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November 13, 2012

Accidents in a Factory – Making Claims

Factories can be fairly dangerous places to work – whether it is moving parts on machines, forklift trucks zipping from place to place or just things left laying around that you could fall over, the factory environment is not always a safe one.

There are many potential injuries in a factory and if you work in one your employers has a responsibility to keep you safe while you are there. Employers should provide their employees with the correct safety equipment and training that will allow them to work in as safe an environment as possible.

One of the measures that employers should use to keep you safe is “PPE” or Personal Protective Equipment. These are items provided to you by your employer to work with or use which should allow you to keep as safe as possible while in the workplace.
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By Editor
November 10, 2012

Not Happy with Medical Experts Report

If you are pursuing, or have pursue in the past, a personal injury compensation claim, then you are more than likely aware of the importance of medical reports. A medical report is key in any personal injury claim as it helps Solicitors and Barristers to properly value your claim.

If a medical report is wrong, incomplete or inaccurate then this could have serious repercussions for you and your payout. Obviously this is why we always check if you are happy with a medical report before disclosing it to the other side. Once a report is disclosed to the other side you cannot seek to get the report amended. A medical report is only disclosed to the other side once you have confirmed that you agree with its contents.

So, if you receive a medical report and you are not happy with it, what can you do? First of all you should take some time in studying the report, bearing in mind that a medical expert will have got the information from you at examination and he or she may have also used information from medical records such as GP and Hospital records, accident reports etc. You should clearly state to your Solicitor which parts of the medical report you agree with and which parts of the medical report you do not agree with. Also state the reasons why you do not agree with certain parts of the report. Simply saying “I do not agree with the report” is not really of much help.
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By Editor
November 08, 2012

Tripping Up

Tripping accident claims are probably one of the most common types of claims that personal injury Lawyers deal with.

We often see defects in the pavement and if such a defect causes you to trip and sustain injury, then it is your right to bring a claim for compensation. These claims have received a substantial amount of bad press but that should not prevent people from bringing a genuine claim. I guess the main difficulty is filtering out fraudulent claims but this applies to all claims, not just tripping claims.

In the past certain roads have become notorious as multiple claims have been made against the respective Council for accidents occurring on the same road. This can raise eyebrows as the respective Council would usually repair the defect and it appears more than coincidence when you are talking about a number of claims on the same area of pavement etc. Notwithstanding the above, a person should not be discouraged from bringing a genuine claim.
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By Editor
November 08, 2012

Care and Assistance Claim Rates

In a claim for personal injury and loss you can claim General Damages for pain suffering and loss of amenity (PSLA). This covers compensation for your injuries sustained in the accident or the illness developed due to exposure at work etc. In addition to General Damages you can claim Special Damages. Special Damages can include things like loss of earnings (say because of the injury sustained you were not able to work for 1 month), damage to property (say you tripped over a raised slab and as a result you ripped your clothing). You can also claim for care and assistance, this is another head of loss which comes under Special Damages.

Care and assistance covers all the things that you were not able to do as a result of your injuries. Say you tripped and broke your arm; you may need help from you partner, daughter, son etc in getting dressed. You may also need help with household chores such as ironing, cooking, cleaning, preparing meals etc. You may need help with gardening or cleaning the car. Care and assistance covers things that you did before the accident that you are not able to do following the accident due to your injuries. Family members and friends will of course provide you with the care, such as helping you to get ready, free of charge. However you are entitled to recover Special Damages from the Defendant. It is settled law that the Claimant (the person bringing the claim) is entitled to recover damages in respect of the fair and reasonable value of such care and domestic assistance.
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By Editor
November 05, 2012

Hazardous Substances

Working with hazardous substances can, as the name suggests, be hazardous. Extra caution should be taken and appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (known for short as PPE) should be provided. PPE could be in the form of gloves, overalls, goggles, masks or whatever other equipment is necessary to make the job as safe as possible and to protect workers from harm.

Governing this area of law is the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH).  Substances hazardous to health can include chemicals, products containing chemicals, fumes, dust, vapours, gases, germs etc. These substances are covered by COSHH but things like asbestos and radioactive substances are covered by alternative Regulations. COSHH is covered extensively by the Health and Safety Executive on their website.

