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News Desk 2005
Thompsons provides a news and information service to journalists interested in personal injury and employment law issues. This includes press releases on many of the firm's successful cases, and comment on legal matters which affect trade unions and their members, and on our responses to government policy consultation documents.
A selection of press releases are below. To contact Thompsons' press office, please call 0207 290 0000.
Links to press releases for other years can be found on the main News Desk page
20 December 2005
Thompsons welcomes government report on corporate manslaughter
The UK's leading trades union solicitors have welcomed the report and recommendations from the Home Affairs and Work and Pension Committees on the Government's Draft Corporate Manslaughter Bill.
19 December 2005
Asbestos cancer drug postcode lottery victory
Victory for North East patients suffering from mesothelioma has been achieved, following a decision by the region’s Cancer Network to make a licensed chemotherapy drug called Alimta available on the NHS. More...
19 December 2005
Bristol breast cancer patient threatens court action to get Herceptin drug
Many women who are suffering from breast cancer in Bristol are anxiously awaiting the outcome of a meeting within North Bristol Primary Care Trust. The meeting, which is to be held on 21st December, has been called specifically to decide whether they will receive the life saving drug Herceptin.
13 December 2005
ABI proposals put profit before injured people
The insurance industry is using scare tactics dressed up as consumer concern, leading personal injury claimant firm Thompsons says in response to the ABI’s report Care and Compensation. More...
7 December 2005
CICA reform proposals punish victims of crime
Tom Jones, partner at Thompsons Solicitors, which represents people injured at work by crime, warns that the Home Office proposals to abolish the lower levels of compensation under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme will punish and alienate victims. More...
28 November 2005
Clinical negligence victim wins damages
A woman who had a kidney removed as a result of a mis-diagnosis at Stafford General Hospital, has been awarded £33,650 in damages through legal representation from clinical negligence solicitors, Thompsons. More...
28 November 2005
Trampoline amputee wins compensation through UNISON scheme
A young woman who lost a leg after a horrific trampolining accident at a sports centre has been awarded six figure damages through her father’s membership of a trade union. More...
14 November 2005
Insurers try to overturn 20 years of case law to halt asbestos payouts
Lawyers acting for asbestos claimants will this week fight the insurance industry in the Court of Appeal for their clients’ continued right to compensation for an asbestos related condition called Pleural Plaques. More...
3 November 2005
Compensation Bill dances to tune of insurance industry
The government has fallen into a trap set by the insurance industry in a phoney war over a compensation culture that does not exist, leading personal injury law firm Thompsons says in response to the publication today of the Compensation Bill. More...
27 October 2005
Shambolic smoking ban won’t prevent litigation, lawyers warn
Leading personal injury law firm Thompsons has described the government’s proposed legislation to ban smoking in pubs and restaurants which sell food as "shambolic". More...
24 October 2005
Thompsons Solicitors opens office in Chelmsford
Thompsons Solicitors, the UK’s leading personal injury law firm, is marking the opening of its Chelmsford office on 28th October with free legal advice surgeries for local residents. Senior solicitors will be available at Grosvenor House, 53 New London Road, Chelmsford on the following dates - 12 November, 26 November and 10 December between 10am and 1pm to offer advice on any aspect of legal rights in respect of personal injury and disease. More...
21 October 2005
House of Lords grants leave to appeal on Ainsworth
On 20 October the House of Lords granted leave to appeal in the case of Ainsworth and others v Commissioners of Inland Revenue. Thompsons will post the date of the hearing on this site as soon as it is known. More...
19 October 2005
Tribunal system unfair to employees, not bosses
Thompsons is calling for an urgent review of the new rules dispute resolution procedures, which it says is resulting in 1000s of claims being turned away. More...
14 October 2005
Hain reinforces the need for union legal services in Wales
Peter Hain, Secretary of State for Wales, today reinforced the need for union legal services across Wales. Hain was speaking at a ceremony to mark the official opening of a new office in Swansea for leading South Wales law firm Thompsons Solicitors, a firm which won £35 million last year in compensation for people in Wales with industrial diseases such as asbestos related diseases, and those injured in workplace and other accidents. More...
11 October 2005
Family of mesothelioma victim wins compensation
Thompsons Solicitors has recovered a six figure sum in compensation for the family of Mr Philip Gibbon who died in January 2005 as a result of mesothelioma, an asbestos related disease (ARD). Mr Gibbon developed the disease whilst working as a shop fitter and joiner for William Nicholson & Son (Leeds) Limited and William Nicholson and Son Limited between 1966 and 1974.
