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Hazard on the Ground Tripping Up Claims
When you’re going about your everyday business, you rarely expect to end up on the floor after tripping over a hazard on the ground! But it does happen. For this article, I’m going to quickly discuss claims for compensation arising from tripping over an object on the ground.
If you go to a shop or a restaurant, or a pub or a club, or any place where you have free public access, there is somebody who is responsible for that premises. That person or company has a duty under the Occupiers Liability Act to make sure that the premises they are in charge or of safe for the public to use. This means that floors should be clear of any hazards.
Those in charge of a premises should have systems of inspection and maintenance to make sure that the floors are free from any objects that could pose a tripping hazard. Obviously in certain places like busy supermarkets, many an item of stock ends up on the ground after being knocked off by kids or falling out of a basket. So the purpose of having systems of inspection in place is for staff to clear away any potential hazards.
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We live in an age where beauty is everything. We’re all concerned about how we look, and most people in modern society today follow the latest trends, fashions, and are out to look as good as they can. It’s no surprise therefore that more and more people are turning to cosmetic surgery to achieve this. It’s a common thing nowadays for people to nip down to their local clinic for a bit of Botox or a tummy tuck.
But it isn’t just the little things we’re doing to ourselves. A huge amount of celebrities have had facelifts, nose jobs, boob jobs, and all sorts. The private clinics are (I imagine) making huge amounts of money from the people who will go to any lengths to look as good as they can. As with most things like this in life, with an increase in private surgery comes the obvious increase in people making personal injury claims for surgery gone wrong!
A classic example is those who choose to have their surgery abroad. Whilst people are happy to pay to look good, we’re still in financial meltdown with the ongoing recession and no signs of recovery. My understanding of cosmetic surgery is that it isn’t exactly cheap to have! So people are often tempted to go abroad where they can get a deal at a lower price. But naturally people need to be careful about this kind of thing, as you have to ask yourself why the surgery is cheaper abroad. How can you be confident that the quality of the surgeon is going to be as good? How can you be confident that the regulations over in foreign countries is as good? Ultimately, you can’t.
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Here we go again! Its snow joke out there; snowmaggeddon has returned; there’s snow way it’s as bad as this; and all the usual jokes and trends on twitter about the weather we’re having at the moment. I remember when I was a kid I was praying for snow to get me off school so I could spend all day sledging and snowball fighting. Now, as a commuter, I hate the stuff!
As well as the obvious delays it can cause, road accidents due to snow are extremely common. All drivers need to adjust the speed and manner in which they drive in to meet the conditions of the road. Snow and ice causes obvious traction issues, so we all need to slow down and take it steady on corners, hills, and country roads. Sadly, not everyone listens to that.
The point of this article though is to let you know that the weather is not an excuse when it comes to personal injury compensation claims. If you have been injured because another driver has skidded in to the back of you, or veered over from their side of the road, or in any other circumstance because snow and ice on the road has caused them to lose control of their vehicle, they are more than likely liable by law! The at-fault driver cannot use the excuse “I was driving as safely as I could, and I wasn’t speeding; there’s just too much snow and ice and I couldn’t keep control of my car!”
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PPE at Work – Knee Injury Claims
Personal Protective Equipment (or PPE for short) is essential in many occupations. Any equipment or clothing you need to keep you safe in the workplace is covered by specific regulations relating to the Provision and Use of Work Equipment. Such equipment can range from gloves to prevent contact with irritant chemicals in a kitchen, to hard hats on a building site, or to breathing apparatus for dealing with asbestos.
One example of where PPE is very important is when it comes to knees. A great deal of professions involve getting down to low heights and small spaces; so kneeling on hard floors may be a common thing for you. Plumbers do it to get beneath sinks; carpet fitters do it to lay the carpets; anyone who needs to work at low heights is likely to do the obvious thing and kneel on the floor. But is that safe?
Most people probably don’t consider the damage that can be done to your knees by kneeling down for extended periods of time. By kneeling down and working in crouched positions, trauma can be caused to the knee joint over and over again, which in turn causes injuries like cartilage wear and tear, build up of fluids, or common conditions like beat knee (or carpet layer’s knee, coal miner’s knee, or housemaid’s knee as is it also known as). The trauma that can be caused by repeatedly staying down on your knees on a hard surface can be significant.
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What Compensation Can I Claim For?
It’s so common for people to want to know how much they might be awarded for making a claim for compensation. The fact is, it’s very hard to tell right from the start of the claim, as it’s all based on medical evidence and losses. So, to help you out, here is a quick guide on the sorts of things we look at when valuing a claim for compensation.
