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Whiplash is a common injury arising from road accidents. It’s caused by the sudden movement of the neck or head in a jolting fashion which is normal after an impact. Unfortunately, whiplash is a much more complicated injury than you’d think. In fact, if you are reading this and you are having the symptoms, you may be in for a bit of a shock. Here’s a guide on how it all works:

Whiplash Symptoms

• Pain / stiffness / inflammation of the neck, back, and shoulders. Pain can radiate in to other areas as well (arms, legs etc).
• Headaches – normally common directly after the accident.
• Reduced movement in the affected area, and / or muscular spasms.
• Pins and needles and / or numbness in the hands and arms.
• Dizziness and tiredness – even vertigo in some cases.

A whiplash injury is generally hard to predict in the early stages. It affects different people in different ways, and is often subject to the force of the impact you have been involved in. You could be suffering for a couple of weeks, or you could be suffering for months and months.
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Accidents at work are unfortunately common. The worst part can be the initial stages for the victim; as well as the pain of being injured, you could be facing extensive medical treatment, and could even be facing time off work. Personally, I hate having time off work. I’m fortunate enough to be able to brave through most illnesses, but I was forced to take two days off last year with a sickness bug which literally made it impossible to get in to work, and that was bad enough! So I’d be at panic stations if I broke my leg at work and was told I can’t come in for four weeks or so!
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Certainly not the Ghostbusters! But it can be a confusing time when you’ve had an accident to know exactly what to do. With so many law firms out there all promising to deal with your claim in the best way, who should you go with? If you’ve had a road accident, you’re probably being inundated with calls from the other driver’s insurers offering you quick cash settlements, and your own insurers are probably calling you to make you go with their own appointed legal team!

It’s confusing!

So, here’s a little advice on what to look for in a law firm, and what to avoid. But first things first; take a breather, and do your homework!

Injury Lawyer – Get Your Own!

Never let another company, especially your own insurers, a breakdown or garage service, or any other company whatsoever offer to “pass you to the best lawyer”. Avoid them at all costs! The clue as to why you must avoid them is in the statement: Costs!

If you let your insurers appoint their own “in house”, or “appointed”, or “recommended” lawyers, you’re in for a rough ride.  All the insurance companies do is sell the claim on to the highest bidding law firm on their panel. It’s often known as Legal Expense Insurance, or Legal Protection, and it’s an absolute scam. The money the lawyer wastes on buying your case comes straight from the running costs of your claim – leaving you with a poor service, and a lawyer with less money to fight harder for a top payout.
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Many careers are obviously ones which entail working at a height; these include those in the building trade, TV aerial installers, or tree surgeons.  Working at heights, however, can cover any one of us – for example a receptionist being asked to change a light bulb at height or a librarian attempting to reach items high up on shelving.  So we can see that this type of situation can affect any one of us, so personal injuries resulting from working at height situations are becoming increasingly more common.

If an employer asks or expects their employee to work at a height then they must comply with the Working At Height Regulations 2005.  You do not need to know the full detail of this legislation, but it is useful to know a few key points.  Working at height should be properly supervised and planned – the correct safety gear and equipment should be checked prior to use and should then be used accordingly.

An employer that oversees employees working at height should know at least the minimum requirements of the Working At Height Regulations.  If these regulations are not followed correctly then there is a high chance that an accident could occur: the most common of these accidents being falling from ladders, falling from scaffolding, or falling from a roof.
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The “Big Freeze” is something which has no doubt affected each and every individual within the UK in one way or another. The overwhelming amount of snowfall appears to have hit the UK unexpectedly, bringing certain areas of the country to a standstill. Highway authorities have been criticised for being unprepared for these conditions, resulting in numerous road closures across the country. A number of unfortunate drivers were stranded on the motorway and had no other option but to sleep in their cars!

Considering the havoc and chaos which this mere snowfall has caused, taking into account the road closures, airport closures and business closures, it would seem that the only people who will have benefited from these adverse weather conditions would be the sledge suppliers!

Inevitably, as a result of these weather conditions, numerous people have been involved in unfortunate accidents and sustained injury. So where would those individuals who have personally suffered injury as a result of these conditions seek remedy? Questions of course would follow from this, such as – (1) who would be held accountable for this injury?; and (2)what type of injury was sustained?
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Road accidents are common – it’s the reason we all have a legal responsibility to have insurance which covers us all for any accidents we cause. But the sad story is that the insurance companies are somewhat displeased that their heavily lined pockets are being ever so slightly dented with claims against their policy holders; which in itself is a bit of a conundrum, given that the insurance product they sell is designed to insure people!

