Passenger in a Vehicle Driven by a Drunk Driver Can I Claim?

Although it is never a good idea to get in a vehicle when the driver has been drinking, it does not mean that you cannot make a claim for personal injury if the trip ends in an accident – and let’s be honest, this is more likely than not.

The normal guideline is that as a passenger, you are an innocent party and cannot be at fault for the accident. This therefore entitles you to receive 100% of any compensation that is awarded.

However, getting into a vehicle knowing the driver has been drinking does have consequences for a claim for personal injury. The insurers of the driver of the vehicle will more than likely argue contributory negligence for passengers making a claim for personal injury in these types of circumstances.
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Claiming Against the Council for Potholes

With the lovely weather we have here in the United Kingdom, it is not surprising the amount of potholes that have appeared on the roads and pavements.  As someone who commutes to and from work on a daily basis, I have experienced the far from smooth ride which often involves my car dipping down unexpectedly and rattling my very bones. However, potholes, although annoying, can be dealt with rather easily when in a car and usually do not pose an immediate risk of injury.

This is definitely not the case when you are not in the car, but on foot or a bicycle. Here at The Injury Lawyers we deal with a high volume of personal injury claims that have been caused by someone either tripping over a pothole, or alternatively, riding a bike when the front wheel gets caught and consequently results in the cyclist being thrown from the bike.

It is important to stress that these are not straightforward cases and therefore should not be approached lightly. One of the first things we require to assess is whether we are able to pursue your claim, are photographs are extremely important for this.
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Mitigating and Minimising Your Losses

In a claim for personal injury you can recover damages for the injury itself (this is known as General Damages) and you can recover damages for any losses that you have incurred as a result of the accident (this is known as Special Damages).

In all personal injury claims you are under a duty to mitigate or minimise your losses. I will attempt to explain just what this means for you as a Claimant.

Say for example that you sustained injury due to a pothole in the pavement, you stepped in the pothole and unfortunately twisted your ankle and fell to the floor. You can recover General Damages for your injury (twisted ankle, bruising, cuts etc) and you can recover Special Damages for any losses that you may have incurred (damaged/torn clothing, unable to use your gym membership for a few months, lost earnings etc). With Special Damages it will often require some form of proof that you have suffered the loss –  so where possible you should retain receipts and records.
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Claiming against the Hospital

Claims against the hospital – commonly medical negligence claims – are bound to be more sensitive that most personal injury claims.

We are fortunate in our country that we have access to the National Health Service (NHS) but we are still entitled to make a claim if we have sustained injury or have been adversely affected as a result of medical negligence. A first thought is that it can seem harsh to sue the NHS, given that it provides medical treatment free of charge and in theory it is only there to help people who need treatment.

On the other hand people pay taxes and in effect it is these taxes which run the NHS – so ultimately it is a debate in itself whether it is a free service. Another point is that the NHS, as with a private company, has insurance in place for the sole purpose of paying out compensation to injured victims. The fact is that there is no shame in making a compensation claim; if you have sustained a genuine injury as a result of medical negligence then it is your right to claim. The insurance the NHS has is actually more of a self insured department called the NHS Litigation Authority.
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Pre Medical Offer

Let’s get straight to business on this one – a Pre-Medical Offer is not something that should be taken lightly. As the name may or may not suggest to you, in the world of personal injury claiming, this is an offer made to a Claimant (you if you are making a personal injury claim) to accept a sum of money in settlement of a potential claim.

It is usually made by the other parties’ insurers and it is an offer made before you have been for a medical assessment of your injuries. By medical assessment, we mean a legally, organised one – not a visit to your own GP! The aim is to get you to settle your claim before you have had your medical report.

Right now you should be asking yourself the question, “if I’m claiming for an injury but I haven’t had a specialist look at it then how do I know how bad it is?” The answer is that you don’t.
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The Best Personal Injury Lawyers in the UK

How do you know who the best injury lawyers in the UK really are? Well luckily we can answer this question for you – because we know exactly what it is you should be able to expect from a quality injury lawyer to make sure you get the best service and the maximum amount of compensation possible.

Naturally, as we are The Injury Lawyers, a firm of specialist personal injury only lawyers with years of compensation claiming experience behind us, we do all we can to make sure that what we do is better than the rest. And to be honest, we can prove that it is (in our opinion).

It’s easy to start by simply understanding what it is a person needs when they are making a CLAIM for compensation.
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Package Tour Regulation – Accident Abroad Compensation Claims

Everyone looks forward to their summer holidays – sun, relaxation and usually a healthy dose of alcohol! There aren’t many things that sound better to me personally.

However, while holidays abroad are all well and good, if something goes wrong and you are a long way from home, what can you do about it?

If you have booked a package holiday in the UK and have suffered an injury in your accommodation or in a place where the company that you booked with were looking after you then you may have a right to compensation through the Package Tour Regulations 1992.
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A Rise in Deaths of 18-25 Year Old Drivers

Last month the Government has been advised by the Transport Select Committed that there has been a rise in fatal deaths from road traffic accidents for people aged 18-25 years old. This has been the first increase of death in over 10 years and has therefore put the issue in the media.

Fatal road traffic accidents are the main killer amongst the 16-24 year old bracket. The rise of deaths has been shocking – an increase of 12% in pedestrians and a rise of 6% of cyclists and motorcyclists.

The rise in figures has been blamed on the current Government for scrapping the national targets and comments have gone so far as to say that the Government is not dealing with road safety as a top priority.  As a result of these comments the Government has announced that they will publish their road safety strategy later this year.
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Contributory Negligence – Personal Injury Claims

The two words in the title of this blog are often used by insurance companies in personal injury claims; they can be seen as accusatory and are often misunderstood, and many people bringing a claim see them as two very big words.

Contributory Negligence is often used by insurers or Defendants (any person who a claim is brought against) in order to try and reduce the damages that they will have to pay to the innocent victim.

The way it works is that the Defendant will admit that they were at fault for the accident BUT allege that the Claimant (the injured person bringing the claim) was at least partly responsible for their injuries. To clear a common misunderstanding a Defendant cannot use this to say that the accident was the Claimants fault – there is no such thing as 100% Contributory Negligence. In fact the law was altered as long ago as 1945 to stop this happening.
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Personal Protective Equipment – Protect Yourself at Work!

We all know how unpredictable life can be and that – especially with accidents – it is very difficult to know what is going to happen next. This doesn’t mean that we can’t try and prepare though and we should all take care to minimise the potential effects of any accident; this is especially true in the workplace.

If your job involves any type of risk to your health then your employer should issue you with items that will minimise the risks where possible – these items are known as Personal Protective Equipment, or PPE. Types of PPE include: Respirators, Protective Gloves, Protective Footwear, Goggles, Hi-visibility clothing and any other item designed to be worn or used for your health, safety and protection.

In cases where the risks to your health and safety cannot be adequately controlled through other measures then PPE becomes a legal requirement under the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992. These regulations say that employers are responsible for providing, replacing and paying for personal protective equipment as well as training you in how to use it safely and effectively.
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