The world has gone mad (or: What happened to common sense?)

The company I work for is American, and so is the client in who's office I am based. I used to think the Health & Safety regulations in the UK were over the top, I used to roll my eyes when I was told I was not allowed to stand on chairs or run down the stairs in heels. But this is madness. I think it must have to do with the American (and Australian) habit of suing everyone for everything, because today I had the most ridiculous H&S conversation EVER via email. It involved (and wasted time for, if you ask me) people in the US, Australia, Hong Kong and Tokyo.

Here is a summary:


(HR person to Facilities person):
- We had a workplace injury recently, the employee cut his knee and had to have stitches. Please can you advise on the correct procedure for incidents like this?

(Facilities person, copying in Security Manager and Corporate Risk Manager):
Was the injury facilities related, i.e. spill, hazard, tear in the carpet?

(HR person, copying in all of the above plus Senior Security Manager and Regional Facilities Manager):
The injury was on the toilet roll holder. The individual hit his knee while in the cubicle and received a laceration.

(Senior Security Manager replying to all):
I think you mentioned hiring on a new Facilities Administrator for the Sydney office. Would it be possible to have them investigate the mechanics involved which caused the injury, and determine if there is any action we can take to minimize the potential for this to occur again.

(Facilities person replying to all and copying me in):
Sara is our new Facilities Administrator in the Sydney office. Regarding the incident, was the bathroom male or female? She could probably take a look and offer up some thoughts, though some discretion/warning would be needed if it is for a male restroom.

(Me, replying to all):
Please find attached a photo of the type of toilet roll holder that caused the injury. If I understand the situation correctly, the person was getting changed in the toilet cubicle when he hit his knee. The metal holder is positioned in a reasonable spot and has rounded corners, and I doubt it would cause any injuries during “normal” use of the toilet cubicle. In my opinion this was an isolated incident and no action is needed.