The most common question asked by client’s who have suffered a personal injury is; ‘what is my claim worth?’ Everyone wants to know what their claim is worth, what they should expect to receive with regards to compensation but what many of them will not ask is; ‘how is my claim calculated?’

Clients, on occasion, will argue that their claim is worth more than is being advised because ‘Jo Blogs’ down the road received more or ‘someone’ told them it would be worth ‘X’ amount. Many clients believe that liable Defendant’s should pay out sums of money for general inconvenience caused or as an apology for causing the incident. Unfortunately, the system does not work in this manor…so how does it work? Are there rules and guidelines in place to aid when making valuations?

The answer is yes and the guidelines in place are the ‘JSB Guidelines’.
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A street in Britain with one of the highest number of motor claims has been covered in bubble wrap to make it safer.

According to The Times, the stunt was organised by Confused.com, and took place on Somerville road in Worcester. The entire street was covered in 1,500 square feet of plastic sheeting in an attempt to “highlight the need to be careful when behind the wheel”. Nothing escaped the wrapping, with trees, pavements lampposts and cars all wrapped in the bubble wrap to protect users of the road, which is known locally as “Accident Avenue”.

The activity was partially designed as a response to the increased number claims being made on insurance policies due to accidents caused by the recent snowy conditions with Will Thomas, head of motor insurance at Confused.com stating that some insurers had seen a “41 per cent increase in claims compared with a normal non-snowy period.”
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The answer to the above question is yes, you may still make a claim for compensation for the injuries you sustained however, there may be a deduction in the amount you are awarded.

There are several things that will be taken into consideration when a judge is determining what compensation you should receive for injuries sustained following an accident whereby you were a passenger in a vehicle which was being driven by a person under the influence of alcohol..

There are certain factors which will be looked at when considering whether a deduction should be made;
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Only half of the motorways in England reach the highest standard of safety, with other major roads also falling below the highest safety targets.

According the BBC, a report into the country’s major A-roads and motorways found that they fell short in protecting people who went off the roads

The report, conducted by the Road Safety Foundation, stated that many roads could be improved easily, and that structural defects are in existence which would not be tolerated were the same to be found on train lines or runways.
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A company working at London Heathrow Airport has been fined £90,000 after an engineer was crushed to death by an electric vehicle at the airport.

The victim was maintenance engineer Mohammed Taj, 52, who was killed after a “tug” vehicle used for pulling baggage and supplies fell on his head during an inspection.

According to the BBC, Mr Taj was checking the brakes on the vehicle but there was no other support holding the vehicle during his inspection when it fell on to him.
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So just earlier I covered the story of the plans to have more speed cameras on Britain’s roads. Although many are sceptical of the feasibility of such a project, the consequences of speeding and failing to adhere to legal limits (which are there for a reason of course) is evident.

According to a report from the Daily Mail (more), a speeding driver already serving a motoring ban attempted to ‘cover-up’ a high speed crash that left a passenger, one of his own closest friends, fatally injured. Stephen Helm (27) was reportedly going more than twice the 30mph speed limit when he failed to negotiate a left turn due to his excessive speed, and subsequently colliding through railings at the roadside. When he realised he could not save his passenger and friend 20 year old Stephen Ball, he and the remaining passengers left him in the wreckage only to later return and set fire to the vehicle in an attempt to erase any evidence of his presence.
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This may be a reality according to sources from the Telegraph (sourcel).

The Sustainable Development Commission has called for average speed check cameras (the kind you often see on motorways when road works are ongoing) to be used on all of Britain’s motorways in efforts to reduce our carbon emissions and to improve safety. According to the Commission, figures from the Department for Transport indicate that the 70mph speed limit on motorways is ignored by more than half of road users – 52% to be precise.

The Commission has highlighted that the introduction of the cameras would encourage smoother, more environmentally friendly driving. Ministers have advised that where average check speed cameras have been introduced, both accidents and the number of speeding fines have been reduced. According to the report, there are currently 10 permanent sets of average speed check cameras currently operational in Britain.
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It’s a very common question we here at The Injury Lawyers hear – and unfortunately its one we can’t give you a direct answer to! What we can do is give you the right advice and even a rough guide as to how much you are entitled to.

So to start with – how do we as independent expert personal injury solicitors value your claim for compensation? Generally speaking, the worse you suffer and the longer you suffer for are directly proportional to receiving more compensation. The extent of your suffering is the primary factor taken in to account. So how do we find this out…

Well, there is only one way – with good, independent medical evidence. During the claims process you will be seen by a local specialist consultant with years of experience in producing medico-legal reports. The report provides us with all the information we require to value your claim; which tells us the extent of your suffering.
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A report by the NHS in to the number of patients leaving hospital malnourished shows that numbers have now risen to record levels.

According to the Guardian, the elderly are the group most at risk. Hospitals stand accused following the report of failing to ensure that patients eat properly and there are demands to improve the nutritional quality of the health service meals provided.

The figures state that last year, around 175,000 people entered hospital in a state of malnourishment but this increased to 185,500 in a similar condition on discharge. This raises obvious concerns as to whether patients are being provided with appropriate levels of care while in hospital. Based on these figures, over 10,000 people were more malnourished upon leaving hospital than entering, and this is having gone in for medical treatment which should have improved their condition.
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Recalls are not uncommon today; although usually manufactures put their products through stringent testing to ensure nothing can go wrong, there are occasions when something important is missed. So how about sticking accelerator pedals – that important enough for you?

According to sources form the BBC (source) Toyota has announced another recall on top of its already growing list, after it has been found that certain models pedal mechanism is becoming warn; sometimes to the extent of the pedal  getting stuck! So far the recall has only been announced in the US, and it is currently unknown if any other countries have been affected.

According to the report, the models affected include 2009-2010 RAV4, the 2009-2010 Corolla, the 2009-2010 Matrix, the 2005-2010 Avalon, the 2007-2010 Camry, the 2010 Highlander, the 2007-2010 Tundra, and the 2008-2010 Sequioia.  
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