Most people enjoy going abroad on holiday and now is a popular season for taking holidays abroad. When you arrive at your destination, the least thing you expect to happen is to be involved in an accident. Usually, whilst you are on holiday, especially if you have gone as part of a package deal, you will find that you’re well looked after but sometimes, on the unfortunate occasion, you may have found that this hasn’t happened which has led to an accident.

In many instances, when you have had an accident it is because of something i.e. you fell and sustained injury because you fell over an object. If you have had an accident in the hotel complex because something was negligently left unattended then you may have a claim for compensation.

Your travel provider should have insurance to cover any accidents that may occur whilst you are abroad, this insurance covers the travel provider should you make a claim for compensation and the insurance is where your compensation fund is claimed from.
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There are dangers all around us and as long as we are aware of them, sometimes they can be avoided. The most common place where accidents are likely to occur is in the workplace. We all know that accidents happen from time to time but it is the duty of your employer to ensure that the hazards and accidents are kept to a minimum.

As reported on www.safeworkers.co.uk a THIRD of all accidents in the workplace, in the UK are as a result of someone slipping on something or falling over something. This often occurs when floors aren’t cleaned properly or spillages are not reported, or when obstacles are left on the floor unattended and unmarked.
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Road accidents are common – they happen all the time. Normally, it’s a case of negligence – a driver not paying enough attention on the roads, and subsequently causing an unfortunate accident. But there are things drivers can do that puts themselves and other road users at risk; drink driving being the major one.

Drink driving is against the law for a very good reason – it’s a fact that alcohol impairs a person’s judgment and has a significant impact on the brain. This makes driving under the influence an obvious danger, yet people are still prepared to do it – and it does cause accidents.
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Summer is finally here and we are all enjoying the recent hot weather and hoping that this is going to last throughout July, August and beyond. With the 6 weeks school holidays fast approaching I’m sure many people will be looking at ways to entertain their children and one popular way in which to do this would be to hire a bouncy castle, particularly for summer birthday parties. However due to the nature of bouncy castles there is always risk of injury and it is important that parents and guardians who are thinking of hiring these assess the risks and be aware of the required level of care and supervision.

The most famous case involving injuries sustained on a bouncy castle is the Court of Appeal case of Harris V Perry 2008 which established the precedent for the duty of care owed by parents to their own and other children when they are playing together. In this case the Claimant, an 11 year old boy, suffered serious and permanent head injuries after being kicked in the head by another boy aged 15. The Defendants, Mr. and Mrs. Perry hired the inflatable castle, along with an inflatable bungee run, for their children’s birthday party and Mrs. Perry was supervising both inflatable’s in a position that she could see both. However, Mrs. Perry momentarily turned her back on the bouncy castle to attend another child on the bungee run and it was during this time when the incident occurred.
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Burns and scalding can be very nasty injuries often leading to permanent scaring. Many people who have suffered from either injury can often carry physiological injuries too, believing that in some way it was their fault that they sustained their injury but actually this is very often untrue.

People who work in an environment that uses hot substances are more likely to suffer form a burn or scald but your employer should provide suitable equipment to prevent this from happening such as protective clothing, gloves further, the equipment that the hot substance is kept in should aim to protect the person using it.

If you have suffered from one of these types of injuries perhaps you should think carefully about the circumstances of the accident. Do you feel that you were well protected when you were working with the substance that caused you harm? Do you feel measures were in place to prevent the accident from happening? If the answer to these questions is no, then you may wish to consider making a claim for Personal Injury.
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If you have had an accident in a taxi, you may be wondering what you can do. If you were the passenger in the vehicle it may seem unfair that you have experienced injury and loss because of someone else’s fault.

Sounds familiar to you? Then perhaps you should consider placing a claim for compensation. As a passenger in a taxi, it’s more than likely that you had no influence over the accident and therefore, in the eyes of the law, you are considered an innocent party. This in theory should mean that your claim for compensation is fairly straight forward as it won’t be difficult to prove it was someone else’s fault.

You should always try to record the circumstances of the accident as soon after the event as possible, so that everything is still fresh in your mind. Take details of any people who may have witnessed your accident,  obtain details of all parties  involved such as the vehicle registration, names, taxi driver number and company the taxi driver works for. All this information will be very useful in your claim for compensation.
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Any personal injury lawyer will tell you that a claimant has only 3 years to bring a claim to court. If it is not brought within this time, the claim is barred from being brought at court.

However, this time limit does not necessarily run from the time when the negligence claimed for actually occurred. The time actually runs from the date of the cause of the action or from the date of knowledge of the negligence, whichever is the later. In cases such as road traffic accident claims, this distinction is not often important as those involved in the accident are usually aware of it as soon as it occurs. However, this can be a very important distinction in cases of medical negligence where you may be unaware of your doctor’s negligence for time.

A case recently reported by the MPS (Medical Protection Society) (source) proves that a claim can be made some 20 years after the medical negligence occurred.
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For anyone bike enthusiasts out there, this may appeal to you! It’s a thrilling form of transport the motorbike, but thrills and dangers often go hand in hand in life. And let’s face it – motorbikes are certainly dangerous! Not so much because of the bike itself, but being out there on the roads.

Road accidents are common; they really do just happen all the time! And we at The Injury Lawyers take on increasing amounts of road accident claims on a day to day basis – although this is not just because they’re common, but through our sterling reputation! And in most cases, the injuries involved are all quite linear and common; whiplash! But the motorcyclist on the road does not enjoy the protection of being strapped in a metal box with air bags and bumpers; if a motorcyclist is injured in an accident, they are likely to suffer far more than the usual neck and back pain.

With more severe injuries comes a more complex compensation claim, with more time and resources needing to be spent on the case to make sure it is maximised. And for this reason, it is so important for victims to enlist the help of an expert independent personal injury lawyer.
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According to a latest report from the BBC (source) the recent National Patient Safety Agency figures indicate that women are not being checked for pregnancy before ongoing surgery. The figures reported show that there have been 42 serious incidents between 2003 and 2009 as a result of surgery on a patient where the surgeons were unaware that the patient was pregnant. Three of these reported incidents sadly culminated in miscarriage. 

Under national guidelines, medical practitioners must always check with the patient whether there is a chance that she may be pregnant before she undergoes surgery, and particularly if that surgery is to the abdomen or the pelvis.

Surgery in the early stages of pregnancy is very risky to the developing foetus and therefore it is vitally important that the surgeon is aware of any early pregnancy. If the surgeon is aware of the patient’s pregnancy then they may be able to make some changes to their plans to limit any risks to the patient or the foetus. The surgery may be delayed or they may be able to change the type of procedure or the anesthetic used to make the surgery less risky.
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People fall over all the time, it’s more common for the elderly to trip and they aren’t as responsive as they once may have been. Sometime the falls happen because the person in question looses balance etc. but sometime the falls can happen as a result of someone else’s negligence.

Many people are unaware that if you have an accident on a public road or footpath and the accident has happened because of a defect in the road then you may potentially have a valuable claim for compensation.

The council are required to maintain public footpaths and public highways, if this hasn’t happened then the council may be negligent.
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