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As it just so happens, not only have I been advising people about claims for compensation for many years now, but I am somewhat of an expert in sporting injuries myself. I sadly suffered one of the worst sporting injuries you can sustain in January this year (multi ligament ruptures in the knee resulting in nerve damage and needing an operation for multi ligament reconstruction surgery and a nerve graft), and the nightmare its put me through has been enough to know I’m not going to be playing football again anytime soon (if ever!)

The problem is that sporting injury claims are not easy to win. For a claim for compensation to be successful, two key ingredients need to be satisfied – there has to be negligence (i.e. someone at fault for what’s happened) and your injuries have to have been caused by the aforementioned fault.

Now, when you take part in sport, by law, you accept that there are risks involved. If you play football you accept that in a midair jump for the ball, you could hit an opposing player who is also jumping for the ball, and you can both end up falling awkwardly. You accept that you can be tackled and taken down, which can inherently cause injury through impact of the opposing player sweeping you from your feet. You accept that you can fall awkwardly as I did and rupture several vital ligaments in your knee and rupture a nerve as well, leaving you with potentially permanent damage.
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Industrial lung diseases (also known as occupational lung diseases) include mesothelioma, occupational asthma, silicosis, and asbestosis. Exposure to asbestos in particular is well known to be dangerous, although it can be a number of years between exposure to asbestos fibres and the symptoms or injury coming to light.

Asbestos may be present in old buildings and is thought to pose no risk if left undisturbed. However, as buildings are demolished or renovated, extra care should be taken as asbestos becomes the so called “silent killer” when it is disturbed or damaged. Exposure to certain types of other materials such as gases, liquids, dusts or fumes may also cause some forms of industrial lung disease.

Exposure to asbestos can cause mesothelioma, a form of cancer. Even if you have been exposed to asbestos a number of years ago, you are still at risk of developing mesothelioma in the future. Generally mesothelioma does not show up until some 20 to 40 years after the exposure to asbestos.
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I’d like to think that most of us get through life without any major incidents or bust ups. The problem is every town or city you go in can end up with you inadvertently being involved in trouble. You could be having a quiet drink with your mates on a Friday night and for some reason some societal scum decide they don’t like the cut of your jib – before you know it, you’ve been hit in the face, or seriously assaulted.

I’m lucky that I’ve never been involved in any serious trouble like this, but there are thousands of innocent victims out there who end up being caught in the wrong place at the wrong time and suffer injuries because of someone else’s neanderthalic behaviour. But the main question is, how do victims of assaults get any compensation for what’s happened?

Pursuing a claim against an individual is not really the easy way forward. They will probably not have any insurance to claim from, and probably won’t have the funds to compensate you – nor will they know how to deal with a claim against them. Ultimately, it’s not the most viable option; thankfully, there is an alternative.
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“A man [has] an absolute right to be (on the road) and it is a duty of drivers of vehicles not to run him down” (Craig v Glasgow Corporation (1919) 35 TLR 214). In the old times, when car travel was beyond imaginable and pedestrians and horses ruled, this was the prominent view for pedestrians’ liability. However, now that car travel is the norm, the modern approach places more responsibilty on the pedestrian to exercise due care when stepping off the kerb.

Although the Highway code is often viewed as guidance for drivers, the first 33 paragraphs relate to the rights and duties of pedestrians; for example, ‘pavements should be used if provided’ and ‘wear or carry something light-coloured, bright or fluorescent in poor daylight conditions’. The former is common sense to many but the latter is arguably questionable. How many people think of choosing their brightly coloured clothing to wear on a dark depressing day or at night when going to the theatre, just incase they need to walk on the road?

The most famous set of rules for a pedestrian’s duty is contained within rule 7 and is the message that has been bombarded to us at school and throughout the media for so many years – The Green Cross Code. 
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Some motorcyclists feel that car drivers are inconsiderate towards them on the roads, and to be honest, the number of accidents involving cars and motorcyclist shows that this is probably true.

Although a car driver is not always at fault for an accident with a motorcyclist, most of the time they are due to the basic fact that car drivers do not look out carefully enough for motorcyclists when making a manoeuvre.

The most common circumstance is that of a car driver waiting at a junction to pull out onto a main road, not checking oncoming traffic sufficiently enough, and pulling out into the path of a motorcyclist, and causing a collision.
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Road Accident Personal Injury Claims – The Defence of Low Velocity Impact and Fraud

Road traffic accident (RTA) claims are one of the most well known types of claims to injury lawyers and to the general public. The claims are highly publicised on television, radio and in newspapers as personal injury lawyers compete for your business in a highly competitive market.

RTA’s can of course happen in many different circumstances from the classic rear end shunt to accidents at roundabouts to accidents caused as a result of vehicles changing lanes. As with any RTA claim, the insurer representing the Defendant will investigate the claim and decide whether to accept liability (fault) or dispute liability on behalf of their insured.
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Due to the natural ageing process, as we get older our hearing deteriorates. As such many people are unaware that they may be suffering from noise induced hearing loss (NIHL) and may be entitled to make a claim for compensation.
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Following recent stints of bad weather, the highways are easily affected. Pot holes are increasing in size and numbers, generally in winter months.

When a highway authority, such as a council, undertakes to repair work on highways, they are responsible for making sure that the work is carried out safely and efficiently. They are also responsible for ensuring that the repair work is sufficiently completed and that the highway is returned to its original state / the safest possible state, whilst taking all steps necessary to avoid any hazards to the public.

Some repair work can cause hazards to the public, specifically work that requires excavation of the highway.
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Lifting heavy or awkward objects at work can carry a risk of injury – even if your employer has provided you with appropriate training. However, injury which has been caused by none or insufficient training and awareness means your employer could be liable for any injury that has been caused.

Your employer has a duty to take appropriate steps, to reduce the risk of any injuries. These steps are normally identified in risk assessments for the specific manual handling task you are instructed to undertake.

All employees who have an element of manual handling to their job role, which can range from warehouse workers moving lots of heavy crates to office workers moving boxes of paper or files, should receive reasonable Manual Handling Training. This normally includes showing you how to assess the weight of the load, whether the centre of gravity on the object is central, and how heavy and awkward objects should be lifted, pushed or pulled, including how to bend your body to do so. You also need to take in to account any potential hazards along the route to the destination of the lift. Are there any stairs to climb, for example.
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Horse Riding School Claims

Horse riding is an extremely popular past time in the UK, with tens of thousands of people attending horse riding schools every week to either ride or look after horses.

Unfortunately, horse riding accidents are also very common at these schools, not least because of the sheer size, power and unpredictability of horses.
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