A commonsense approach is plane obvious, says Dan McCauley
Accidents at work can often lead to hefty compensation claims and in high-profile cases, the damage to an employer’s reputation is often difficult to recover from. However, away from the headlines many courts are taking a commonsense approach to claims for damages following accidents in the workplace.
Claims for injuries occurring while an employee is at work can also adversely affect businesses through a loss output, damage to their reputation and increasing insurance rates, all before the case is even heard in court. But as a recent case demonstrates, defendant employers should not always have to worry that the courts will hold them liable for injuries caused in these kinds of accidents so long as they have implemented the relevant health and safety procedures correctly.
In Hough v Monarch Airlines Limited, the claimant was employed by the defendant airline as a cabin purser. Her duties during the course of a flight included, amongst other things, supplying passengers with DVD digi players and these were dispensed by means
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