Category: Company News

A Plymouth landlord has been fined after a dangerous gas oven was installed in the house a young mother was renting from him with her child.

What happened?

Giles Boardman was asked to provide a gas safety certificate for the property on several occasions, but when he failed to do so, Plymouth City Council alerted the Health and Safety Executive (HSE).

Mr Boardman was then served with an Improvement Notice, which required him to provide a landlords’ gas safety check – but he still hadn’t done so by the time the notice had expired.
Later that year, Mr Boardman called in an engineer who found issues with the gas controls that controlled the gas flow to the oven.

It was labelled as ‘immediately dangerous’ by the engineer, stating that it could cause immediate danger to life or property if kept connected to the gas supply. The oven has since been replaced.

What was the outcome?

Giles Boardman was fined a total of £4,050 and ordered to pay costs of £513, after pleading guilty to breaches of gas safety regulations and a breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act.

HSE Inspector, Simon Jones, said:

If you have been affected by an incident such as this, and you would like expert advice, contact Hampson Hughes Solicitors today on 0800 888 6888 or email

Source: View article

Hampson Hughes Solicitors, specialists in no win no fee personal injury compensation, has been awarded the Investors in People Gold standard.

It now joins the top 7% of accredited organisations from across the UK who believe in realising the potential of their people.

The accolade is a huge coup for the Liverpool based law firm, which was set up by childhood friends Paul Hampson and John Hughes in 2009.

Just 28 years old at the time, the two solicitors moved back into family homes in Huyton in order to be able to afford the rent at a small office above a double glazing shop in Woolton Village.

Through hard work and continually reinvesting in its people, Hampson Hughes Solicitors now employs 223 staff at its Edward Pavilion offices based on the Albert Dock.

Commenting on the new kite mark, John Hughes said: “We’re thrilled to receive this award as much of the success of Hampson Hughes Solicitors can be attributed to its people, many of whom have grown with the business and now hold senior positions within the firm.

“Entrepreneurial by nature, we’re deliberately not run like a traditional law firm, which means innovation can come from any part of the business and we activity encourage and reward good ideas that contribute to the continued growth of the company.”

Paul Devoy, Head of Investors in People, said: “We’d like to congratulate Hampson Hughes Solicitors on their Gold standard. Such a high level of accreditation is the sign of great people management practice, and demonstrates a commitment to staff development and shows an organisation committed to being the very best it can be. Hampson Hughes Solicitors should be extremely proud of their achievement.”

Steve Burrows, Managing Director of Investors in People North of England said: “This is a fantastic achievement for Hampson Hughes Solicitors and I would like to congratulate the team on their success. We believe that good people make a great business and as a proven organisational development framework, Investors in People is designed to help organisations and their people to realise potential, enhance performance and meet goals. With their Gold accreditation, Hampson Hughes Solicitors is certainly working to realise their people potential.”

For more information about Investors in People please visit www.investorsinpeople.co.uk

If you are living in rented accommodation, where the landlord is simply not carrying out the necessary repairs, you may have options in ensuring that the repairs are carried out.

Many people feel that when a landlord does not uphold his or her stated intention to carry out repair work, the tenant has very little right of recourse.

However, an action can be brought against the landlord in order to force the landlord to complete the repairs. This is an action that can be brought whilst you are still living in the property.

Many feel that, whilst they are living in the property, a landlord has overall control and that there is nothing a tenant can do if repairs aren’t being carried out. However, a tenant does have a right to recourse if the landlord is not co-operating when it comes to carrying out repairs.

A common scenario is that people enter into a tenancy agreement (often for periods of 6 months or 12 months) having only viewed a property briefly. Early on in a tenancy period, issues such as mould or leaks begin to arise.

A tenant only becomes aware of how a landlord will behave after these issues have arisen.

In order to give your a landlord the opportunity to carry out repairs, we recommend reporting issues to the landlord as soon as they become a problem. If the issues continue, tenants often believe that they have no option but to urge the landlord to carry out the repairs.

