Archives
After experiencing a brief ‘Indian summer’ in late September/ early October, the weather is now turning cold again and it surely won’t be long until we are reaching for those hats, scarves and gloves in preparation for the, if the past two winters are anything to go by, seemingly inevitable deluge of heavy snow and ice.
The past two winters of 2009 and 2010 are said to have been the coldest in the UK for over 100 years, so not many of us will remember many worse winters. The cold weather bought with it heavy snow and ice, which lead to a huge increase in accidents and resulted in extremely busy periods for personal injury lawyers, such as ourselves, who were inundated with new claims and advice enquiries.
But how easy is it to make a claim against a local authority for compensation following an accident as a result of snow and ice? Well, the answer is unfortunately not very easy at all and this is illustrated in the case of Rhiannon Pace V City and County of Swansea 2007. In this case the accident victim was injured in a Road Traffic Accident caused by black ice on the road. It was accepted by the Judge in this case that the accident was caused by the ice, however he ruled that the local authority had not been negligent. When considering this case, the Judge considered two questions, the first of which is: Was the local authority’s winter maintenance plan proper and reasonable?
Read More
Cosmetic surgery is on the rise, and that comes as no surprise given the media / social pressure on people and their appearances these days. In particular there is increasing pressure on celebrities to look their best at all times – God forbid them leaving the house without a face full of make-up and dressed in their scruffs – the ‘paps’ would have a field day!
I can certainly see the attraction of surgery, if I had the choice I’d look like Cheryl Cole … I mean, who wouldn’t?! But have the extremes people go to for that “perfect” look gone too far?
Take for example the new reality soap The Only Way is Essex; where cosmetic surgery is the norm as the majority of the female cast have had different work carried out including, nose jobs, teeth enhancements, breast enlargements, and more recently there is even talk of bum implants! Additionally a recent episode screened a botox party where the guests were encouraged to undertake the treatment. Since the show there was reportedly a huge increase in surgical enquiries; presumably individuals wanting to look like the celebrities they see on screen.
Read More
At The Injury Lawyers, our experience of people who have been injured through no fault of their own in road traffic accidents is that they want to be compensated as quickly as possible.
This is not because they are impatient, but because having a damaged or written off car is bad enough, and they are now further suffering as a result of their injuries, and just wish to get better and get back to where they were as soon as possible and forget about what happened.
Just short of two years ago, the compensation claiming process for road traffic accidents could be described as a little arduous. This is because, even for straightforward accidents it could take nearly 4 months to get an admission of liability, and then several months thereafter to sort out a medical report and settle your claim. Fortunately, since 30 April 2010, this has all changed: under a new protocol for low value injury claims arising out of road traffic accidents, being compensated has got a whole lot faster. Here is a quick guide:
Read More
Road Traffic Accidents by Uninsured Drivers
If you have been involved in a road traffic accident which was not your fault then it is highly likely that, if you have been injured, you will be able to make a claim for compensation.
For instance, if someone has collided into the rear of your vehicle and you have sustained whiplash then you will probably have a claim; or if you were a passenger in a car which was involved in a collision, again you are likely to have a claim. In most circumstances it would be the Defendant’s, that is the negligent third party’ insurer who would pay you this compensation. But what happens if the Defendant was not insured? Does that mean you cannot be compensated?
Well there is always the option of suing the Defendant directly, but in all likelihood they won’t be worth suing – in other words, they don’t have any money to recompense you with, and so it would be a waste of time. There is, though, another option – to make a claim from a compensation fund held by the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (‘MIB’).
Read More
Claiming Compensation for your Injuries
For most of us, claiming for compensation for injuries arising out of an accident which was not your fault is something we are unlikely to do. This is because, although accidents are frequent, it is unlikely that it will actually be us that is involved in them; right? That said, it could well be us in that situation one day. How then, if we decide to make a claim for compensation, do we actually do this?
Fortunately there are a wealth of injury lawyers out there who will happily take you through the process and do almost all the work for you. However, it is still important to know what happens, so here is a quick guide.
Once you have instructed an injury lawyer who you are sure will not charge you a penny for their work, will provide great service levels, and get you the maximum compensation you deserve, all you have to do is provide them with as much information about your accident as possible.
Read More
Claims Against Uninsured Drivers
One of the questions that sometimes crops up here at The Injury Lawyers relates to claims against uninsured drivers. The usual course of action in a road traffic accident is to pursue the insurer of the negligent third party driver who has caused your injuries.
