Foreseeability is related to experience It may not be foreseeable that if glass ampoules containing anaesthetic are immersed in disinfectant the anaesthetic will be contaminated, but events may prove that this can happen. The fact that an accident has occurred once may make it foreseeable that it will happen again (Roe v Ministry of Health, below) and it may even be probable that it will happen (Bolton and Others v Stone)! : In discussions about occupational health and safety it is very easy to fall into a sort of shorthand and speak – and perhaps even think – merely of prevention of accidents. It must not be forgotten, however, that it is just as important to prevent persons at work suffering damage to their health as it is to protect them from suffering accidental injury. Both the criminal law and the civil law For nearly two centuries, Royal Commissions and Select Committees have investigated and reported on various aspects of occupational health and safety. For the last half century safety experts and academics have produced a considerable amount of literature on the subject. A recurrent theme in this literature is the cost of accidents and ill health to the victims, to industry and

doi:10.4324/9781843140504-37

Chapter

Foreseeability is related to experience It may not be foreseeable that if glass ampoules containing anaesthetic are immersed in disinfectant the anaesthetic will be contaminated, but events may prove that this can happen. The fact that an accident has occurred once may make it foreseeable that it will happen again (Roe v Ministry of Health, below) and it may even be probable that it will happen (Bolton and Others v Stone)!

Chapter

In discussions about occupational health and safety it is very easy to fall into a sort of shorthand and speak – and perhaps even think – merely of prevention of accidents. It must not be forgotten, however, that it is just as important to prevent persons at work suffering damage to their health as it is to protect them from suffering accidental injury. Both the criminal law and the civil law For nearly two centuries, Royal Commissions and Select Committees have investigated and reported on various aspects of occupational health and safety. For the last half century safety experts and academics have produced a considerable amount of literature on the subject. A recurrent theme in this literature is the cost of accidents and ill health to the victims, to industry and

ABSTRACT

It may not be foreseeable that if glass ampoules containing anaesthetic are immersed in disinfectant the anaesthetic will be contaminated, but events may prove that this can happen. The fact that an accident has occurred once may make it foreseeable that it will happen again (Roe v Ministry of Health,4 below) and it may even be probable that it will happen (Bolton and Others v Stone)!5 Thus standards may be tightened from one generation to the next in the light of experience.