Day 070 - 20 Dec 94 - Page 29


     
     1
     2   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  That is my first thought.  What I am
     3        suggesting is a step towards getting further information
     4        before I make an order one way or the other, because what
     5        I do feel I have to do in this area -- and I think I said
     6        it in terms before -- is draw some kind of balance between
     7        getting useful information and an enormous burden on your
     8        clients for what might be little useful information.  But
     9        I do, Mr. Rampton, feel at the moment that I need to know
    10        more about the system of keeping accurate statistics before
    11        I can make a final ruling.
    12
    13   MR. RAMPTON:  I know that in this country the method by which it
    14        is done is simply that each store has an accident book
    15        which is filled in more or less assiduously, according to
    16        the efficiency of the particular operation.  Some of those
    17        have been disclosed.  After that, what happens is that
    18        certain kinds of accidents have to be reported.
    19
    20   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  But that must be reduced to some kind of
    21        analysis which is fuller than tab 7 before someone can sit
    22        down yet again and produce something like the bottom of
    23        page 156.
    24
    25   MR. RAMPTON:  I will find out, first of all, if I can, how the
    26        tables in 156 were compiled.  I am not going to hazard a
    27        guess at that, because that is an American document.
    28        I will also find out what is the database for the tables at
    29        tab 7; and we will also give your Lordship -- there is one
    30        coming from America -- a short account (not a sworn
    31        account, just a statement) of how the system works in this
    32        country.
    33
    34   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  The final thing seems to me is, which you say
    35        is already being addressed, is there a possible model for
    36        the States which could be obtained which, although it would
    37        be only be a sample and therefore might be more or less
    38        accurate, would at least give some indication of that?
    39
    40   MR. RAMPTON:  My Lord, I think that probably can be done, but
    41        I am not going commit myself because when I do I am usually
    42        wrong.
    43
    44   MR. MORRIS:  Not to refer to the document, but casting my mind
    45        back over the document from the Health and Safety Executive
    46        which we did refer to -- I do not know if you remember --
    47        the document about their safety procedures, and they had
    48        interviewed a number of executives, including Mr. Preston;
    49        I think we cross-examined Mr. Preston on it -- I think one
    50        of the recommendations in there was that McDonald's 
    51        compiled statistics.  I cannot remember.  But, certainly, 
    52        it would be our submission that if McDonald's is unable to 
    53        produce accurate statistics, we will argue that they are
    54        completely irresponsible in monitoring their safety
    55        procedures.
    56
    57   MR. JUSTICE BELL:  That is a point of argument.  I am concerned
    58        in discovery.  It is pretty obvious that the idea of 400
    59        (let alone 5,000) equivalents of the three or four reports
    60        we saw where someone had found a chicken bone, the

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