Clause 56 — Commission for Equality and Human Rights

Part of Business without Debate – in the House of Commons at 4:15 pm on 16 April 2013.

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Photo of Andy McDonald Andy McDonald Labour, Middlesbrough 4:15, 16 April 2013

I should like to speak to amendment 38. As my hon. Friend the shadow Minister said, this proposal goes much further than the one made by Professor Löfstedt in his review of health and safety law. Professor Löfstedt referred to ending civil liability, but only in relation to strict liability, whereas these proposals will impact on the vast majority of employer liability cases, where breaches of statutory duty allegations are usually more important than negligence. In every case, the injured worker will have to prove that the employer knew, or ought to have known, that a machine was unsafe, equipment was faulty, or there had been previous accidents—something known to the employer but unlikely to be known by the employee.

It is worth noting that over 90% of health and safety regulation enforcement is through the civil courts. There are some 78,000 claims for compensation following accidents at work every year, but only 1,000 criminal prosecutions under health and safety, so if this proposal proceeds we will be singularly relying on the Health and Safety Executive to do a better job than it is doing now—and what is the likelihood of that, given the resources that are attributed to that organisation?

This is not fanciful or esoteric: we are talking about real people’s lives. Michael Adamson was a 29-year-old electrician who suffered a fatal electrocution in the course of his employment in August 2005. The accident occurred during the construction of a retail outlet when he touched a cable labelled “Not in use”. The cable was live and Michael was fatally injured, but Michael’s family saw justice because they were able to rely on the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989. If they had not been able to rely on the regulations, they would not have been compensated for the loss of a son and brother.

Mr Hill, who was a roofer and slater, fell from scaffolding during the course of his work and suffered very serious injuries resulting in incomplete tetraplegia. The accident occurred as he came down the scaffolding on a portable ladder that was not fixed or in any way secured; he fell to the ground, causing the injury. His injuries were so severe that damages were agreed at just under £2 million. The court held that there was no liability at common law, but there was liability under the Work at Height Regulations 2005. Were it not for those regulations, Mr Hill, whose injuries were so serious and life-altering, would not have received any compensation.

Finally, Mr John Smyth suffered catastrophic injuries in the course of his employment. He was working on a barge. A coupling on a crane that was moving a steel beam overhead failed and the beam fell, striking Mr Smyth on his head. He suffered a severe brain injury and has been rendered quadriplegic. His life and the lives of his family have been shattered. Compensation exceeding £2 million was obtained, because Mr Smyth could rely on the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 and the Work at Height Regulations 2005. He would not have received any compensation if those regulations could not be relied on.

Significant sums are involved in catastrophic injury cases. When I left practice, I left behind a case load that ran into hundreds of millions of pounds. Those are not windfalls for people. This is not about a compensation culture. These people have not won the pools or the lottery. Those moneys are there to provide them with lifelong care—with transport, rehabilitation, speech therapy and physiotherapy—but the Government’s proposal seeks to pull the rug from under all those people. Why on earth will this Government not think things through? Where will those people turn? They will turn to the statutory services. Are the Government serious about nationalising rehabilitation and giving the bill to the taxpayer while letting the insurers off the hook? Insurers are rubbing their hands in glee at these proposals, and it is about time that this Government woke up. It will cost this country a fortune if they proceed in this way.

People now face difficulties in making their case. Lord Brown, a former Supreme Court justice, highlighted in the other place the difficulties experienced by workers in proving the negligence of employers. He said that when he worked as a barrister a number of claims were lost

“because the claimants were not quite able to assemble all the evidence necessary to prove actual negligence.”—[Hansard, House of Lords, 6 March 2013; Vol. 743, c. 1513.]

That is the situation that people will be placed in—they will be denied a basic human right, and at a massive cost to the taxpayer.

Karl Tonks, president of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers, has said:

“Lord Brown’s comments go to the heart of the matter. People injured through no fault of their own will find it extremely challenging to secure justice.”

He also commented on

“unintended consequences which will not just affect the workers involved, but society as a whole.”

I beg the Government to think again about the proposals. I do not think that they have thought through the consequences of their actions. This will result in a lot of misery for people who will have to turn to our statutory services and not receive the care and attention they need. The lack of availability of district nurses will mean that those with a spinal cord injury will have to wait in their properties for the nurse on duty to evacuate their bowels at a time not of their choosing, when the whole point—the whole caboodle—is to make sure that people can live the lives that they want to and fulfil their potential. The proposals will deny them that opportunity and I beg the Government to think again.