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Dog attacks on children are making more and more of an impact in the news. Yesterday, the Daily Mail reported on a story in Wales, where a 16-month-old girl was viciously attacked by a family dog. Medics said that the girl was lucky not to have lost as eye as the dog ripped into her face missing her eye socket by half an inch.
The family pet is believed to have attacked the child when she accidentally stepped onto its tail. The toddler needed 50 stitches to her face and had to under-go her first bout of facial surgery. Doctors said they think the scars on her face will heal because she is so young, but she will need to make regular visits to the hospital for checkups.
The dog that attacked her was a Cairn Terrier and the club that breeds the animal dubs it as ‘the best little pal in the world’. After the attack, the family pet was put down to prevent it attacking anyone else in the future.
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Road Traffic Accidents: Collisions
Been involved in a collision on the road is a worrying time for any driver. They may be in shock due to the impact of the accident, or just generally shaken up from it. Whatever the reason, they may not be thinking too clearly after the incident. Road traffic accidents have become a common occurrence on the roads of today. We constantly hear about them in the news, and we have all probably witnessed a few on the roads before.
If you do become involved in a collision involving another vehicle there are a few things you should do:
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It’s official winter is finally here, with snow forecast to fall on the high grounds and temperatures to reach lows of freezing. In just over one weeks time the clocks will go back an hour, which means an extra hour in bed for those who see their glass as half full. For those who see it half empty, unfortunately it means that it gets dark an hour earlier.
Personally I love summer, and the cold dark nights are not my favourite. Winter can create some of the worst driving conditions. I love seeing snow fall on the ground, or to wake up to white covered grounds. What I don’t love is the thought of driving home in it. Last year snow caused madness on the roads. Not only did it create some of the worst traffic jams, but when it melted it uncovered hundreds of new potholes.
I’ve been driving for three years, so in my eyes I am a fairly experienced driver. However, on my drive home from work on one Sunday afternoon, after snow had settled on the ground, forcing us to shut early, made me realise that maybe I’m not as clued up as I may have once thought. Driving down a hill at less than 10mph and I still managed to skid into the curb, missing a near-by lamp post by centimetres.
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A repetitive strain injury (RSI) is caused when a person overuses a part of their body and their muscles in that area. A lot of RSI’s are caused at work, for example if someone is sat at a computer all day they may suffer an injury in their hand or wrist area. This is because typing can cause stress in the muscles around that area and the tissue may become damaged. If they do become damaged a chemical is released in the body to attempt to repair any damage. However, if repetitive movement continues, the body’s efforts to heal or repair itself may result to stress in the muscle tissue causing the RSI.
Anyone suffering from an RSI may get a disabling pain in the affected area, and feel tingling and swelling. For example, if you’re suffering from an RSI due to spending too much time typing then you will feel a tingling in your thumb and first two fingers; this is a key symptom of an RSI.
There are a number of RSI’s and they can be caused through a number of different activities. Any activity that requires a person to perform repetitive tasks puts them at risk of suffering from such an injury.
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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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Road Traffic Accidents – When “Madness” is the Cause
Road accidents are a daily occurrence. We at The Injury Lawyers take on countless claims for victims of negligent drivers in their search for justice and the compensation they are legally entitled to receive. With the winter months setting in and the weather worsening, I expect a noticeable increase in the volume of road accident claims we take on; which is a common trend.
But every now and then, a road accident is not just a road accident. Sometimes, it seems like shear madness is the cause of negligence – so here’s a couple of stories from Sky News and The Daily Mail of incidents that certainly have an air of craziness about them.
According to one report from Sky News (Melbourne Mum Crashes Car Crammed With Seven Kids), a 35 year old woman from Melbourne, Australia, is being investigated by police after she crashed an unregistered ’92 Mitsubishi Magna which was carrying seven children; including three in the boot! She was allegedly over the drink-drive limit (which is not surprising, and certainly explains, but does not excuse, her actions) when she drove the car off of the road and in to a parked vehicle.
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The Injury Lawyers are a small independent law firm based in Derbyshire. If you’ve been injured and it wasn’t your fault, then you may be able to claim for compensation. Injuries on individuals can have serious implications of both them and those around them, and you shouldn’t be forced to suffer alone if you become involved in an accident that isn’t your fault.
We work on a 100% guaranteed no win, no fee basis. This means that in the unlikely event that your claim is unsuccessful it won’t cost you a penny. It also means that in the likely event that it is successful, as we only take on claims we believe will be a success, then you will receive every single penny of the compensation. We simply recover all our costs from the other side, which means that every penny goes in your pocket.
One of our fully trained lawyers will handle your case, and will always be a phone call away if you need them. They will be the person you speak to on a regular basis and they will keep you up to date with the progress of your claim.
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Accidents Whilst Working in the Homes of Others
If you’re self-employed or work for a company that sends you to carry out work in the houses of others, what rights do you have if you become injured? If self-employed it is your job to make sure that you have the equipment needed, however if you become injured and it’s the homeowner’s fault you may be able to make a claim for injury compensation.
If you work for an employer it is their job to ensure that you have the equipment you need, and it is their job to make sure that the equipment is in working order. Every now and again it will need to be pack tested to ensure it is safe. However, the homeowner is responsible to ensure your safety within their home. For example they must ensure there are no health hazards such as loose floorboards that workers may trip over. And with regard to a previous news story they much provide workers with the safest access possible.
A woman may face being sued as she refused a worker access through her house to fix some drains on her roof. The safest way to access the drains was via the garage room, however she refused to let him through her house in his muddy work boots. This then later resulted in him falling off his ladder and being unable to carry on working in the future.
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Car parks at some shopping centres can get extremely busy; especially now Christmas is just ten weeks away. There’s something about this time of year that encourages shoppers to spend more time at their shopping centres and even draws those in who would normally do everything to avoid such an activity.
This doesn’t only mean extra stress as Christmas draws in, it also means more queues in the shops and more and more built up road rage in the car parks. Drivers will be queuing up to get parked, and even racing each other to find the next available parking space.
It may be that they are so occupied on finding a parking space that they fail to see drivers reversing or passengers stepping out in front of them. Either of these can lead to an accident and cause injury to both parties involved.
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From a young age children are taught to follow the green cross code in order for them to learn how to cross roads safely. Children begin to develop an understanding of crossing roads, this understanding grows as they get older and begins to show as a better understanding of the danger crossing a road possesses.
Knowing how to cross a road safely is essential for anyone to know, whatever their age, because it will probably be something we all do on a regular basis. Pedestrian crossings such as Zebra, Pelican and Puffin crossings are designed to ensure that pedestrians are able to cross the more busy roads safely.
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