However, the ability to force the landlord to carry out the repairs does exist. We recommend contacting a solicitor at the earliest opportunity in order to discuss your options.

Do not allow a landlord take advantage of your good nature.

If you have notified your landlord of disrepair, and you are not completely satisfied with the response from your landlord, contact Hampson Hughes’ Andrew Fairman today to discuss your options. Call 0800 888 6888 or email .

by Andrew Fairman

Accidents and injuries at work remain a prevalent issue. This was recently highlighted in an incident in Rochdale, wherein a man became trapped in a machine. The man suffered crush injuries, and faced contamination from the chemicals used within the machine.

A harrowing thought that you could go to work and become injured during the normal course of your employment duties. If the unfortunate does occur, it is important to know what you can do in order to put yourself in the best position to recover from your accident.

Accidents at work can range from small occurrences, such as a simple trip over equipment, to a severe accident, such as the one which recently occurred in a factory in Rochdale.

Nevertheless, each incident should be treated the same way. Taking action against the employer with whom the fault lies should be considered, as the claimant should receive adequate compensation (assisting in a return to the quality of life enjoyed prior to the injury).

Employers have many obligations relating to their employees, including ensuring that their employees are:

• operating in a safe environment
• provided with that correct and safe equipment
• provided with a safe and correct system of work

An employee must ensure that these requirements are upheld. Where these requirements are not in place, and an injury occurs as a result, liability will rest with the employer. The employee will be able to bring an action to recover compensation for the injury sustained.

The Enterprise Act took effect in October of 2013. This act provides that claimants will now have to prove the element of negligence on behalf of their employers, rather than simply relying on a breach of a regulation.

Yet, this does not – and should not – preclude claimants from bringing an action.

Whilst this does represent a change from the previous position held under the case of Stark v Post Office, and does remove the previous elements of strict liability on defendant employers for certain aspects, it does not restrict a claimant’s action where a Defendant employer has not followed the correct procedure.

If an employer has not taken the reasonable steps to prevent an accident, or to comply with the relevant regulations, a claimant will be able to show that the Defendant employer has been negligent in not implementing regulations and the Defendant employer will still be liable.

In an uncertain world, the changes to Employer’s Liability and the implementation of the Enterprise Act do suggest that a claimant will have to work harder to prove breach of duty by an employer. However, this does not mean that an employer can act unreasonably and that a claimant can have no recourse.

With incident’s such as the recent occurrence in the Rochdale factory we are reminded that accident’s at work remain a serious issue, and that employers should face recourse and sanctions where they have failed to act reasonably.

If you have been injured in an accident at work, contact Hampson Hughes Solicitors today on 0800 888 6888 or email

Prolonged exposure to excessive noise can result in hearing impairment. Many employees are required to work in very noisy environments, which puts them at risk of industrial hearing loss (also known as occupational deafness or noise-induced hearing loss).

The introduction of acts to control noise levels in the workplace has seen the prevalence of industrial hearing loss fall, yet it still affects 14,000 people in the UK and 10,000,000 people in the US.

What causes industrial hearing loss?

Persistent sounds of 80 dB or more or sounds reaching a peak of 135 dB can cause industrial hearing loss. Such noise levels are created by mass-produced hand-held power tools such as drills, grinders, and nail guns. Industrial machines and processes can be associated with significantly greater noise.

In many professions, loud noise is an inevitable consequence of the nature of the work being carried out. For example construction, engineering, factory production, mining, textile manufacturing, iron/steel works, heavy fabrication, motor vehicle production, ship building.

Employees in such industries are regularly exposed to consistently high noise levels that, without adequate ear protection, can damage the structures of the ear and reduce the ability to hear.

What are the symptoms of industrial hearing loss?

The symptoms of industrial hearing loss build up gradually over time and are often dismissed as part of the aging process. They include temporary or permanent lack of hearing in one or both ears, difficulty hearing conversations or the TV/radio, and constant noise from within the ear(s) (typically ringing, buzzing, hissing, roaring or ticking) that impairs concentration and the ability to follow conversations (tinnitus).

