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Fire Service "heroes"
HSE pledges not to prosecute Fire-Service “heroes”
Fire-fighters in the middle of an emergency situation who take it upon themselves to risk their own lives to save others should be viewed as “truly heroic”, says the HSE.
In new guidance, entitled Striking the balance between operational and health and safety duties in the Fire and Rescue Service, the regulator attempts to define heroism, and address the recommendation by Lord Young, in Common sense, common safety, that individual fire-fighters should not fear investigation, or prosecution under health and safety law if they have put themselves at risk as a result of a heroic act.
While making it clear that fire and rescue services must manage all foreseeable risk effectively, the guidance emphasises the importance of recognising that “fire-fighters should not be expected to put themselves at unreasonable risk, even in the face of sometimes unrealistic public expectations”.
The regulator is adamant that it will view the actions of fire-fighters as “truly heroic when it is clear that they have decided to act entirely of their own volition in putting themselves at risk to protect the public, or colleagues, and there have been no orders, or other direction from senior officers to do so, and when their actions have not put other fire-fighters at similar high risk”.
Above all, it says, individual fire-fighters “should not act recklessly” but “sensibly and responsibly within the command and control of their employer”.
The guidance comes just a month after it was announced that three fire-service managers are to face manslaughter charges over the deaths of four fire-fighters in Warwickshire in 2007.
The Fire Brigades Union is currently formulating its position on the guidance and could not offer a comment in the meantime.
Insurers to appeal Scottish asbestos ruling
Insurers to appeal Scottish asbestos ruling
A court in Scotland has thrown out a legal bid by insurers to overturn a law confirming pleural-plaque victims’ right to seek damages.
The Scottish Parliament passed the Damages (Asbestos-related Conditions) (Scotland) Act in 2009, allowing sufferers of pleural plaques – areas of fibrosis that can develop on the lungs as a result of exposure to asbestos – to pursue compensation claims.
The Act itself reversed a landmark House of Lords decision in 2007, which denied victims the right, on the basis that pleural plaques are symptomless and do not constitute an actionable disease.
A group of insurers, including Aviva, AXA, RSA and Zurich, failed in a legal challenge last year to overturn the Damages Act, and appealed. The insurers disputed the validity of the law on the basis that it contravenes the European Convention on Human Rights provisions on property rights, and amounted to unreasonable legal interference.
In a judgement on 12 April, the Court of Session backed the original decision, concluding that there was interference, but that it is justified overall.
Construction union UCATT welcomed the decision but called on the Government to introduce a similar law to the Scottish Act in England and Wales.
Acting general secretary, George Guy, said: “It is unjustifiable that the vast majority of pleural-plaques victims in England and Wales continue to be denied compensation. Employers who knew the dangers needlessly exposed workers to asbestos. All victims deserve compensation, regardless of where they live.” Owing to the legal case mounted by the insurance industry, pleural-plaques victims in Scotland have not yet been able to begin compensation claims for their injuries. But further delay is likely, as the insurers have vowed to continue their fight.
A statement from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) said: “The insurers who brought this judicial review did so because there are legal principles at stake, and they remain confident that there is significant substance in their grounds for challenging the Damages Act. The insurers are therefore preparing to appeal the judgment to the Supreme Court. It went on: “Insurers remain fully committed to paying compensation, and pay out £200m a year to those with asbestos-related conditions that impact on health, like mesothelioma. However, pleural plaques do not impact on quality of life and do not in themselves lead to asbestos-related conditions, such as mesothelioma.”
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