Tagged: Politics
A Car Accident, Solicitors and the common good
Modern people, sportsmen/women excepted, are most at risk of serious injury when travelling on the road. The energy bundled in a motor car, or other vehicle, is considerable. If that energy is suddenly blocked, which is what happens in a typical car accident, it must go somewhere and, unfortunately, it sometimes goes into us. Then you are injured and the nature and extent of that injury is determined by chance. Make no mistake; as a society, we have planned these accidents. […]
The Injuries Board steps up its War on “Thoughts”
The Injuries Board is also called the Personal Injuries Assessment Board. It was established by statute in 2003. Every person wishing to recover compensation for a personal injury inflicted by wrongdoers must first apply to the Injuries Board for an assessment of the value of the claim. The Board has issued an article today (26th March 2013) and Patricia Byron, Chief Executive, went on Morning Ireland for an interview. The upshot of the article and the interview is this; personal […]
Now, this bell tolling for another, says to me, thou must die
Perfect justice does not exist. When a person is injured, by the fault of another, only a money payment is available in law to compensate him or her. This inadequacy is unavoidable. Recently, in Ireland, a generation of politicians, civil servants and some lawyers, decided to trade even this inadequacy to further their prospects and careers. They promoted the interests of the defence in personal injury claims, over the interests of the injured plaintiff and some still do so. They […]
British is Better
With very little bother or trouble, the Oireachtas could and should remedy a real and persistent injustice for many injured persons. In Hu -v- Duleek Formwork Ltd & Anor [2013 IEHC 50, the High Court declined to make a declaration that the Plaintiff was entitled to the benefit of an insurance contract taken out by the insolvent Defendant company. The insurance company, Aviva, took issue with the Defendant’s failure to pay the excess of €1,000 which, as between the Defendant and […]
Slip and Fall Accidents
Supermarkets are common locations of slips and falls. The customer numbers are high and the material to cause the slips is readily to hand. Under the Occupiers Liability Act 1995 an occupier is obliged to take; “… such care as is reasonable in all the circumstances…….to ensure that a visitor to the premises does not suffer injury or damage by reason of any danger existing thereon” There is a danger in supermarkets that stuff will fall to the floor and […]
Foot in Mouth
Much of everyday speech is inaccurate, so inaccuracy is not a big deal in everyday life. However, Government ministers do not inhabit our banal everyday world. In the case of the Minister for Agriculture and Food this means at least two things; he should not say “appraise” when he means “apprise,” and he should not undermine criminal investigations by diminishing the facts being investigated which he does when he says he is investigating “mislabeling”. To say that selling horsemeat as […]
The Connacht Gold wall accident
The Health and Safety Authority is a good institution but an odd one. It was established under the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005. It has as its central purpose, as recited in Section 34 of that Act, “to promote, encourage and foster the prevention of accidents, dangerous occurrences and personal injury at work in accordance with the relevant statutory provisions” So, oddly enough, when some customers were killed and injured in the Connacht Gold shop in Longford, […]
Faulty Beef Burgers
This is the appropriate editorial to replace that of the Irish Times of 2nd February 2013. The blame for Ireland’s faulty beef burgers lies with the relevant Irish meat processors and, maybe, with someone in Poland. The testing of the burgers showed two pertinent facts; the animal source of the burger content and the proportion coming from each animal type. Of the tested burgers, most contained trace elements of horse and/or pig. One did not. That one burger, from Silvercrest […]
How to read a newspaper
Noted in the Irish Times, 2nd February 2013, page 15. “With no evidence of fraud…” This phrase means there was no evidence of deceit by Silvercrest Foods Ltd. There was in fact deceit. Tesco was deceived as to the sources of the burger meat; it described it as a breach of trust. My online dictionary defines “fraud” as: “a person or thing intended to deceive others, typically by unjustifiably claiming or being credited with accomplishments or qualities”
The Food Police?
The finding by the Food Safety Authority of Ireland of horse meat in frozen beef burgers invokes the following legal provisions: A) Articles 14 (1) and 16 of Regulation (EC) N° 178/2002 on General Food Law; B) Regulations 5 (1) and 6 of the European Communities (General Food Law) Regulations 2007. Under Article 14 (1) of Regulation No. 178/2002, “Food shall not be placed on the market if it is unsafe”. “Unsafe” includes food unfit for human consumption. The Regulation […]