Local Authority Responsibility for Damage Caused by Potholes

Potholes are everywhere at the moment – mainly because of the unpredictable weather we seem to be having at the moment. However, can you claim compensation if you are unfortunate enough to injure yourself by tripping and falling on them?

Although you may be entitled to claim it is important to make you aware that these can be very difficult cases to win. This is mainly because it is unreasonable to expect the local authority to know whenever a pothole appears and to run to it immediately and repair it- they cannot stand all day watching the roads (apparently they have other things to do). Therefore it can all come down to evidence!

As the claimant you have to prove that the part of the highway where the accident occurred was not reasonably safe. (You may notice the term “reasonable” comes into play a lot here but unfortunately there isn’t any sure fire definition it will come down to individual circumstances.) So in general when will it be considered that a highway will not be “reasonably safe”?
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Can You Claim if Your Child Gets Injured at School

Children unfortunately end up with cuts, bruises and sore heads from time to time after some vigorous playground fun or just simply because children can be unsteady. The question is can you claim compensation if your child becomes injured at school? Simply put you may be able to, but they can be very difficult claims and are very circumstantial.

Usually a claim such as this comes from an occupier’s liability perspective –  by this I mean accidents arise from defects on school premises such as faulty equipment or uneven ground, and it is the occupier of the premises (i.e. the school) who then have the responsibility. These claims can proceed just like any other occupier’s claim and therefore there are certain requirements to help your claim move along:

1. Photographs- Try and obtain photographs of what has injured your child!
2. Reports- Has the accident been reported to the school?
3. Witnesses details!

All of these things can help your child’s case and can make the claim more likely to succeed.
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Workplace Health, Safety and Welfare

Under Section 2 of the Health and safety at work act 1974 employers are under a duty to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that the health safety and welfare of their employees at work is maintained. Therefore, if you have been injured whilst at work you may be entitled to compensation. Certain injuries sustained at work can be incredibly debilitating and can, of course, affect your future job prospects and therefore compensation may be a necessity.

There are many different ways that you can be injured at work especially taking in to account the range of industries and sectors that are out there. However, whether you work on a building site with extensive heavy machinery or you’re working as a care worker there is always the risk of sustaining an injury.

Of course in the majority of cases your employer will have protected you against these by putting in place policies, guidelines and by providing adequate training. However, it is hard to make everything 100% safe and therefore sometimes these measures simply do not protect you against danger. So who do you pursue if you are injured at work?
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Once Personal Injury Liability is Admitted, What Happens Next?

Claiming for compensation is not as complicated as it may seem. However, the thought of taking “legal action” for some people, is something they simply do not want to spend time doing as they’ll worry that it will take too long and involve attending court and all sorts of hassle..

So the purpose of this blog, is to simply put people’s minds at ease, and to ensure you that if you are thinking you’re entitled to compensation, then you should genuinely look in to making a claim!

So what is the procedure?

There are two mains protocols involved for the common compensation claims; the first is the Road Traffic Accident Protocol and the second being the Personal Injury protocol.
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Cut out the Middleman go Direct to a Compensation Lawyer

There are a lot of compensation solicitors out there ready and willing to take on your case. However, unfortunately things are not always what they seem – something that advertises itself as a firm of lawyers, may actually be a claims management company that then refers you across to one of their “panel” of lawyers; so the people you speak to initially may not be legal professionals at all!

