service personnel have been exposed to excessive noise which has damaged their hearing  in front line combat where the MOD is protected by an immunity to prosecution for damages claimed.  Whether this immunity is fair and whether it will always continue to bar such negligence claims is being considered by the courts.  
 
There are often situations where service personnel are deployed to front line duties when they have already been advised by the Medical Officer or ENT Surgeon that they should not be exposed any further to excessive noise.  In those circumstances a downgrading should take place and unprotected exposure to excessive noise should not be allowed to take place.
 
Where hearing has been damaged on front line service then it is still possible to pursue a compensation claim for excessive exposure experienced pre and post deployment but this is dependant on what evidence is available.  If here are pre-deployment audiograms and post deployment audiograms it is possible to work out what damage has been caused on front line service and what damage has been caused during normal peace time duties.  
 
Of course those whose hearing has been damaged as a result of front line duties can still apply through the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme and should do so even if they are contemplating a civil compensation damages claim.  
 
Excessive noise can be caused by unprotected exposure to live and blank firing, explosions and other noise generated from ordinance practice grenades, working with excessively loud machinery, vehicles and even military bands which at full force can cause excessive noise capable of damaging hearing.  
 
Claims should be pursued within three years of the date the person suffering from hearing loss, tinnitus or hyperacusis knew or should have known that they were suffering from that condition and that it was caused by exposure to excessive noise failing which the case may well be outside the court time limits.
 
If you have been exposed to excessive noise and believe that your hearing has been damaged in some way then please contact Dominic Hemsi, the Head of the Industrial Disease Department, to seek advice about the possibility of pursuing a successful compensation claim.  
 
Dominic can be contacted on 0161 828 8081 dominic.hemsi@mphsolicitors.co.uk  07921 975244
 
 

Malignant mesothelioma is a rare but fatal cancer. Dominic Hemsi in our Manchester office is recognised as a specialist in this area of Industrial Disease.  It has a latency period after initial exposure to asbestos of approximately 30 years; the median survival rate following diagnosis is between 9 – 12 months.

A conservative global estimate of mesothelioma suffers stands at 43,000 with 10,000 suffers being diagnosed annually across Europe, North America, Australia and Japan.

According to a WHO Bulletin published earlier this year, the UK had the second highest number of recorded deaths from mesothelioma behind North America.  A worrying statistic indeed.

Access to compensation for this truly ravaging disease for sufferers and their bereaved families has been frozen for a number of years due to the so-called ‘Trigger Litigation’ which has seen insurers attempting to argue semantics on policy wording to avoid the large compensation pay outs.

This fight has now been launched in the Supreme Court, the highest court in the land.  The hearing is listed from 5 December 2011 – 16 December 2011 with the judgment probably being handed down well into the New Year.

We hope that the judgment will be see an end to the current embargo on compensation for mesothelioma sufferers and their families.

The sad news that Fusilier James Wilkinson, 21, from Bury, has been killed in a military training exercise in Kenya is a reminder of the dangers of preparing for battle.

Kenya is an unusual location and whilst we have done military air crashes there, it is more usual for training and exercise negligent discharge cases to take place at location like in BATUS in Canada.

We are currently dealing with a serious injury case with a member of the Range Safety Staff in BATUS caused by a “stray” bullet.

We take the view that these incidents should never happen and it will be interesting to see the Investigation Report being carried out by the Royal Military Police.

Service Personnel accept the risks in battle, but the risks in training are more difficult and raise questions of systems failure.

The latest case will look at training, communications and firing lines. We will be using our Military Expertes to advise.

Geraldine McCool, a Member of the Royal British Legion Solicitors Group and Inquest Lawyers Group welcomed the Government U-turn over the scrapping of the Chief Coroner post announced by Justice Secretary Ken Clarke last night. The position was established in November 2009 to head a new national coroner service for England and Wales reporting to the Lord Chancellor. The current Government were due to scrap it in the “bonfire of the quangos”.

Last Thursday Geraldine attended a reception given by the Legion for Director General of the Legion, Lawyers who work for free at inquests and heard from Chris Simpkins, with an update on the campaign. MPH continue to call for a centralised Coroner’s Court to deal with military inquests but recognise that this welcome announcement goes some way to achieving uniformity of standards.

MPH Consultant and Specialist Military Lawyer Paul Harrington has achieved over £12million in damages for Service Clients in the last year. He has been at the forefront of the battle to narrow Combat Immunity, a doctrine that means that the MOD owe no duty of care to its Service Personnel.

Born into a military family, Paul is a former Army Major and Ammunition Technical Officer. He was a founder member of the Royal British Legion Solicitors Group and is a Member of the Institute of Explosive Engineers. Many of his recently settled cases have involved explosives/ammunition and have been technically complex.

Due to the sensitive nature of Paul’s work it is not always possible to draw attention to specific cases but his expertise and achievements are recognised in a number of communities within military service. Recent settlements have included fatal cases for surviving family members and a serious brain injury case for a client without capacity.

The Chambers 2012 Directory has been published and the Manchester Directors feature heavily. In Clinical Negligence the Guide singles  out Department Head, Frank Patterson, who is regarded by peers as “one of the stellar names in Manchester for Clinical Negligence matters” and is singled out further as a “thoughtful conscientious and highly experienced solicitor who is always a pleasure to work with”. It is noted that Frank continues to specialise in complex, high value cases. Mark Havenhand in the Clinical Negligence team is noted to have experience across all areas of Clinical Negligence and is described by sources as “a personable and well thought of practitioner who really knows what he is doing”.

In relation to Personal Injury, the team is singled out for its impressive track record on taking on cases for military personnel in which its in-depth knowledge of the military is noted to give the firm the edge.  Geraldine McCool is named as one of the Leading Solicitors for high value aviation claims with a case history that “includes some of the highest profile cases that have arisen in this sector”. Dominic Hemsi is singled out as a founding Director of the firm with “a strong reputation for his work in mesothelioma and industrial hearing loss cases”.

The Chambers Guides are published for the public and the legal profession as a guide to good service and excellence in their field.

At MPH we welcome client feedback. We routinely ask Clients about their experience when we get to the end of their case. The results for the last year have just been analysed. 104 Clients took the time to give their comments.

99% of our Clients would recommend MPH and would use us again.

98% of our Clients felt that the information we provided is just right.

82% of our Clients gave us the highest possible mark for service. Those remaining gave us the second highest available mark.

60% of Clients were keen to give their own feedback in addition.

“I smiled with joy when my case settled. Thanks to you Simon and your team for such a good job”

“The only comment I can make is that the whole process was pain free and all information was very easy to access and understand”

“I have nothing but praise for MPH. I was never left in any doubt about the outcome. It goes without saying that I am very pleased”

“The service provided throughout was faultless. Dominic and his assistants kept me updated immediately”

“I can assure you that Mr Havenhand was thorough and was patient whenever I whinged!”

“I would like to thank you and your staff for dedication and tenacity with which you have pursued my case. I was very emotional at the start and I must say, you handled my case in a very sensitive manner”

“I would highly recommend MPH to anyone who wishes to deal with a solicitor”