The Injury
You can, of course, claim for the injury. The amount is based on the severity and length of any pain, suffering, and loss of amenity. Generally speaking, the more you suffer the more we get for you. We value the claim based on medical evidence which we obtain from a suitable qualified expert. If you suffer a broken bone, you will normally be seen by an orthopaedic expert. If you sustained a laceration or a burn, you would commonly see a plastic surgeon.
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Bus Passengers Accident Claims
We get a lot of enquires from people who have been injured in an accident on a bus. Whether you have a claim or not can commonly come down to one simple question: was there a collision?
If there was a collision with another vehicle, you should have an excellent claim. The reason is because the fault should lie between either or both of the parties involved. Vehicles don’t just crash in to each other for no reason… not normally anyway. As such, someone, or both drivers, are at fault.
What if the collision was with a building, or a lamppost or other object? Well if the bus driver is at fault, you have a good chance of making a claim against the bus company. Essentially, as long as someone is at fault, and there is viable insurance to potentially claim from, we should be able to pursue a claim for you.
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Whiplash Claims Average Payout
When it comes to personal injury claiming, we are the experts! As an actual law firm dealing with claims (not some claims management company passing you over to the highest bidding lawyer!) our expertise in whiplash claims spans over decades. Whiplash is the most common injury involved in a road accident, and when it comes to road accidents, they’re usually fairly straightforward when it comes to proving who is at fault. Most people can normally work out right at the start that they definitely have a claim, but they’re not sure how much they can claim for.
Given that, our busy new claims team are often asked the question “how much is my whiplash claim worth?” Now, it’s important to understand that this isn’t something anyone can just easily answer. Each claim is different and is assessed on its own merits – so we can’t just say to you “Oh, that’ll be worth £3,000 mate!” Then comes the next question, “Well, just give me a ball park figure or an average – I won’t hold you to it!” The last bit usually makes me chuckle a little.
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Sunken Drain or Manhole Compensation Claims
It’s been a cold few months – and the roads are littered with defects and potholes. Common defects arise from the areas around drain covers, manhole covers, and similar such holes in the ground will often have defects around the edges due to adverse weather conditions. As soon as a cover like this gets sunken in to the ground, a tripping hazard ensues due to the surrounding sunken ground. That or just the general ground being rough and defective which causes instability and a hazard as equally as dangerous.
So the big question is this – can you make a claim for compensation if you end up injured due to sunken ground around a drain or manhole cover? It all depends on who has the responsibility and whether they have complied with the law.
Commonly its local councils who have the authority. If the hole in the ground is for utilities and therefore “privately owned” so to speak, then it is common that they allow the authority for it to rest with the council in any event. When it comes to the highways, whoever is responsible has a duty to take all reasonable steps to ensure that the highway is safe to use. Councils usually uphold this with regular systems of inspection and maintenance. If the company who owns the hole and the cover has a deal with the council to include their hole and cover within these inspections, then it may well fall within their responsibility.
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In a workplace environment, there are strict rules in place that mean your employer must adhere to important health and safety legalisation to keep you safe in the workplace. The rules are vast, and they range from general workplace health and safety, covering traffic routes for example, to manual handling, protective equipment, general equipment, etc.
As specialist injury lawyers we deal with all sorts of personal injury claims. Accident at work claims are fairly common; especially ones involving slipping over in the workplace. As the title of this article suggests, we will be focusing on leaks at work that cause accidents.
Leaks in the workplace could arise from all sorts of things – water leaking from the roof, or leaks from faulty fridges, equipment, or anything like that. Normally a leak is a hazard that is easily picked up on. You notice some water accumulated on the floor, most people either investigate it or at least mention it to a manager or supervisor. Either way, as soon as your employer is made aware of a leak, an important duty is born for them to make sure that something is done about it!
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Accident Claims in a Train Station
I’m not much of a fan of train stations. There are too many people rushing around to catch their train in time, and they’re way too cold in winter when you need to stand around and wait for your (probably late) train. As a specialist firm of personal injury lawyers, we’re used to dealing with a wide range of claims for compensation; accidents in a train station are fairly common.
When you break it down, there are some strikingly obvious reasons why they are so common:
- People are rushing around.
- There are no bins in train stations to prevent terrorist threats; means most litter ends up on the floor!
- Most stations are not fully covered; the floor can end up easily wet in periods of bad weather, or it can be walked in by rushing travellers.
- The sheer volume of people means there is a likely greater chance of spillages and floor hazards; baggage on the floor can be a tripping hazard as well!