INSTITUTION OF OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH
EDINBURGH BRANCH – NEW DISTRICT

8th meeting, Gateway Centre, North Methven Street, Perth At 7:30pm Thursday 4th April 2002.

Attendance: R. Greer B. Pill P. Szawlowski R. Lovering G. Dick J. Goddard W. Smith A. Stark S. Chisholm D. Mann B. Stainton K. McDonnell B. McDonnell C. Muir L. Chrichton R. Paterson K. Paterson

Apologies: B. Davies D. Devey L. Richards

1. Chairperson:

Kirsten Paterson. Kirsten opened the meeting at 7:30pm and welcomed all present. Kirsten asked that all attending should remember to fill in the attendance register.

1:1. Minutes of Meeting from 7th March 2002:

Kirsten asked if all had received their copy of the last minutes? All had received copies. The minutes of the last meeting were passed as true and correct.

1:2. Matters Arising:

1. It was reported that the application to form the new district had been submitted to the branch; there was to be an executive meeting held on the 5th April and the application would be discussed for approval; the application would then go to The Grange for final approval.
2. The sheet for the June visit to Markinch Distillery was now available and anyone interested should sign up, as numbers will be limited. A tea is to be arranged for after the visit.
3. There was no correspondence to report. (IV) The IOSH branch meeting for 23rd May is to be a Safety day and will be sponsored by Dupont. The cost of this will be £10 and applications will have to be submitted quickly. This meeting will give 2 CPD points.
4. The programme for next years district meetings will be distributed as soon as is agreed and will also be available on the Web site.
5. It was agreed that coffee and tea would be available at 8:15pm.

1:3. Any Other Business: There was no other business raised.

2. Guest Speaker: Douglas Kier. Kirsten introduced the Guest Speaker, Mr Douglas Kier of Anderson Strathearn Solicitors, whose topic for the evening would be Costs of Accidents.

Douglas introduced himself as a litigation specialist, who had started work with Burness Solicitors and was now with Anderson Strathearn; Douglas explained that he worked for both defender and pursuer in litigation cases. Tonight’s talk would be on ways of minimising the cost of accidents and Douglas passed out handouts of his presentation. There are on average 160,000 accidents a year in the UK. Every single accident is a potential claim. It is a fact that more people are making claims for accidents than ever before because:

1. People are more aware of their rights.
2. The use of Legal aid, Union aid and the no win, no fee law firms. § Most claims are genuine claims. Douglas quoted case histories and pointed out that in his opinion the employers are in a difficult position, and therefore the best method of reducing costs of accidents, is to prevent accidents happening by:
   • Using Risk Management services.
   • Auditing Health and Safety management systems.
   • Agree improvements and carry them out.
   • Involve management and key personnel in safety.

Key Issues:

Quantum: How much is the claim worth?

Solatium: Money claimed for pain and injury.

Wage Loss: Complicated and sometimes the most expensive part.

• Restricted work duties.
• When will person return to work?
• Will person be able to work again?
• Loss of promotion because of injury.
• Agreed pay increases.

Liability: Can the claim be defended?

• Accurate information gathered quickly.
• Accident report forms.
• First interviews are very important.
• Witness statements.
• Photographs, Sketches and Diagrams.
• Training Records.
• Case History.
• Risk assessments up to date.
• Clear and concise final reports.

The Cost of Court:

• Lawyers Fees.
• Court of Session costs on a normal 4 day case = £15,000 per party cost.
• Sheriff Court costs = £8,000 per party cost.
• Judicial Expenses

There is a balance of cost and time against final outcome of the case and it is sometimes better to buy off the risk of losing the case.

Prevention is the Key:

• Invest in Health and Safety to stop accidents happening.
• Everyone will then be happy.

The talk ended with a question and answer session that had full audience participation.

3. Chairperson: Kirsten thanked Douglas for his most enjoyable talk and how he had described the cost of accidents so well and showed the relevance of a high safety profile in the workplace. Kirsten then presented Douglas with a small gift from the district in appreciation of the time he had given to this subject. The meeting was closed at 8:30pm.

4. Date of next Meeting: Visit to Markinch Distillery Thursday 6th June.