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The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) are looking at proposals for reducing the cost of NHS claims over the next year. Muiris Lyons, was quoted as saying, “We as lawyers owe a wider duty to society to ensure that the cost of claims remains both proportionate and reasonable… We can’t ignore that there are significant costs to the NHS. We know how the system works and can improve it without restricting access to justice for our clients.”

A recent report by the NHS Litigation Authority highlighted that in 2008/09 the NHS paid out over £807million in compensation claims.

It is also claimed that costs spiral because the NHS takes too long to settle claims. Medical negligence lawyer, Russell Levy, spoke about the NHS unwillingness to speed up claims in a recent BBC news story (source). “They (the NHS) hope the harder they make it and the more they discourage people, they will go away,” he said. “By the time they accept the inevitable, it costs much more than it should.”

It will be interesting to see what action APIL proposes to help speed up the process in the coming months ahead.

It’s probably best to firstly consider how the accident has affected your life. Perhaps you have had to take time off work, in which case you may have lost out on your earnings. You might have needed to be cared for in the period of time it took for you to recover. In all of these cases it would be most advisable to get the help of a specialist injury lawyer. But, who do you chose?

The best help you can get is from an independent firm of solicitors that have not paid a referral fee for your claim. Always go direct to real Injury Lawyers and not “middlemen” and that way you will know that your claim hasn’t been bought by the highest bidding Law firm from claims resellers (middlemen). Make sure you then look around and choose a company that is dedicated to its clients and to achieving the best result for you.

In a lot of Road Traffic Accidents, Legal Expense Insurance will probably crop up. Your Insurance Company will tell you that they will pay for all your legal fees when pursuing your claim and that they will refer you to one of their own expert solicitors – sounds quite reasonable on the surface, and it may even seem as though they are saving you a lot of time and hassle.
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Several High Street retailers have been ordered to pay compensation, by a High Court Judge, to customers who suffered chemical burns after purchasing their leather sofas.

It is expected the total compensation amount to be paid will be around £20 million. Around 2,000 people made claims against Argos, Homebase, Walmsleys and a clutch of other, smaller high street retailers after the goods they had bought were found to contain high doses of the chemical Dimethyl Fumarate or DMF.

Unfortunately, those who had similar problems after purchasing their “toxic sofas” from the now defunct ‘Land of Leather’ could not claim after their former insurers, Zurich, argued that Land of Leather had breached the terms of its insurance policy.
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A young soldier, who had his leg blown off while serving in Afghanistan and had received around £200,000 in compensation for his injuries, witnessed his own Mother appear in court yesterday over fraud charges that she allegedly stole more than £10,000 of his compensation payout.

Angie Woollard, 43, was given power of attorney over her son’s compensation payout. Private Matthew Woollard, 20, of 1st Battalion the Royal Anglian Regiment, was awarded around £104,000 and £42,000 in compensation plus £45,000 from an insurance policy.

Private Matthew Woollard received his compensation payout after standing on a landmine during a patrol in Helmand Province back in May 2007 which tore off his right leg below the knee.

Magistrates bailed Angie Woollard on condition that she did not contact her son or any other witnesses. The case will resume case on June the 8th at the Crown Court.

Former drink and drug addict, Ryan St George, 42, was serving a four month jail sentence at Brixton jail back in 1997 when he took an epileptic fit and fell from his prison bunk bed banging his head on the floor. What happened next was a series of events that left St George needing constant care for the rest of his life.

Once the guards had been alerted to St George’s accident they called for an Ambulance. The Paramedics were delayed in treating St george because their Ambulance was blocked from entering the prison gates by a parked van. Prison warders then argued who should accompany St George to the hospital, further delaying treatment. One Paramedic was quoted as saying St George’s condition was, “in as bad a state as a person can be without being dead.”

Upon hearing the evidence against the Home Office, High Court judge Mr Justice Mackay, ordered that the former prisoner should receive £4.7 Million in compensation. He also told the Home Office that they must pay St George £45,000 rent for a new flat.

Wilfried Fesselmann is an extremely hurt and angry man, and after you hear his story, you can’t fault the man for feeling this way. Mr Fesselmann claims he was abused by Rev. Peter Hullermann when he was just 11 years old. The then young Fesselmann confided in a friend about his nightmare, who inturn told Fesselmann’s parents. They acted accordingly and after the complaint was made, the Catholic Church, relocated the Rev. Peter Hullermann and ordered him to take therapy.

It’s just another awful story, one of thousands that has surfaced recently about the failings of the Catholic Church in their accountability to properly deal with the scores of twisted pedophile priests.

Wilfried Fesselmann is demanding an apology from Pope Benedict XVI but furthermore he is looking to be compensated for his turmoil “even if the church goes bankrupt.”
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Cerebral Palsy is a collective term for muscle impairment disorders which are consequential to damage caused to the brains motor ‘area’.

Cerebral Palsy most commonly begins during pregnancy and it is often the case that you will not know your child has the condition until months, even years, after the birth. There are several causes and the majority of the time they cannot be prevented no matter how careful you are during pregnancy. You can take precautions by ensuring that you watch the level of alcohol and cigarettes consumed during the pregnancy.

However, there are a small percentage of cases which have been caused by clinical or medical negligence;
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We have all experienced food poisoning at some point in our lives but it often clears after 24 hours and we never really think much more about it. What if you experience a severe bout of food poisoning? Can you claim for it? What are the symptoms of food poisoning?

Food poisoning is caused by bacteria, toxins or viruses which have contaminated food or drink which you in turn consume.

Whilst most people will recover from symptoms within a few days, more serious strains such as salmonella can lead to hospitalisation and in worse case scenarios, death.
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What do we expect of our emergency services? Good Community rapport, assistance in an emergency, life saving efforts? These are all things that spring to mind but should we be concerned that health and safety regulations in place are going to prevent them from carrying out all of these points?

One Scottish headline to hit today’s news would lead me to say yes.

This will be a shocking and disappointing story for many of you to read but I think it is important for our blog readers to be aware of developments involving such services.
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A form of group “talking therapy” is a cheap, effective way to alleviate low back pain, a UK trial has shown. According to the BBC, the positive effect was still seen a year after the short six-session therapy programme, the Lancet reported.

The 600 patients taking part in the trial were also offered standard GP treatment including pain medication.

The sessions were designed to tackle unhelpful beliefs about back pain and physical activity and help patients better manage their condition.
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