So, the insurance companies have for many years now being finding ways to save themselves some money – which unfortunately can end up having a serious negative effect on a claim for personal injury.

But how?

Well, the insurance companies’ involvement is normally known as Legal Expense Insurance – so here’s the real explanation as to what exactly Legal Expense Insurance is:
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According to sources from the Daily Mail, Kenneth Clarke is aiming to hit hard on the “greedy solicitors” who operate under No Win No Fee deals that end up costing parties at fault thousands of pounds in legal fees. It’s quite a bold statement, and quite a bold article. We at The Injury Lawyers of course believe it’s important to analyse the real situation; so let’s take a look at the report and see what our government are planning to do:

Described as a “radical shake-up”, the report advises that Clarke aims to stop the “ambulance-chasing lawyers” from “cashing in on frivolous cases.” Although it appears that No Win No Fee isn’t actually going to be scrapped; what is being reviewed are the success fees that solicitors are entitled to for winning a case; which operates on a sliding scale basis relevant to the risk of the case. The article is of course is more than happy to point out the obvious one that often hits the news; seemingly increasing NHS bills from negligence claims against them.
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Given how common road accidents are, it’s never surprising to see them in the news. Whether it’s a horrific and unfortunate crash with fatalities involved, the M1 at a standstill, celebrity road antics, or just peculiar stories, they always manage to find their way on to the press headlines. We at The Injury Lawyers, as road accident specialists, are used to seeing a wide variety of claims through the door on a daily basis.

A story from BBC News (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11599203) tells of an unfortunate crash involving a man driving his car with the use of mind controlled prosthetic limb. Sounds like something out of a sci-fi film, doesn’t it? But it’s a true story:  22 year old Austrian Christian Kandlbauer is thought to be the world’s first person to pass their driving test with the use of prosthetic limbs. He tragically lost both of his arms four years ago after he was shocked by 20,000 volts, and his life was turned back around when he was provided with artificial limbs he can control with his mind.

His Subaru has been specially adapted, and he is legally qualified to drive – he was unfortunately found by a trucker in his car which had caught fire after smashing in to a tree. His condition is reportedly serious, and a police officer was reported to have said “Looking at the state of the wreck, it’s a miracle he got out at all”. A passing lorry driver was able to assist in putting the flames out and saving Mr Kandlbauer from the wreck.
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If you work, you’re probably at least vaguely aware of the importance of health and safety at work; particularly if you work in the manufacturing industry, or in a factory, or in another similar role. All employers have an important duty of care to ensure that their employees are not harmed during the course of their employment, which is why there are so many rules and regulations employers must follow.

But still, rules are broken and regulations are not followed correctly, and employees become injured through the negligence of their employers. If your employer has failed to maintain the important duty of care they have for you, and they are found to be negligent, you are entitled to make a claim for compensation for the injuries and suffering you have had to endure. So, how’s it work then?

Well, it is a legal requirement for your employers to have an employer’s liability insurance policy in place to cover all of their employees for any injuries they sustain during the course of their employment. You are completely free, and legally entitled, to claim for compensation from it. In fact, the insurance is there for that very purpose!
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OK, so not so much of an original topic given my last blog about road accident madness. But the “madness” theme spreads across all walks of life, and all forms of claims for personal injury. As a specialist firm of personal injury experts, we take on all sorts of claims, given the sheer volume of cases we take on daily; and sometimes we genuinely have to ask ourselves – “how was this allowed to happen?”

Health and safety laws, rules, and regulations are there for very good and very sensible reasons – to prevent people from coming to harm. Never mind what the ConDems say about “elf and safety gawn mad”, if you follow the practices and procedures in place, no one should come to harm. So when people and companies break rules and regulations to such extents that their actions can be classed as “mad”, you do have to ask yourself how on earth they managed to break the rules so tremendously bad.

Personally, I tend to class some of the more simple rules broken as madness. For example, councils failing to inspect and maintain their jurisdiction of highway on a regular basis. It only needs to be done every 3 – 12 months or so, dependant on the use of the road or pathway. A simple inspection can identify defects, and workman can be contracted to repair them. It seems basic enough to me. But there are still highways authorities that fail to follow the rules – meaning claims can be brought against them.
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