Industrial hearing loss includes varying degrees of hearing impairment (which may be temporary or permanent), tinnitus (ringing in the ears), and acoustic trauma (ear damage caused by a sudden loud noise, e.g., feedback through headset, or a series of loud noises, e.g., gun fire).

Can industrial hearing loss be treated?

Hearing loss is extremely difficult to treat. However, if the signs are picked up early further hearing damage can be avoided.

There is no known cure for tinnitus. Sufferers must rely on long-term treatments such as the use of ‘de-tinnitising’ amplifiers to override the sounds of tinnitus or sound therapy classes to help retrain how the ear processes sounds.

Prevention of industrial hearing loss

It is possible to prevent industrial hearing loss by taking measures to reduce noise levels and ensuring that adequate ear protection is used effectively if noise cannot be reduced to a safe level.

It is the responsibility of the employer to protect the hearing of their employees and policies and guidelines have been developed to help them meet this. Employers are required to ensure that their workers are informed about the dangers of working in an environment where noise levels are high, to provide appropriate ear protection and enforce correct usage of the protective devices they issue.

The use of ear protection should be enforced if noise levels consistently exceed 80 dB or if sounds reach a peak of 135 dB. Average noise levels in the working environment must not exceed 87 dB (taking hearing protection into account).

Case studies of industrial hearing loss

Boat repairer

Charles had been exposed daily to the loud noises of hydraulic impacts from various machines during 10 years as a labourer in a factory that made and repaired boat motors. The high noise levels had become so commonplace to Charles that they no longer bothered him and he did not wear ear protection on a regular basis.

When Charles noticed that he was having difficulty hearing what people said to him more often and could not hear certain sounds, he sought medical advice. Charles was diagnosed with tinnitus and permanent hearing loss in both ears. Shocked by the extent of the damage Charles made sure that he always wore ear protection at work. He also began researching how to claim for compensation from his employer for neglecting to ensure his safety at work.

Iron worker

Whilst at work at a smelting works, Frank was surrounded by continuous extreme noise every working day for 35 years. Frank described the noise as being so excessive that he could not hear himself think. However, over time he became accustomed to the noise, not realising that it was causing lasting damage to his hearing.

Frank started to miss more and more of normal conversations, especially if there was background noise, and was suffering from ringing sounds in both his ears. Frank was diagnosed as having severe noise-induced hearing loss and tinnitus in both ears.

Following a claim for negligence, he received compensation from his employer for not protecting him from the noisy work environment.

Steel fitter

Malcolm had spent most of his working life as a fitter. He explained that there had always been very loud noise across the site “Noise was transmitted from the machines used to roll the steel. There were two furnaces, underground hydraulics and a roughing mill”.

He was not provided with any ear protection for the first 20 years he worked as a fitter, and wearing ear protection was not made compulsory for another five years after that. Malcolm began to struggle hearing everything that was being said to him and suffered hissing in his right ear.

The symptoms worsened over the years and Malcolm was diagnosed with industrial hearing loss and tinnitus. By the time of the diagnosis, it was too late to save his hearing, but his compensation payment helped him to buy quality equipment to help him hear better.

Further information on Industrial hearing loss

• http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/noise/stats.html
• http://www.hse.gov.uk/STATISTICS/causdis/deafness/index.htm
• http://www.soundadvice.info/thewholestory/san1.htm#symptoms
• http://www.industrialdeafness.org.uk/symptoms-of-industrial-deafness
• http://www.industrialdeafnesswatch.co.uk/real-life-stories

We’re delighted to announce Hampson Hughes Solicitors as sponsors of this year’s University of Liverpool Law Society Ball, taking place at Camp & Furness on June 2nd. This year’s theme is Gatsby – we’re sure the Ball is going to be a very glamorous, fun filled evening!