Archives
Crossing a Junction Against a Red Light
It’s common sense, the red light means ‘Don’t Cross’, but you look and think the traffic looks pretty far away and you have enough time to cross the road regardless of your red light signal. Well, where do you stand if you cross the junction against the red light signal and are involved in a collision with a vehicle travelling up the road through their green light?
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Use Fog Lights Properly to Avoid Car Accidents
As is probably given away in its name, you should only use a fog light when there is fog or similar bad conditions!
The rules of the Highway Code states that:
- You MUST use you front and rear fog lights if visibility is seriously reduced
- You MUST NOT use your fog lights if visibility is not reduced
- You should not use your lights to dazzle other road users
- You MUST switch you fog lights off when visibility improves
Learner drivers, Instructors and car accident claims
In addition to all the usual requirements, there are certain conditions that must be met before a learner driver can even drive under supervision:
- The learner driver MUST hold a valid provisional license
- The supervisor MUST be over the age of 21
- The supervisor must hold a full driving license for the type of car being driven
- The supervisor must have held that license for at least 3-years
- The vehicle must display red L-plates
Accidents At Work – A Simple Introduction
The European Framework Directive sets out certain regulations that govern Health and Safety in the work place.
The frame work directive applies to all sectors of work both public and private. Its sets out a number of general obligations that employers must follow, these include:
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Owner’s Responsibility When A Driver Drives Without Car Insurance
What happens if an owner of a vehicle gives his permission for someone who he knows is not insured to drive his car? Not only would he be civilly liable (which means any other injured party will be able to sue him for any injuries or damages caused), he would also be criminally liable.
To what consent the owner would be liable was considered in the case of Monk V Warbey. In this case the Claimant was injured by a car being driven by an uninsured driver with the owner’s knowledge. In order to claim against the owner of the vehicle, the Claimant must show:
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Your Accident Claim is Brought Under the Tort of Negligence
Tort means civil wrong, so where in criminal law a wrong is a crime, in civil law it is called a tort.
Negligence is one of the most important areas in tort. In order to establish negligence the following must be assessed:
- Was the defendant (the person you hold responsible for the ‘tort’) careless in his behaviour?
- And did this careless behaviour cause you a loss or injury?
Most accident claims are fault based – this means that in order for your claim to succeed, you must prove that the defendant is at fault (the Defendant being the person you hold responsible). In order to sue a party for the ‘tort’ of negligence you must prove (among other things) that the Defendant breached the duty of care he owed to you.
So to qualify for the fault ‘test’ you must show that the Defendant’s standard of care fell below that of a reasonable careful person and he is therefore blameworthy.
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Accidents On Other Peoples Premises
If you are injured on property owned or occupied by another person (e.g. at Tesco or at the Pub etc) then your claim is covered by The Occupiers Liability Act 1957 and the 1984.
The occupiers liability Act 1957 sets out duties for the occupier to ensure that an authorised visitor will be safe for the purpose of which he has been invited there for.
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Legal Jargon & Financial Losses Following an Accident Claim
I’m sure you have all been in a position were someone is talking some kind of jargon to you in a language you don’t understand and you just stand there smiling, slightly embarrassed, a bit uncomfortable and just nod along like the Churchill dog (from the Insurance adverts) to avoid looking silly but really thinking to your self ‘Please translate you idiot’!
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The Limitation Act 1980 sets time limits for people wanting to make claims and the vast majority of personal injury actions are subject to a 3 year limitation period.
What does this mean for you and your claim?
Well the time limit for making a claim for personal injury is 3 years from:
- The date that the injury is caused or
- The date of knowledge (if later) of the person injured