I am looking to purchase some good reference books for case law etc. and wondered what people out there would recommend, obviously the more up to date the better. Health and Safety Law and Practice 4th Edition is expensive at £130 but is it worth it? Many thanks in anticipation of your responses!

WJ I assume that what HSE give their Inspectors is still Redgrave's Health and Safety, though I should not be surprised if it is no longer on personal issue to every Inspector. I've got the Seventh Edition (2010) which was substantially more expensive than the publication you refer you. It's still over 2000pp but the pages are much larger than those in my 1976 Redgrave's Health and Safety in Factories (still so titled despite being published after HSWA came into force). Worse the text on case law is in smaller font than in the 1976 edition, and not as easy to find. So more often than not I'm looking for the case law on what constituted a "building operation" whose definition was transposed into part of the definition of "construction work" in CDM, so it's back to pages 505-506 of my 1976 Redgrave, as recently as yesterday. To some extent depends on whether you want case law on criminal law, civil law (tort or delict) or both. When I left HSE they only wanted three things back. 1. My warrants 2. My BS5304 of machinery guarding 3. Redgrave, but the 1976 edition had been superseded so the 1976 copy was good to go.

Redgrave's is in addition due to its density, the perfect volume when you need to throw the book at someone. Sorry went all Friday there

Can I suggest you save yourself some money (or go out for a nice meal instead) and just use the internet? This is a good start: http://www.hse.gov.uk/resources/casestudies.htm

Chris Things don't change that fast, so it will be a while yet before I invest in a new Redgrave. In the meantime just about every that's newish is freely available on the internet, so that e.g. L153 is constantly on my desk as is the ACOP that supported CDM 2007 and the Non-binding guide to good practice for understanding and implementing Directive 92/57/EEC Given that the case law that I quote more often than any other dates back to 1965......

My first degree is in Law so I feel quite well placed to give you this advice. I would not waste my money buying any health and safety law text books. You can get the same information online free. I would however recommend buying a basic Tort textbook (you wont need a current edition so look 2nd hand) which will help you with some interesting cases and an English Legal System text book (again 2nd hand) which can give you a good understanding of the legal system and how legislation, regulations, ACOPS, case law etc fit into what we do.

I'm really grateful for all the responses, I've gone from buying an expensive reference book to now buying a second hand book on Tort off ebay and I've now got some great links to websites, so glad I asked the question and used the forums for the first time!!

Like David Watkins above I read law too. And I would agree with his recommendations: whist at uni we recycled old text books regularly as they are a diabolical price and still useful anyway as long as you kept on top of people like Denning and his many decisions. However, in regard to a book for the 'discerning OHS professional' I would recommend Munkman's Employer's Liability at Common Law-now in 16th Ed. Brilliant [not cheap though], just look what it has to offer up particularly with regard to many of the queries on forums. He writes a fine defence of strict liability which the government [and Lofstedt] has taken a big axe to -very backward methinks. I lent my copy to someone to help with CMIOSH and never saw it again-hmmm Bon chance Mike