In most cases the other driver will have insurance and it really is a simple process of submitting a claim form online and receiving their admission of liability within a couple of weeks. But what happens if the other driver is not insured? Well you could pursue the other driver themselves personally, but in the vast majority of cases they will not be worth suing (in other words, they do not have enough money to recompense you). Instead, what you can do is make a claim through the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (‘MIB’).
In 1946 the MIB was set up to provide compensation for those who have been injured by the negligence of an uninsured third party driver. Instead of saying that they cannot be compensated because the other driver broke the law and drove with insurance, the MIB can dip into their compensation fund and pay out for your vehicle damages and injuries. The reason they can do this is because each year every motorist contributes roughly £30 through their insurance premium to set up this fund. Although you may not like the sound of that, at the end of the day, one day it could be you that requires this fund. In fact, each year over 50,000 people are compensated by the MIB.
Read More
At The Injury Lawyers we deal solely with personal injury cases. Every day we deal with claims for injuries sustained at work, whilst out and about on our streets, stemming from faulty products, and so on. But it is road traffic accident claims that account for much of our work.
Unfortunately, it is somewhat of a fact of life that numerous road traffic accidents occur each day – as a result people suffer a whole host of injuries. In most cases it will be human error that has caused the accident. Where the accident was not your fault, but the fault of a negligent third party, and where you have been injured as a result, you will more than likely be able to make a claim for compensation. Doing this is actually very easy and does not take long at all. Here is a quick guide as to how you can claim compensation.
Firstly you should seek to instruct an experienced and quality injury lawyer who will not charge you whatsoever for their work. They will then take you through the road traffic accident claiming process right from the start, and get your claim moving forward from day 1 onwards.
Read More
Compensation Claims – Work Accidents, Public Accidents
Claiming for compensation for injuries that were sustained in accidents which did not involve motor vehicles is different, but still nevertheless straightforward. Here is a quick guide:
The first step is to produce what is known as a ‘Letter of Claim.’ It outlines who you are, your accident, the injuries you have sustained in this accident, and why it should be considered that the Defendant was negligent and should provide you with compensation. This is a simple document which, so long as we have as much detail as possible, can be submitted to the Defendant straight away.
The Defendant then has a period of 21 days in which to acknowledge the Letter of Claim. In most cases they will write back to your legal representative to inform them that they have noted your wish to pursue a claim and that they will now investigate your claim or will pass the claim to their insurers / claims handlers / solicitors (a typical practice) who will investigate on their behalf. Once the Defendant has acknowledged the Letter of Claim they have 3 months to come back with their position on liability; i.e. whether they will admit or deny liability.
Read More
Receiving Less Compensation for your Injuries
Claiming for injuries arising out of road traffic accidents is often straightforward. This is because in most accidents it is quite clear who at fault. It follows that if you were not at fault for the accident then you can be compensated for any injuries you may have suffered.
Here is an example: You are driving along and you are approaching a roundabout, you slow down to a halt as there are already cars on the roundabout, when unfortunately a third party driver negligently collides with the rear of your vehicle and you sustain whiplash. You are not at fault for this accident and have been injured at the hands of another person, and you can therefore make a claim for compensation. The Defendant’s insurer knows this and this is what you have to look out for.
If you have been in such an accident it may be that the other side’s insurer gets in touch with you, knowing full well that you have a very successful claim for compensation, and try and settle your compensation claim directly with you. This is by no means illegal but it is important to note that if you agree any compensation with the Defendant’s insurers, in most cases, this will be in full and final settlement of your claim. So if later you realise you are still injured and feel that you should receive more compensation – tough! Your claim has settled and no more compensation can be obtained. Likewise, if you accept £400 compensation but are later advised that your claim was actually worth £2,000 you cannot go back and say you under-settled my claim, give me the difference. The process in which your claim is settled directly with the Defendant’s insurer is known as ‘third party capture’.
Read More
What Happens after a Road Traffic Accident ?
Road traffic accidents, or RTAs, cover various different types of accidents that involve vehicles on the public highways.
Collisions between cars will usually be dealt with by the drivers’ insurance companies if the crash only caused damage to property. If the accident was more serious and resulted in one or more of the people involved being injured, it will usually be necessary for a personal injury lawyer to get involved.
The most common RTA’s involve collisions between car drivers on the roads. If there are passengers in the car, van, bus or coach who also suffer injuries in a crash, they can claim compensation from the company that insured the vehicle or vehicles that caused the crash as well. This is even if they are travelling in the car of the driver who was at fault and they are closely related to the driver. This it to make sure that anyone injured in a road accident that was not their fault is fully compensated for their injuries.
Read More