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Hartlepool Borough Council Hit out at Pothole Claims
It was interesting to read in the Hartlepool Mail that Hartlepool Borough Council are to ‘vigorously defend’ themselves against unnecessary or fraudulent claims for compensation where individuals have been injured as a result of an accident involving a pothole. It comes at the time of year when the worst of the weather would seem to have ended, and the snow has finally disappeared. However, this is also to reveal the often extensive damage caused by the weather to our footpaths and roads which are badly affected by freezing conditions. Here at The Injury Lawyers, we know only too well of the perils of the pothole – and this year has been no different.
According to the Hartlepool Mail, Hartlepool Borough Council have paid around £4,500 in compensation in regards to 23 pothole related claims over the last two years – which is literally nothing compared to most injury claims. In order to combat these claims, Hartlepool Borough Council have said that they would like to resurface all affected roads and paths. However, with the current economic climate, and with the cost of carrying out such work estimated to be around the £20million mark, the Council has instead had to settle for undertaking repairs on the potholes where these potholes have come to their attention – something that has so far cost them £300.000. The Council have brought together a special team to combat the potholes. Working five days a week, this team is responsible for the repair of potholes within 24 hours where the pothole is approximately 3cm deep and a metre long, whilst other potholes are to be fixed within 28 days.
The Hartlepool Mail reports that Hartlepool Borough Council have so far defended themselves against 37 claims. A Hartlepool Borough Council spokesperson has stated that ‘Each claim is examined in detail on its particular circumstances and all claims are thoroughly investigated to confirm their authenticity’. However, despite the fact that it would appear that not every pothole claim can be successful, and that there have been some fraudulent claims, it is important to understand that if you have suffered a personal injury as a result of an accident involving a pothole, you are entitled to make a claim for compensation. Each case should be judged on its own merits.
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Delivery Driver Injured at Work
This weekend I read an article about a delivery driver who received half a million pounds in compensation after he fell from his van. The York Press reported that Colin White was carrying out furniture deliveries in York in 2005 when the accident happened. Colin, along with a colleague, had been provided with a ‘tail lift’, a device for lowering items from the back of a van, by their employers. However, neither of them had been trained how to use it, but nevertheless they were expected to know how to use the device, and indeed were told to use it. Subsequently, when unloading furniture, Colin stepped back onto the tail lift which, to his detriment, had been moved, causing him to fall backwards and hit his neck. Colin suffered temporary paralysis and is now in constant pain. Colin was also told he will never work again and his wife has had to give up her job in order to care for him.
Because Colin suffered a personal injury through no fault of his own, Colin is entitled to compensation. In this case, Colin received £500,000 to cover the pain and suffering caused by his injuries – a direct result of his accident – and also to cover the future loss of earnings he has suffered as a result of being declared unfit to work ever again. If you have similarly been involved in an accident whilst at work, and subsequently sustained injury and loss, you may also be entitled to compensation. It is important that you seek the advice of a specialist injury lawyer who can tell you instantly whether you have a claim or not.
Colin, who now has to use a walking stick, a wheelchair, and a mobility scooter, has said ‘What happened to me could have been prevented if my colleague and I had been giving training in how to use the equipment provided.’ And he is exactly right! The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 requires employers to make sure their employees go through full and thorough training for all aspects of their role. Employers are required to clearly demonstrate to their employees the dangers they may face at work and how to go about their job role in a safe way. They are also required to provide certain equipment and clothing to aid employees and make the workplace safer.
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Due to our busy lifestyles and fast food culture, many more of us are eating out at restaurants, pubs and cafes. It may be for a quick breakfast such as a bacon sandwich before work, it may be grabbing a quick bite at lunch, or it may be an evening meal to celebrate a special occasion. Whatever it is, we would hope that the food has been cooked correctly, the food is of a high quality, and the premises in which it has been cooked has a high standard of cleanliness. This, however, is not always the case.
In many cases of food poisoning the symptoms are mild and we may suffer for a period of 24 – 48 hours, then feel fully recovered. However, in some more serious cases involving food poisoning, the symptoms can go on for a longer period of time, be more aggressive, and ultimately land the victim in hospital seriously ill. In groups of people such as the very young, very old, or people already suffering with an illness, contracting a serious case of food poisoning may even become life threatening.
If you fear that you may have food poisoning, the common symptoms to look for are sickness, diarrhoea, stomach cramps, a high temperature, and a loss of appetite. You may have all or some of these symptoms.
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LEGAL EXPENSE INSURANCE (LEI) – MY STORY
In the past when purchasing car insurance for me, the buying the extra of Legal Expenses Insurance (LEI) was just as important has having a courtesy car.