Some substances have exposure limits. This obviously means that exposure to that substance whether it is through breathing in fumes or by skin contact etc is limited. With some tasks a permit to work may be required to carry out a certain task which involves some contact or potential exposure to hazardous substances. A permit to work would be based on a risk assessment to ensure that all potential risks and precautions are taken.
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By Editor
November 02, 2012

Oil Workers Compensation

Our society relies quite heavily on oil production, but it can be a dangerous industry for employees. There are a great number of day to day risks for oil workers whether it be cleaning up oil spills or working around refinement machinery. It is not actually oil itself that is the main danger it is more the environment in which oil workers work in, such as an offshore oil rig.

The machinery used to try and refine the oil can be dangerous. An oil rig is a dangerous place to be. Cleaning up oil spills can be dangerous as people could be exposed to toxins in the air and many of the dispersants used to clean up oil can be dangerous to humans. When used correctly dispersants can be an effect method of response to an oil spill. Dispersants are capable of removing large amounts of certain oil types from the sea, but that is a science in itself for which the details are quite technical.

Dispersants pose a risk to the health of humans as well as to the life of animals including fish, birds etc. One of the dispersants used at the BP oil spill was Corexit 9527A which contains the toxin 2 Butoxyethanol which can cause injury to red blood cells, kidney or the liver with repeated or excessive exposure. Past exposure to Corexit 9527A has led to health problems including blood in the urine and kidney/liver disorders. Unsurprisingly this has led to compensation claims.
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By Editor
October 31, 2012

Commercial Kitchen Claims

If you work in a commercial kitchen environment then you may be well aware of the dangers. There are dangers in the kitchen at home but in a commercial environment the risks are likely to be greater.

First of all, the risks in a commercial kitchen are likely to be greater due to the equipment and the scale or size of it. Knives for example are likely to be bigger and sharper in a commercial environment; ovens are likely to be bigger and hotter, there are likely to be numerous people in the kitchen meaning that people may bang into each other. At busy times people are likely to be rushing and this is another factor. These are just some of the reasons why a commercial kitchen may be more dangerous than a residential kitchen.

Knives are one of the most obvious dangers that could cause injury. However heat is another danger from ovens, deep fat fryers, boiling water etc. Burn injuries are common in the kitchen as are cuts and slices of the skin. Kitchen equipment can cause severe injuries. Only recently I was working on a case where the Claimant was burnt from boiling water from a large industrial kettle. Everything in a commercial kitchen is bigger and more powerful and the risk of serious injury is increased.
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By Editor
October 31, 2012

Part Time Work Accidents

Maybe you have taken on some part-time hours to help out with the bills or maybe you are a student with a part-time job to help you fund your studies – whatever your circumstances it is a sad fact that you may suffer an injury at work while at your part-time employment. What you need to know is if this does happen to you what can you do about it?

The truth is that the answer is fairly simple: you can still claim against a part-time employer. Just because your hours are part-time it doesn’t mean that you only have part of the rights to claim of a full-time employee!

Employers are required by law to have insurance policies in place to cover all of their employees regardless of employment status; these policies are known as Employers’ Liability Insurance which is required under The Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969.
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By Editor
October 29, 2012

Elevator Accidents

Some people like them and others hate them; whatever we think, elevators can be a genuine cause of injuries and compensation claims.

I have to admit that elevators in a building containing numerous floors can be handy.

Imagine a multi story building without elevators. We would all have to take the old fashioned route of walking – how would we ever cope with that? Some people may enjoy the exercise but others would not. Perhaps for many workers who work on the top floor of a multi story building time is of the essence. Taking an elevator to the top floor would certainly save time as opposed to walking up flights of stairs. And of course we have to consider elderly and disabled people, people with prams etc. Taking it all into account, elevators are necessary.
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By Editor
October 29, 2012

Gas Explosion

A gas explosion is some kind of explosion which may result from a gas leak in the presence of an ignition source.  Explosive gasses include methane and propane to name just a couple.

The BP oil disaster was caused by a methane bubble which triggered the explosion. The deadly bubble of methane forced its way up from beneath the ocean floor and caused the explosion in the Gulf of Mexico, according to workers who survived the disaster. The disaster itself caused severe consequences with 11 deaths and more than three million gallons of crude oil pouring into the sea. Such a disaster highlights the dangers of a gas explosion.

Of course we should be well aware of the dangers anyway as the BP oil disaster was certainly not the first disaster of its kind. Many people will recall the Cleveland East Ohio gas explosion which occurred back in 1944. The gas leak, explosion and resulting fires killed an estimated 130 people and destroyed one square mile area on Cleveland, Ohio’s east side.
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By Editor
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