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We are all still seeing the effects of the winter madness over December last year that brought Britain to a standstill after seeing some of the most severe snow showers in years. The effects we are still feeling are the pesky potholes which have littered our roads and pathways since the big freeze; caused by water seeping in to cracks in the surface, freezing, and expanding, pushing and cracking the concrete, and forming hundreds – if not thousands – of potholes.
Unfortunately, claiming against the council can be quite a difficult process – so it’s always best to get a top quality injury lawyer on the case to increase your chances of success. The reason it is difficult is because of the legislation we have in place concerning the maintenance and repair of our highways. In reality, the local authority in charge of a stretch of highway is only responsible for the reasonable and practice inspection, maintenance, and repair duties.
But what does this mean?
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Road Accident Claims Advice – What to Do
For any drivers out there, you probably know where I’m coming from for this article. I do a lot of driving on a weekly basis which involves a long 40 minute to an hour commute on motorways to and from work twice a week when I visit my partner (she doesn’t drive – so it’s always me clocking up the miles!). In my time of driving I have had my fair share of near misses (me being blameless in all), and I unfortunately happen to go across a few roundabout well known in my area to be a bit of a hotspot for accidents and traffic jams.
Every time I see an accident or avoid one myself, it really hits home just how easy it is to end up involved in a road accident. For many it can be a little scary and confusing, as you just don’t know what to do, and you may have already been inundated with calls from your insurers, claims companies, and even solicitors you have never even spoken to offering you money and services.
Well – step back, take a breather, and have a read of this article for what you should be doing if you end up involved in an accident that wasn’t your fault.
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Accidents at Work – Personal Protective Equipment
At The Injury Lawyers we deal with all sorts of accident at work claims. The focus of this blog, however, is personal protective equipment; or PPE as it is known for short.
PPE is equipment that is needed at work to wear or use in order to protect workers from risks to their health and safety. If you have suffered an injury due to a lack of/insufficient PPE, then you may have a claim for compensation, just like a worker I read about some time ago. This worker was employed by a car manufacturer to pick out metal debris from a coolant at the base of a drill. Now, due to this, the claimant suffered irritant dermatitis on his hands – an extremely sore and painful condition which meant he had to take time off work. The claimant successfully sued his employers for £5,500 as it was found the claimant was supplied with inadequate gloves for the work as they were pierced by the metal cutting. The employer could also have provided a better procedure of clearing the debris from the machines by implementing a vacuum extraction procedure. So, not only was inadequate PPE provided, but a better procedure all round could have even prevented the victims suffering.
PPE is only really meant as a last resort, whereby the employers have no other way of protecting their employees against the risks to their health and safety. Regulations in the UK state that this PPE should be provided to employees free of charge and without any contributions having to be made at all. It is also the duty of the employers to ensure the PPE is correctly used; i.e. by way training, and to check that the PPE is maintained regularly and stored correctly.
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If you have unfortunately been involved in an accident that wasn’t your fault, and you have suffered a personal injury as a result, you may have a claim for compensation. During the period after your accident you may have incurred some expenses which we at The Injury Lawyers feel you should not be responsible for. After all, the accident wasn’t your fault, so why should you bear the brunt of any costs?
Whilst we try and recover most of the costs back that you have incurred, all claimants must adhere to mitigating their losses: this means that claimants must make a genuine effort to keep their costs to a minimum. One example of this – if you have been involved in a Road Traffic Accident which has left you without the use of your vehicle and you need to travel, instead of taking a taxi, where possible, try and see if there is a cheaper option; for instance, taking public transport. Also, make sure to keep any receipts that can back up the use of alternative transport. This then makes it easy for us to justify the expense to the Defendants insurers.
There are certain circumstances where the losses are justified – a common one we can claim back is your loss of earnings resulting from any time off work you have had to take from the injury, or from attending medical appointments etc. This is seen as a reasonable expense to claim back. We would normally request that you send us at least 13 weeks’ worth of pay slips as evidence of your earnings.
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Shopping in supermarkets can be a chore for some and a point of enjoyment for others. People may enjoy the weekly visit to the supermarket to complete the ‘big shop‘ as there are a cheaper prices, a great many discounts, and everything is under one roof. Many people may dread that ‘big shop‘ due to the hassle of queues at the tills and traffic upon entering and exiting the expanse of the car park. Whatever your feelings on supermarkets it is the last thought on your mind that you will have an accident in one that was not your fault.