Usually these companies will put in their small print “we are a cohesion of lawyers” or a “group of lawyers” or something similar, which is a posh way of saying we are a claims management company who put you in touch with lawyers that we have chosen. Of course, this seems an absurd way of doing things as you can simply go to a solicitor direct and cut out the middleman! Not many people hire a middleman to find them a dentist, hairdresser or accountant; you simply go to them direct. So why should finding a compensation lawyer be any different?
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Accidents on Stairs Injury Claims

Although we use stairs all the time and they are in nearly every property, be it your home, at work, your local store or restaurant, unfortunately they can sometimes be the cause of some pretty nasty accidents and injuries! Accidents on stairs can happen for a number of reasons and therefore in this blog I will address 3 of the main types of accidents that we deal with every day involving stairs:

1. Defective stairs
2. Slips and Trips on indoor staircases
3. Slips and Trips on outdoor staircases

1. Defective stairs

The manufacturer or fitter of any stairs has an obligation to ensure that the stairs are free from defects and fitted properly to minimise the risk of any injury to their users. For example: the stairs should not have any protruding fixtures such as nails, they shouldn’t be all bumpy and uneven and they certainly shouldn’t wobble when people walk on them (this latter one mainly applies to metal and wooden staircases not concrete that stuff is pretty sturdy!). Another defect that may not be noticeable straight away is if the step has been created to be too high! Statistically if a step is just 1 inch of the common measurement more people are more likely to fall. If you have an accident because one of the above is present it is likely that you may be able to claim against either the manufacturer, company that have fitted the stairs in the property or even possibly your landlord.
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Quickest Injury Lawyers

Pursuing a claim for compensation is a big decision and is one that in a lot of circumstances is a necessity to cover any losses and of course help with any future inconvenience. Therefore when you are looking for an Injury Lawyer, you want one that will ensure your claim is run efficiently and brought to a successful conclusion as quickly as possible.

The first step to ensuring that this will happen is to instruct your own solicitor directly. This cuts out any middle men such as claims management companies and claims farmers who will simply gather your details, and hold on to them before referring them to a solicitor. This solicitor may then take time to process the claim and contact you and so on and so forth. As you can see this is a lengthy process and one that can simply be completely avoided by contacting a solicitor direct. Here at the Injury Lawyers, we can get your claim moving the exact same day. We simply gather all the information we need and get things moving- it really is that simple.
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Pothole Measuring Instructions

Potholes are unfortunately very common on both our footpaths and roads and therefore accidents resulting from them are also a lot more common than people would think! Injuries caused in these accidents can be incredibly painful and debilitating so can you claim for compensation?

The straight forward answer is yes but they are not the easiest of claims – the council is under a duty to take all “reasonable steps” to ensure the area is safe. Therefore, if they have good inspection regimes in place this can make your claim incredibly difficult. It is simply unrealistic and probably not that fair to expect the council to be able to keep an eye on every bit of pavement or road for when a pothole appears- especially with the in-climate weather we are experiencing at the moment!

Another key aspect of pothole claims is that the defect has to be a “foreseeable risk” – therefore one of the key bits of evidence and one of the most important things that a personal injury solicitor will request from you is photographs and measurements of the defect!
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Genuine Lawyer to Handle your Personal Injury Claim

What do we mean when we say GENUINE lawyer? Surely anyone saying they are a personal injury firm must be one? Unfortunately not!

There are certain companies out there that simply gather claims and direct them to actual law firms for a price. These companies are known as Case Management Companies or claims farmers. Ensuring you have a genuine personal injury lawyer running your case is extremely important for 2 main reasons:

1. The service level you will receive
2. The settlement you may receive.

Basically, by going through a Claims Management Company, rather than instructing your own solicitor can affect both of these things and unfortunately in a negative way.
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Weather Hell for Road Users

Over the last couple of weeks we have seen adverse weather conditions all over the UK with snow turning into rain resulting in more flooding which the majority of us experienced before Christmas.

As a road user you may have noticed the affect of the weather on the road conditions. With extreme weather conditions the road surface becomes damaged and potholes start to appear.

The issue of potholes is a problem for both vehicle users and pedestrians and whether you drive over a pothole and it causes damage to your vehicle and potential whiplash, or whether as a pedestrian you trip and fall.

Under the section 41A Highways Act 1980 the highways authorities are under a duty to maintain the highways at a public expense and to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that safe passage along a highway is not endangered by snow or ice.
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