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There are so many workplace health and safety rules and regulations your employer must abide by. Risk assessments need to be completed, workplace areas need to be regularly inspected and maintained, and your employer has a duty to minimise risks to your health as far as is reasonably possible and practical.

So – what happens if your employer fails in this important duty they have for you, and you end up injured? You can make a claim for compensation from their insurance.

In any event, a regular system of inspection and maintenance should be carried out to make sure there are no slippery surfaces or defects on the floor waiting to trip you up. Any hazards spotted should be either rectified, or cordoned off and appropriate signage put in place to warn you of the hazard. If you are not advised of a hazard, or are unaware of its presence, you can make a claim.
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Personal Protective Equipment, or PPE as it is more informally known, is equipment which you should wear or use to protect you from risks to your health and safety at work. PPE should only be used as a last resort where no other methods could protect you – for example, employers should not use PPE as a cheaper option in place of another method of safety which may protect you better.

There are strict regulations surrounding PPE in the workplace. Employers should not ask employees for payment for the PPE, or even for any contribution at all – the employer should cover the cost of the PPE in full.

PPE is an umbrella term which can cover a whole host of equipment ranging from safety goggles, to respirators, to safety boots. PPE not only protects from those one off accidents, such as a laceration to the finger, but it can also protect from long term risks to health which can build up over time and potentially cause life threatening diseases – an example of this would be respirators to prevent conditions such as asbestosis.  This serves to highlight the importance of PPE around the workplace.
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We take on countless accident at work claims on a continuous basis. You’d think that with all the health and safety rules and regulations we have in place to protect us that there’d be far less of work accident claims being pursued through our legal system. One of the major problems and reasons they keep occurring is the lack of understanding and respect for the rules and regulations we have in place.

So, you’re injured in a work accident through no fault of your own, and you think you are entitled to some compensation. Firstly, contact a quality injury lawyer to find out if you have a claim. Secondly, and turning to our question at hand here:

YES – MAKE A CLAIM
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Many of you reading this will probably have a general idea as to what a claim for compensation entails. But do any of you really know what it is? I mean, what it really is?

The old stereotype of the man falling off the incorrectly provided ladders, or the lady slipping on the wet floor where no signs had been placed, is just microscopic view of the claiming world. There are so many ways you can end up injured, and end up having a valid claim.

So – to answer the question, I suppose it’s best to ask another question:
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OK – so we do have a lot of health and safety rules and regulations to comply with nowadays. We have training manuals to read, instruction videos to watch, and endless amounts of forms to sign to confirm we have thoroughly digested the information we are exposed to. But – has it really gone mad? Are we doing too much?

I think this is one heck of a hot topic for debate. Personally, I side with the sensible approach, whilst maintaining the importance that even the “little things” simply cannot be missed. Yes – we all have an obvious duty to look out for our own personal wellbeing – so there are instances when an accident really is the fault of the injured person (or just no one at all!) through a lack of common sense. But, if the necessary checks weren’t in place, and the required training was never completed, people’s health and safety is easily at risk.

I agree – there is a lot of red tape around it – but it’s far better to have it there than to not have it in place. For example:
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If you are reading this blog, then you have taken the correct first step to dealing with with your personal injury claim. It is always advisable to take independent legal advice on your personal injury claim, and finding the law firm you want to act for you is best done directly with the law firm. There are many referral agents out there who may want your claim. Referral agents act as middlemen by selling your claim on to personal injury law firms – this referral fee can be for a large amount of money (often up to £800!).

If a law firm has already reduced their budget amount for your case by paying this fee, it is likely that they will also give you a reduced level of service or face incurring a loss – which isn’t something a law firm is going to want to do!

In summary, it is best to leave the destiny of your claim in your own hands and choose the law firm that is right for you. Below I have listed some useful tips that you may want to look out for when researching potential law firms to instruct on your claim:
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Many of our clients when they approach us at The Injury Lawyers are aware that they may have a claim for compensation. What they are often not aware of is the extent to which they may claim back other losses that they have incurred as result of their accident. A good personal injury lawyer will advise of claims for further losses from the outset of a claim; the reason being that in many cases the losses are ongoing, and we want our clients to keep all the necessary receipts and other supporting documentation safe to help support the claim.

Once all the losses information is collated, it is at this point a Schedule of Loss may be drafted by your lawyer. A Schedule of Loss, or Schedule of Special Damages as they are sometimes called, is a document which sets out all your losses information and is disclosed to the other side in order to invite offers. Losses are normally dealt with separately to your injury compensation – so this is an item which is not included in the document.

I have set out below some of the items which are more commonly seen on a Schedule of Loss:
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If you have been involved in an accident where you have sustained an injury at the hands of a negligent third party, do not under-settle your claim.  At The Injury Lawyers, we hate hearing about victims of other people’s negligence who have unwittingly settled their claim for compensation alone directly with the party responsible, and as a result have lost out on thousands of pounds in compensation that they would have received had they had a quality injury lawyer acting on their behalf. 

Unsurprisingly, when we at The Injury Lawyers have to inform such people that they have settled their claim and there is nothing we or anyone else can do to obtain an increase, they are devastated.  In the industry, this is what is known as ‘Third Party Capture’.  It is where the other side, most likely through their insurers, try and settle your claim with you directly.  At the time, it may feel like you are getting what you deserve; but most people soon realise that they have likely been undercompensated.  At the end of the day, our advice to you is simple – do not settle your potential claim without independent and quality legal advice.  Ask yourself what is truly in it for the other side to compensate you directly – it’s really obvious – saving money.

At The Injury Lawyers, we cannot settle your claim faster than the other side can do directly.  In fact, it may take a couple of months longer.  But only the other side themselves can settle your claim the fastest because they are the ones with the money that is owed to you.  What I would do is ask yourself a hypothetical question: would you rather have £1,000 now, or £3,000 in two months?  I know I would rather have the £3,000 later, and I am sure many of you would prefer the same. 
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It’s a lovely day today – let’s hope the weather stays nice over the four day weekend – give us a taste of what’s to come over this summer (hopefully!). But, anyone’s day and summer can easily be ruined when you end up injured in an accident through no fault of your own! Nowadays, it’s easy to end up injuring yourself – but it’s also an easy process to make a claim.

Help! I’ve been injured in an accident that wasn’t my fault!

Been hit in the rear by another car? Fallen down in a supermarket on a wet floor where no signs or preventative measures were in place to warn you of the hazard? Or been injured at work because your employer failed to properly train you for a particular task? If the accident was not your fault, but the fault of someone else (a company, or a person), you have the first ingredient in place to make a successful claim for compensation.
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Whiplash is one of those conditions that is not so plain to see but can cause the sufferer severe pain for lengthy periods of time. It is a common misconception that the condition is based solely in the neck area; in reality, this can be very different as I will explain below.

Symptoms

The symptoms of whiplash can vary greatly from person to person:

• Pain, stiffness, swelling around the neck, back, and shoulders.
• Pain may radiate to the shoulders or down the back
• Headaches which can be severe and recurrent

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