However, my life in legal practice has provided me with the truth about LEI and the scam that thousands are caught by each year.
In May 2009 I was injured in a car accident which involved four vehicles. After the accident my instinct thoughts were ‘thank god I have bought LEI on my insurance policy’. Unbeknown to me and thousands of others, I was another victim of the Legal Expenses Insurance Scam.
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It is a well known saying that a dog is a man’s best friend. This in many cases is true as we spend much of our time tending to their every need – walking them, feeding them and grooming them. To many they are not only a source of friendship but a lifeline – for example to the blind, or even necessary in order to complete our work – for example a sheep farmer or for a Police dog handler.
A dog is one of the most common pets to own in the UK and the number is increasing, it is therefore no surprise that in recent years there has been a significant increase in the number of dog attacks across the UK. We see more and more news items reporting shocking incidents involving dogs. One of the most shocking being that of a news item reporting a woman being killed by her neighbour’s dog. It was new items such as this that encouraged the government to put into place the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.
The Dangerous Dogs Act was put into place in order to protect the public. Of course, any dog can cause an amount of harm to a person if it decides to bite. However, there are four types of dogs named in the act which there is a ban on owning within the UK – these are the Pit Bull Terrier, Japanese Tosa, Dogo Argentino and Fila Braziliero. These dogs are classified by type, not breed, which means that an animal can also be included within these banned categories if they display the physical characteristics of the above types.
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Many of us will at some point have visited a doctor, seen a nurse, or have gone to hospital. In the majority of cases we will be able to walk away after appointments knowing that whatever our problem was, it will clear up in a few days, or with a prescription enabling us to get the medication we need to treat our symptoms. After a few days or even a few weeks we will be fine and able to get on with our everyday lives. However, some people do require further treatment that can end up being more serious – e.g. an operation. When we go for an operation we place our complete trust with the surgeon that is going to undertake the operation. In many ways, we put our lives in the surgeon’s hands. Why do we do this? Well, naturally we want to get better and we realise that this is the only way to get better. But we also place our trust in the surgeon because of the fantastic reputation our medical facilities hold. Unfortunately, as The Daily Mail reports, not every operation goes according to plan.
The Daily Mail writes that Michelle Richards, a 43 year old mother, has recently received compensation totalling over £10,000 from the NHS after she had the wrong leg amputated. The Daily Mail states that Michelle had been diagnosed with a rare bone infection called osteomyeltitis which required her left leg to be amputated to prevent the potentially fatal condition from spreading. Much to the shock of Michelle, as I can imagine many of you would understand, she was informed after the operation, ‘Sorry there’s been a mistake’, and was informed her right leg had been amputated instead of her left. As a result, Michelle now has to wear a prosthetic leg.
As was admitted by the hospital in question, amputating the wrong leg of a patient constituted a breach of the duty of care the hospital owes their patients and amounted to medical negligence. Most of us will only be able to imagine the impact this has had on Michelle’s life, and the distress it has caused her. If you have similarly had an operation that has not gone according to plan, then it is important that you seek the advice of an injury lawyer with experience in medical negligence claims. Medical negligence can cause the victim long term distress and other future problems. As Michelle herself said ‘I went in for the amputation and believe I was making the right choice – I never really questioned it’. As such she did not expect to have the wrong led amputated and was therefore entitled to compensation. You similarly could be compensated where you have had an operation that has gone wrong. To ensure that you get the maximum compensation you deserve, ensure you contact a medical negligence expert within three years of your injury.
Going to school is part of growing up. Almost all of us will have attended school during our younger years and some may in fact have children who are currently in education. Love it or hate it we all know that going to school is or was essential to our futures. After all, it helps educate us in so many different ways. Not only do we get to learn the basics of science or the beginnings of history, we also learn how to interact with different people who may come from all sorts of different backgrounds. In some cases it may be through school that we meet friends who remain so for the rest of our life. Indeed, some people will look back at their school years with much joy and be able to reminisce about all those funny events or when ‘Mr so-and-so did that’. Although some of us may have been unfortunate to have been involved in one of these not so uncommon playground scuffles, or have hurt themselves falling over in the playground, for many of us going to school will have been an injury free experience. However, here at The Injury Lawyers, we are hearing more and more of accidents at schools. It would seem that this is an environment in which children are unfortunately getting injured through no fault of their own. In fact, it was only yesterday that I read on the BBC News website of twelve pupils being injured whilst at school and that seven had obtained compensation for their injuries.