If the above is true and you have had an accident in a supermarket that was not your fault then you may have a claim for compensation. There are many potential hazards in supermarkets – these ranging from an item left negligently on the floor of an aisle to a spillage left negligently uncleaned on the floor. Supermarkets like anywhere else have a duty to protect their customers as far as is reasonably possible. Supermarkets must comply with strict health and safety regulations. Supermarkets must also train their employees in implementing safety procedures. These procedures could involve regular checks of aisles to make sure they are clear, a procedure for spillages, or training in how to safely stack food on to shelves to ensure they do not fall and cause an injury.
In the event you are unfortunate enough to suffer an injury within a supermarket there are a few important things to do. You should report the incident to a member of staff as they may need to fill in an accident book extract. You should check for any witnesses to the accident and obtain their contact details. Witnesses can provide valuable support to any later claim for compensation you may have. You should seek medical attention for your injuries as this not only assists with your injuries but also allows the medic to make a record of the incident in your medical notes. Lastly, you should seek the advice of a specialist personal injury lawyer. It is advisable that this is done directly with a law firm and not through a referral agent. This is because referral agents act as middle men and may simply sell your claim on to the highest bidding law firm and not the firm who will give you the best service.
Compensation Claiming – No Hassle
I think many people feel that the process of claiming for an injury will be lots of hassle and will be too complicated and time consuming. If you choose the wrong lawyer, this may turn out to be a correct assumption. Our team here at The Injury Lawyers, however, aim to make this process much quicker, simpler, and hassle free to the injured victim.
At The Injury Lawyers our philosophy is that if you have suffered an accident and it was not your fault you are entitled to make a claim; and so you should be as you have suffered injury and what may be extensive financial losses due to the negligence of another person / company. We make this process hassle free by having a policy to update our clients every two weeks which takes the stress away from the client, allowing them to rest assured their claim is being dealt with as efficiently as possible. This ensures our clients are updated and the claim is worked on a least every 2 weeks. At The Injury Lawyers we also ensure to return calls / e-mails on the same day or within 24 hours of receipt; thus again displaying high service levels we give to our clients.
On first approaching a law firm you should ensure that any initial advice given is free of charge – this is always the case at The Injury Lawyers. Just by enquiring about your claim you have nothing to lose.
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Whiplash is a common injury which many clients approach us with after having experienced the trauma of a road accident. Having said this, however, whiplash can be experienced from accidents such as a fall. Basically, whiplash is caused by a sudden jolting of the head which causes your neck to move past its normal range of movement. So any type of accident which causes this jolting can cause whiplash.
Symptoms
The symptoms of whiplash can include:
- Tenderness, pain or stiffness to the neck
- Swelling to the neck
- Lack or even no mobility of the neck
- Headaches
What is No Win No Fee? What does it mean? Is it true that it does exactly what it says on the tin? I know it’s a common term nowadays, but do any of you understand what it actually involves?
There are actually multiple answers to this question – but realistically, it all comes down to which lawyer you choose to represent you.
What Happens if You Lose?
If your compensation claim fails to succeed, under a No Win No Fee, you should not be liable for any of your lawyer’s fees. The reason I say should is because there are lawyers out there who are prepared to be sneaky and may try and get something out of you.
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We all use equipment at work – ranging from the trusty pen in the office, to a pneumatic drill on a building site. With any work equipment that is potentially dangerous, there are health and safety rules and regulations that you and your employer need to abide by in order to prevent an accident at work occurring.
If you are injured due to work equipment provided to you by your employer, you may have a claim for compensation.
There are several areas this covers –
- The provision of suitable work equipment where necessary
- The regular inspection and maintenance of work equipment you use – which ranges from handled tools to factory machinery
- The replacement of any outdated or overly used equipment
- Training in how to use work equipment safely
Third Party Capture – Should I Get a Lawyer After a Car Accident?
The answer is YES!
At The Injury Lawyers we are passionate about getting our clients the best possible amounts of compensation. This is why issues such as Third Party Capture are a topic of great concern to us. We therefore feel the need to inform our blog readers of our concern.
Many clients come to us with a claim and report some disturbing news that they have been approached by the defendants insurers for a potential personal injury claim. They report that they have either received an offer for settlement by the insurers or received an offer of a medical examination so they can value any potential claim you may have and make you an offer thereafter. This is a process that is commonly known as Third Party Capture. It is a process whereby the insurers of the potential defendants of a personal injury claim try to gain a settlement before the claimant obtains their own advice from an independent personal injury solicitor and instructs them to proceed with that claim.
If the insurers succeed in their task and the victim accepts the offer made to them, this offer may be accepted on a full and final basis, thus stopping any further claim proceeding. The claimant, therefore in accepting the claim without gaining the advice from an independent solicitor, are in serious danger of under settling their claim, and could be accepting an offer which is grossly less than what their claim is actually worth.
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