7 October 2005
Legal advice for all with free surgery offer from local solicitor
Leading South Wales law firm Thompsons Solicitors is running free legal advice surgeries for local residents to coincide with the opening of its new office on Castle Street, Swansea on 14 October. Lawyers from the firm, which last year won £35 million in compensation for people in Wales with industrial diseases such as asbestos related diseases and those injured in workplace and other accidents, will be on hand every Saturday morning from 10am-12pm, starting on 15 October. More...
19 September 2005
Thompsons demands criminal injury compensation review after payout for tragic boy
Lawyers are calling for an urgent review of the system which awards compensation to victims of criminal injury after a young boy, who was left severely disabled after being attacked as a baby by his mother’s boyfriend, received just £500,000 compensation. More...
12 September 2005
UK workers are unaware of their rights to claim compensation for injury and disease caused by work, a nationwide survey reveals. Workers say trade unions, the government and employers must take the lead in raising awareness. More...
12 September 2005
Addressing the nation’s health – postcode lottery continues in the North East
Further cases are emerging of what is being described as the postcode health lottery, where patients in certain parts of the country are not receiving the newest and best treatments because guidance on what should be available is not being implemented. More...
2 September 2005
Smoking bans a red herring, leading law firm warns
Exempting pubs and clubs that do not serve prepared food from a smoking ban will not protect them from legal action on behalf of workers made ill from cigarette smoke, the UK's expert passive smoking law firm has warned. More...
29 July 2005
Clear Answers for Thompsons Solicitors
Thompsons Solicitors, the UK's leading personal injury law firm, is pleased to announce the purchase of Clear Answers Limited, an online and telephone access personal injury service. More...
29 July 2005
Transco drivers injured by laptops secure compensation through their union legal services
A number of drivers from Cumbria and Tyne and Wear employed by Transco Plc (and formerly British Gas) have secured compensation for back injuries suffered due to the use of laptops fitted into their vans. With legal support provided by Thompsons Solicitors via their union membership of GMB, the drivers pursued claims against the company who refused to admit they were responsible. The claims were successful and damages have now been recovered. More...
21 July 2005
Virgin managers ordered to take disability rights training
Three senior managers at Virgin Cross Country Trains have been ordered by an employment tribunal to attend training in disability rights law. More...
20 July 2005
Desperate bid to trace co-workers of tragic victim of asbestos
Lawyers acting for Beryl Baker, the widow of a Salisbury carpenter who died a tragic and painful death from the asbestos cancer mesolthelioma are desperate to trace his co-workers. More...
20 July 2005
Welsh UNISON member receives £390,000 for road collision with trailer
UNISON member Douglas Phillips aged 61 from Brecon, Powys has obtained damages of £390,000 for multiple injuries arising from a road accident in December 1999. More...
14 July 2005
Urgent need for new law after Hatfield prosecution failure
Today's failure of the prosecution of five railway managers for corporate manslaughter following the Hatfield train crash highlights the urgent need for the government to bring in its corporate manslaughter legislation, says trade union law firm Thompsons. More...
6 July 2005
Next government must end workplace deaths
Leading trade union law firm Thompsons today welcomed London's successful Olympic bid - but warned that those involved in building for the 2012 Games must not lose sight of workers' rights amid the pressure to deliver the infrastructure on time. More...
29 June 2005
Thompsons opens new office in Swansea
Thompsons Solicitors, the most experienced personal injury, employment rights and trade union law firm in the UK, has opened in Swansea with the opening of a new 'shop front' office in Castle Street. More...
20 June 2005
NASAG recovers over £1 million in compensation for asbestos victims
NASAG, the Northeast Asbestos Support & Awareness Group, has recovered over £1 million in compensation claims for victims of asbestos related diseases (ARDs) in the North East area, with many more cases still to be settled. More...
16 June 2005
Virgin Trains breaches disability law
A Virgin Trains driver has been awarded £41,000 damages by Exeter Employment Tribunal for Virgin's failure to allow him to return to work and failing to make adjustments while he was recovering from an injury sustained in a train crash at a level crossing. More...
14 June 2005
£28,000 payout for injured Swansea holidaymaker
Malcolm Jones, a 53 year old retired Fire Fighter from Ystradgynlais, has won £28,000 compensation at Swansea County Court following a "holiday from hell" in Spain. More...