BBC News reports that twelve teenagers in a Kent school were injured when part of a heating system collapsed onto them. The BBC claims that the victims were doing examinations in the sports hall when they began to hear funny noises, and shortly after, part of the heating system fell from the ceiling. It has since been stated that the wires keeping the heating apparatus aloft had been faulty. As a result the unlucky teenagers suffered injuries to several body parts including their neck, head and back. In fact, one pupil, Rhys Sullivan, had to have metal plates inserted into his jaw which had been broken in two places as a result of the accident. According to the solicitor who has represented seven of the twelve children, settlements have been reached, but settlement figures were not to be released.
It goes to show that accidents can occur to anyone at anytime, and in a whole host of places. If you have a child that has been injured when at school, he/she may be entitled to compensation. Whether the child has sustained injury when taking part in lessons, or has sustained injury during their lunch period, they may be in line to be compensated. It is important that you seek the advice of a professional and quality injury lawyer who can advise you as to whether a claim exists.
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Here at The Injury Lawyers we are only too aware of the frequency of which accidents happen. We receive numerous calls each day informing us that people like you and me have sustained some form of personal injury through no fault of their own. In many cases the unfortunate individual may have been involved in a road traffic accident, slipped or tripped while walking, or have sustained an injury when carrying out their normal duties at work. Typically, these accidents occur within the United Kingdom. So, what happens if you sustain a personal injury which is not your fault whilst you are abroad?
Just imagine that nightmare scenario. You have booked the holiday of a lifetime. You have waited to go on this holiday for the best part of a year. The time to go on that dream holiday has come around. You arrive at your destination, settle into your hotel, and go about those usual holiday activities. Unfortunately, only days into this dream holiday you are unfortunate to have injured yourself by tripping over some defective paving situated only metres away from the pool you intended to spend much of your time in. Are you able to make a claim for compensation? After all, you have sustained a genuine injury that, should you have sustained while at home, you would have been entitled to claim for compensation. If you have been involved in an accident abroad it is important that you seek the advice of a quality injury lawyer. It is only by doing this that you can find out whether you can make a claim for compensation, and it is also the first steps to you getting that compensation you may deserve.
If an accident has occurred while you are outside of the United Kingdom, it does not restrict your ability to obtain compensation. If you have been injured at your resort, have been involved in a road traffic accident when using a hire car, or have gone on an excursion, and any of these have been organised by your holiday company as part of a package, you can make a claim against the holiday package provider right here in the UK! Most UK based lawyers will be able to assist you with this. If the claim is against a party directly abroad, you may need to enlist the help of a lawyer specialising in foreign injury cases.
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Many of us go on a night out maybe once every couple of weeks, or maybe even once a week if the pennies allow. For many an evening out could consist of dinner, a night club, bar or anywhere really where we can go out to let our hair down, relax and socialise with friends. It is the last thing on our minds that we could have an accident and end up being injured!
It will probably come as no surprise that personal injury claims resulting from a night out are very common occurrences. This is probably due to the fact that there are many hazards in night clubs and bars – such as spillages of drinks on the floor which cause a slip hazard and, broken glass on the floor which could exacerbate a fall injury or cause a direct injury. If someone slips on a spillage which was negligently left as a hazard, and in doing so pulls you down to the floor with them, there could potentially be a personal injury claim for both victims’ injuries.
You may not think it, but pubs, clubs, and bars have the same duty to keep their patrons safe as anywhere else. Many venues prohibit drinks on the dance floor to avoid spillages, or they provide plastic cups to avoid broken glass causing injury.
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I imagine that some of those reading this blog may be aware of the case I am about to briefly outline. It involves a cup of coffee purchased from a McDonald’s restaurant in America nearly two decades ago…
The Claimant, Ms Stella Liebeck, suffered very serious burns, in particular to her legs, as a result of her spilling a scalding hot cup of coffee on her lap. In fact, Ms Liebeck was hospitalised for over a week, lost a fifth of her body mass, and required medical treatment for two years. It was considered by the judge that the coffee was too hot and in fact far hotter than any coffee served by other food and drink outlets – and was inadequately labelled as to warn Ms Liebeck, and other coffee drinkers, of the potential hazard it posed. While McDonalds stated that they purposely served their coffee extremely hot so that commuters who purchased the product would be able to drink it for longer, others have suggested that McDonalds ensured that their coffee was piping hot so that their customers could not drink it straight away in the restaurant and would therefore not gain a refill! Either way, Ms Liebeck was awarded nearly $650,000 compensation.
Some may argue that coffee is obviously going to be hot, and that accordingly, the risk is clearly apparent. Indeed, many have argued this and suggested that the case can only be described as ‘frivolous’ and ‘ridiculous’. This blog, however, does not intend to argue the rights and wrongs of that case, but to raise awareness of the potential compensation you may be entitled to should you have suffered a personal injury as a result of a defective or dangerous product.
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