Nightclub Dancer Compensated Following Vicious Assault by Customer

Public-facing businesses are under a clear legal duty to protect their personnel from the risk of assault by customers. In a case on point, a nightclub dancer who was viciously attacked by a client was awarded substantial compensation after a culpable delay in security staff coming to her…

Feb 21, 2022

She remonstrated with the client after he broke the club’s strict ‘no touching’ rule by slapping her on the buttock. He first tried to punch her before smashing a glass over her head, resulting in 2.5-centimetre wound to her forehead that required stitches. Security staff intervened but the police were not called and the client left the club without being identified.

After she launched proceedings against the club, the court found that she bore no responsibility for what happened. The client was 100 per cent to blame for the assault. Had security staff been constantly scanning the club for trouble, as they should have been, they would have witnessed the start of the altercation and intervened within a few seconds. Had that occurred, the assault would probably have been prevented. The dancer was awarded £12,000 in damages.

High Court Delves into Social History to Resolve Widow’s Asbestos Claim

Many people are still being carried off by merciless cancer due to asbestos exposure in the dim and distant past. As a High Court ruling showed, it is the very passage of time that makes it so hard for their loved ones to obtain compensation. The case concerned a former plasterer who died, aged 72, from mesothelioma – an incurable form of cancer that commonly takes decades to develop and can be caused by breathing in a single asbestos fibre. His widow launched a personal injury claim against a…

ET Upholds Supermarket Worker’s Sexual Harassment Complaint

Those who endure the crushing experience of sexual harassment in the workplace owe it to themselves to seek legal redress. The point was made by the case of a supermarket worker who found herself immersed in a ‘man’s world’ where sexualised comments and behaviour went unchecked. The promising teenager, who worked for a supermarket chain for about two and a half years, achieved swift promotion to shift manager. Following her resignation, however, she launched Employment Tribunal (ET) proceedings…

Unfairly Dismissed? You Must Take Reasonable Steps to Mitigate Your Loss

Those who are unfairly dismissed are required to take reasonable steps to mitigate their financial loss, usually by hunting for a new job. The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) made that point in the case of a woman who made not one application for fresh employment in the three years after she was sacked. The woman, who worked for a financial services company, launched Employment Tribunal (ET) proceedings after she was dismissed, purportedly on grounds of redundancy. Following a liability…