19 May 2005
The GMB's solicitors in the West Midlands, Thompsons, were very happy to help out a GMB member following a case of identity theft. Kay Grimshaw contacted the union's West Midlands office for legal advice after realising that an inheritance cheque sent to her by her late aunt's solicitors had been intercepted in the post and cashed at the Muswell Hill branch of Halifax. More...
4 May 2005
Gay theatre worker wins discrimination fight
Durham City Council has been found guilty of discriminating against a gay theatre worker who suffered months of bullying and harassment at the hands of his manager. The council were also found to have constructively and unfairly dismissed Mr Gismondi. The manager was also found to have discriminated against Mr Gismondi. More...
28 April 2005
Next government must end workplace deaths
On Workers Memorial Day, Thompsons Solicitors, the UK's leading personal injury and trade union law firm, is calling on the next government to make an immediate commitment to ending deaths at work by increasing the fines for convictions of corporate manslaughter. More...
7 April 2005
Tribunal upholds right of union to refuse membership to BNP member
An employment tribunal has rejected a claim by a British National Party member that they were refused membership of a trade union because of their political views. More...
22 March 2005
Union lawyers welcome government position on small claims
Thompsons, the UK's leading trade union and personal injury law firm, has welcomed the Lord Chancellor's indication that he will not be raising the small claims limit. More...
16 March 2005
The Lord Chancellor has described trade union legal services as the "foundation stone to a progressive and fair society". More...
14 March 2005
Road crash victim says keep small claims limit
The NUJ's legal service has won nearly £6,000 in damages for a member injured in a car crash, who was originally offered just £50 by the insurers. More...
14 March 2005
Union acts in negligent parking road smash
A primary school learning mentor who suffered 18 months of whiplash pain following a road traffic accident caused by a badly parked lorry has received £3,500 compensation through her trade union's legal scheme. More...
15 February 2005
Insurers fail in bid to stop compensation for thousands of asbestos victims
Insurers have failed in their attempt to evade responsibility for compensating thousands of victims of asbestos exposure according to a landmark judgment in a test case announced today in the High Court in Newcastle Upon Tyne. More...
11 February 2005
Desperate bid to trace co-workers of tragic victim of asbestos
Lawyers acting for the widow of a Hackney Council worker who died a tragic and painful death from the asbestos cancer mesothelioma are desperate to trace his co-workers. More...
9 February 2005
Farmer responsible for neighbour's lost sight in hay making accident
A Herefordshire farmer who allowed a neighbour to use a piece of hay turning equipment, is liable for his neighbour losing his sight when a piece of machinery broke off and pierced his eye. More...
8 February 2005
Lawyers' warning on uninsured cosmetic surgeons
Having cosmetic surgery without ensuring the surgeon has a valid insurance certificate could make it impossible to sue if things go wrong, leading clinical negligence law firm Thompsons has warned. More...
25 January 2005
University accused of sacking pregnant woman with breast cancer
A leading academic at the University of Manchester (formerly UMIST) tomorrow (26 January) faces claims that he sacked a research associate because she was pregnant and having treatment for breast cancer. More...
25 January 2005
Landmark ruling against Corus UK for vibration exposure
The former British Steel, Corus UK, has been found liable for negligently exposing boilermakers to vibration, in a landmark ruling that could have implications for the entire steel industry in the UK. More...
20 January 2005
TUC and Thompsons publish new Guide to Equality Law
Trade union law firm Thompsons and the TUC have published an easy to understand guide to equality law. The TUC Guide to Equality Law is co-written by Thompsons' head of equal rights Nicola Dandridge and Alison Clarke, editor of Thompsons' monthly Labour and European Law Review. More...
12 January 2005
TUC and Thompsons publish new Guide to Equality Law
Trade union law firm Thompsons and the TUC have published an easy to understand guide to equality law. The TUC Guide to Equality Law is co-written by Thompsons' head of equal rights Nicola Dandridge and Alison Clarke, editor of Thompsons' monthly Labour and European Law Review. More...
12 January 2005
Driver wins compensation for goat crash
A train driver who suffered psychological injury after his train struck and killed a goat that had strayed on to the line has received £35,000 compensation for the shock and trauma and subsequent loss of pension and free/discounted travel. More...
11 January 2005
Nightclub chain responsible for attack by doorman
Nightclub operators Luminar have been found responsible for an attack by a doorman which left a Southend firefighter with brain damage. More...