News Desk

Thompsons Solicitors are the most experienced personal injury practice in the country with specific expertise in personal injury claims. 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.

To view earlier press releases please go to the relevant page:

2009 Jan-Apr, May-Aug, Sep-Dec

2008 Jan-Apr, May-Aug, Sep-Dec

2007 Jan-Apr, May-Aug, Sep-Dec

2006 Jan-Apr, May-Aug, Sep-Dec

2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000

12th March 2010

Grandmother saved pupils from being crushed by faulty climbing frame

A grandmother, who was injured while protecting school children from falling wall bars, has received £10,000 in compensation, with help from her union UNISON.

11th March 2010

Redundant train drivers awarded compensation

An ASLEF member who was refused redundancy pay when he was forced to leave his job working as a train driver has won more than £12,000 in compensation.

10th March 2010

Engineer forced to give up job after serious tripping injury

A UNITE member who was forced to give up his job after he suffered a serious foot injury at work has received £210,000 in compensation.

9th March 2010

Army officer compensated for cold injuries

A promising army recruit who was discharged after developing a non-freezing cold injury because he was not supplied with the right equipment has received £160,000 in compensation.

8th March 2010

British Rail worker’s family compensated for mesothelioma death

The family of a South West London man who died from asbestos related disease has received compensation of £89,000.

5th March 2010

Bakery driver compensated for back injury

A bakery delivery driver who damaged his back in a workplace accident has received £6,000 in compensation after help from his trade union.

4th March 2010

Youths inspired by Thompsons Solicitors

Young people from across Sheffield will attend an inspirational outreach conference in July 2010 and high achievers in Sheffield are being asked to donate their time to help out.

3rd March 2010

Stress university worker receives damages

A university worker who had to work up to 65-hours a week has received £110,000 in compensation after he had to give up work due to stress.

1st March 2010

Wirral man receives compensation for asbestos disease

Stephen McKeown, 64, from the Wirral was diagnosed with disabling asbestos related condition pleural thickening in 2007.

25th February 2010

Government proposals for asbestos victims receives mixed reaction from Thompsons

Thompsons Solicitors has expressed disappointment at the decision not to restore compensation for people with pleural plaques in England and Wales, but welcomed a multi million pound package which will see increased state benefit payments for dependants of deceased asbestos victims and funding for research into asbestos related disease.

24th February 2010

Asbestos compensation for former Shell employee

The 62-year-old from Manchester was diagnosed with asbestos related pleural thickening in 2008.

23rd February 2010

Former council chairman searches for cause of bladder cancer

Terry Burns, 51, from Burnley was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2005.

22nd February 2010

North West UNISON members compensated for asbestos related disease

Thompsons Solicitors’ dedicated team of lawyers in the North West who fight for compensation on behalf of people suffering from asbestos related disease have recovered more than £670,000 in damages for five UNISON members in the last 12 months.

18th February 2010

Highways driver compensated for faulty brakes

A GMB member has received £5,000 in compensation after brakes on his work van that he had complained about failed and he crashed.

17th February 2010

Statement from Elaine and Steve Been with regards to inquest into death of their son Daniel

Daniel Bee died in a car accident while on holiday with friends in Morocco. The inquest into his death was held at Nottingham Coroner’s Court. The coroner recorded death by unlawful killing on Wednesday, February 17, 2010.

16th February 2010

Railways worker compensated after serious car accident

An ASLEF member who suffered a horrendous car accident has received £360,000 in compensation.

15th February 2010

£230,000 compensation for family of engineer

The family of an engineer who died from asbestos related disease mesothelioma has received compensation of £230,000.

11th February 2010

Biffa pleads guilty to health and safety charges

Waste contractors Biffa has pleaded guilty to two health and safety charges at Newbury Magistrates Court after a man was killed whilst dumping grass cuttings.

10th February 2010

Thompsons welcomes plans for Insurance fund of Last Resort

Thompsons Solicitors has welcomed Government plans to help injured workers and their families obtain compensation.

10th February 2010

Corus worker receives compensation for vibration injury

The 53-year-old from Barnsley was left with the debilitating condition Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) after using vibrating tools in his job at Corus in Rotherham.

9th February 2010

Unite member compensated for asbestosis

Power station worker Clifford King, 85, from Newark in Nottinghamshire was diagnosed with asbestosis, with a 20% disability, in 2008 after suffering from a chest infection.

8th February 2010

Derby family call on Government to help asbestos victims

A Derbyshire family has called for the Government to help asbestos victims and their families obtain compensation.

5th February 2010

Cooker manufacturer pays compensation for unsafe practices

A GMB member has received £10,000 in damages after a cooker manufacturer failed to put safety measures in place to avoid injuries to assembly line workers.

4th February 2010

Police officer helped by federation’s legal service

A police officer who was forced to go on light duties after a car accident has received £7,000 compensation after help from the Police Federation.

3rd February 2010

HGV driver receives compensation from service station

An RMT member who was forced to take nine weeks off work after he fell through an uncovered manhole has received compensation after help from his trade union.

