Time to Regulate Hairdressers to Reduce Injury Claims? [1st Dec 2011]
Plans for a register of hairdressers in the UK has been turned down by MPs, despite a spate of severe injuries to clients by hairdressers who are either poorly trained or have made serious mistakes. David Morris who is a MP and an ex-hairdresser put the bill forward and pointed out that hairdressers use dangerous chemicals and these can even lead to death for those who are allergic. He says that anyone can set themselves up as a hairdresser even if they are not trained. Deborah Evans from the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers has added to the discussions and said that terrible injuries, burns and reactions are too common in the hairdressing industry and it should not be left to its own devices any longer. There have been three serious incidents involving hair dye in recent months. One teenage girl died, another was left scarred and a woman was left in a coma due to allergic reactions. The widow of a former England football player has called on the governing body of the game to pay compensation for the injuries her husband sustained as a player, which she claims led to his death. Jeff Astle was a striker for England and played for West Bromich Albion during his career. He died in 2002 and a coroner concluded that he had serious brain damage as a result of heading heavy leather balls while playing. Despite this conclusion, the family have not been able to win compensation from the Football Association. Mrs Astle says that when her husband died he had no memory of having played football at all and struggled to remember his daughter's names. A neuropathologist also found that Astle's brain was seriously damaged and showed signs of trauma. Further studies carried out in the US have also shown that other football players have similar brain abnormalities. It is thought that around 1500 headers would be enough to cause serious damage. This amounts to a few each day of a player's career. The FA have said that the size and weight of the balls are now regulated and that they will keep an eye on the research. In his "mini budget" announced this week the Chancellor George Osborne has stated that business red tape and the culture of employment tribunals will be a thing of the past. He has stated that he will look into ways in which employees could be fired without being able to claim unfair dismissal which often leads to large compensation payments. In addition there may be a "compensated, no fault dismissal" option for employers. This would mean work in a similar way to redundancy, but without the long drawn out processes required. The employee would be compensated. Health and safety rules would also be looked at to reduce the burden on businesses. Osborne suggested that small businesses were often afraid to hire new staff in case it didn't work out and they were left with huge compensation bills. It has been decided that street lights in the Gwynedd area of Wales are to be dimmed rather than turned off completely in an effort to save money for the local council. It is thought that £147,000 could be saved over the next ten years by simply turning the lights down. It was considered turning the lights off between midnight and 5.30am, but it was felt that this would be too dangerous. It was felt that turning the lights down would lead to fewer personal injury accidents and fewer claims of compensation for the council than turning the lights off. It is also hoped that there would be fewer night time incidents of crime and emergency services would be able to see where they were going more easily. The idea has been trialled in a few areas and so far has been successful. |
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