2nd February 2010

Nissan worker compensated for nasty fall

A car manufacturer employee who was forced to give up his trade has received a six figure sum in compensation after help from his union.

1st February 2010

Family wins compensation after hospital’s failures

A child who was starved of oxygen at birth today had a substantial sum in compensation approved by Manchester District Registry.

28th January 2010

Council forks out compensation for body armour injury

A community enforcement officer, who was injured because he was issued with ill-fitting, second hand body armour, has received compensation, with help from UNISON.

28th January 2010

Factory worker awarded damages for hearing loss

Ashiq Hussain Shah, 58, from Keighley in Yorkshire has received £13,500 in damages after suffering from occupational deafness.

27th January 2010

Apprentice sparky forced to give up dream job after accident

Martin Gill, 24, from Darlington was off work for a year after he seriously injured his back while working for Anderson Electrics in 2007.

26th January 2010

Police worker receives £10,000 after fall

A Public and Commercial Services (PCS) union member who was forced to change jobs after a serious workplace accident has received more than £10,000 in compensation.

25th January 2010

Landmark ruling for prisoners sexually abused by warden

A GMB member who was abused by a prison officer has received £40,000 in damages after a landmark legal ruling.

22nd January 2010

Former BT employee compensated for asbestos related disease

A mesothelioma sufferer has received substantial compensation after his employers admitted exposing him to asbestos.

21st January 2010

Family’s plea for information about asbestos exposure

The family of a Leeds woman who died from asbestos related disease is searching for information about her employment with Leeds County Council.

20th January 2010

Firefighter warns colleagues to log accidents

A firefighter has warned his colleagues to make sure they log all workplace accidents no matter how minor after becoming seriously injured while attending a routine call.

19th January 2010

Patient compensated for painful pressure sores

A patient who ended up with serious pressure sores after a routine hip operation has received £18,000.

18th January 2010

Terminal cancer sufferer wins £205,000 in asbestos claim

A gardener who was diagnosed with an asbestos related cancer and told he has only months to live has been awarded £205,000, with the help of UNISON.

15th January 2010

Morphine treatment led to addiction

A care assistant who developed a dependence on morphine treatment following a serious workplace injury has received £18,000 in compensation.

14th January 2010

£90,000 for scaffolder after 40ft fall

Trevor Cox, 43, an advanced scaffolder from Newcastle was off work for eight months with his injuries after the accident in July 2007.

14th January 2010

Civil Costs Review is Bonus Time for insurers

Implementation of Lord Justice Jackson’s Review of Civil Costs will take up to 50% of injured people’s compensation while insurers get extra profits, the UK’s leading personal injury law firm warns.

13th January 2010

Community boost expected from new project

A new organisation is being launched to help boost community feeling across Sheffield on Saturday, January 16, 2010.

13th January 2010

Broken ankle leads to life threatening condition

A driver who faces the risk of developing a life-threatening blood clot has received £20,000 in provisional damages after a workplace accident.

12th January 2010

Asbestos victim’s search for former workmates

Ronald D’Abreu, 71, from Broxbourne in Hertfordshire is suffering from mesothelioma, a cancer of the lung caused by exposure to asbestos.

12th January 2010

Bullied hospital manager had nervous breakdown

Her trade union took up Nanette Bowen’s case after she was harassed over a three-year period.

11th January 2010

Retired police officer’s family receives asbestos compensation

The widow of a retired police officer has received a substantial sum in compensation for her husband’s death from asbestos related disease.

11th January 2010

Frail pensioner receives £9000 for injury caused by carer

The 92-year-old was found with a broken femur at Cedar Court Care Home in Seaham, in May 2008.

8th January 2010

Shock at Corporate Manslaughter sentencing proposals

Not linking fines with turnover is a gross undermining of the Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 (CMCHA).

8th January 2010

Pleural Plaques Claims in Scotland

A Judicial Review by insurers to stop the Scottish Parliament overturning a 2007 House of Lords decision to end compensation for those exposed to asbestos and suffering from pleural plaques has been dismissed by the Outer House, Court of Session.

7th January 2010

Asbestos victim receives compensation six months after cancer diagnosis

Reginald Lamming, 77, from Enfield, Middlesex was diagnosed with the fatal cancer mesothelioma caused by exposure to asbestos working as a labourer and joiners’ mate.

6th January 2010

Grandfather disabled by asbestos related disease receives compensation

A former plasterer, who worked for Chester College, has received £45,000 after developing an asbestos related disease.

5th January 2010

Faulty design causes JCB worker’s accident

Peter Slaney from Staffordshire was testing the new JCB Loadall, a type of vehicle used on farms for moving materials, when a faulty step on the machine caused him to fall and break his humerus.

4th January 2010

£110,000 for GMB member injured by forklift truck

David Osmond, 58, from Usworth in Washington was left with multiple fractures to his left foot and ankle after a colleague reversed into him