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It’s official, winter is here and the long cold nights are just the beginning. At the minute it gets dark around 7pm, soon it’ll be 4pm and the little daylight we have will be spent behind a desk.
For those of us who work 9-5 jobs the only hours of daylight are spent sat in traffic and behind a desk at work. Winter is responsible for some of the worst driving conditions, the roads are wet and slippery and the rain bouncing on your windscreen makes it hard to see.
When it starts getting dark at 4pm drivers will probably be more stressed out than usual. There’s something about the weather that affects the mood we are in. Summer tends to make us feel happy, whilst winter makes us feel down. Whatever mood you’re in don’t let it affect your driving on the road.
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Walking around our local shopping centre on a Saturday afternoon is a day of leisure, especially for the ladies, some men might not hold the same opinion. Nether the less we still enjoy it; it’s what some of us look forward to all week, especially after payday.
Shopping centres can be busy places especially on the weekends and around Christmas. Thousands of people under one roof, rushing around to find the latest bargains. There are bound to be a few toes that get stepped on.
What we don’t realise is that shopping centres can be dangerous places, and would be if it weren’t for the staff that carry out risk assessments, and clean up spillages, keeping possible hazards to an absolute minimum. Although they do everything in their power to keep the accidents to a minimum, some accidents unfortunately can’t be prevented. Even though cleaners are always on duty carrying out the necessary checks, there are bound to be things such as spillages that go unnoticed.
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All compensation claims have a time limit, that time limit tells you up until what date you can make a claim for compensation. All accident, injury and disease claims have a three year time limit; however in cases involving children, death and people detained under the Mental Health Act 1983 the limit differs.
A child’s three year time limit would begin on the day of their 18th birthday. This means they would have up until their 21st birthday to make a compensation claim.
If someone is detained under the Mental Health Act their three year time limit begins from the date they are discharged as a patient.
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We’ve all probably tripped on concrete paving at some point in our lives, whether it happened when we were five years old or thirty years old. At five years old we’d probably fall over, graze our knee and either get up and carry on playing or cry and run to our mum for a plaster. However at thirty years old the implications of a trip or fall can be much more serious.
As we get older falls can cause serious injuries with the impact it has on our bodies. A fall in the street may result in minor injuries such as a sprained wrist and cuts and bruises or could result in much more serious injuries such as whiplash.
A whiplash injury is caused when muscles in the back or neck area are forced to jilt either side-ways, backwards or forwards. Symptoms of this however may not develop straight away; it may take a few hours or days depending on the type of whiplash. When diagnosing the injury it is best to seek medical attention. They will then advise you on how to recover from the injury; it may be that you need to rest for a while.
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With the ongoing development within the world of fitness, and the growing obsession with staying healthy it is no surprise that more and more of us are starting to go to the gym. And why not, the gym is a fun, friendly place and creates an upbeat environment that allows us to socialise with others whilst maintaining a healthy life-style.
Gyms contain all different types of equipment, and these could be dangerous if you don’t know how to use them properly. If it is the first time you have used a gym, or you choose to join a different gym to the one you previously attended you will need to have an induction. An induction is when one of the fitness instructors shows you how to use all of the equipment in the gym safely.
Upon induction they should take you round, and make sure that you understand how each piece of equipment is used, after doing so they will ask you to fill out a form saying that you have been shown and understand how to use all of the equipment. This document then covers yours and their back if you do become involved in an accident whilst using the gym equipment.
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Compensation Claims: Taxi Accidents
When you order a taxi the last thing on your mind is that you may be involved in a road traffic accident. You expect the taxi driver to arrive on time, and get you from A to B with little cost as possible. Unfortunately that isn’t always the case. With the increase of congestion on our roads, accidents are becoming more and more common.
That’s why it’s important that when you get in a taxi you make sure you wear your seatbelt. This simple procedure really could save your life or prevent you from serious injury.
When you travel in a taxi during the day you will be fully aware of what’s going on, and may even take note of the way the taxi driver is driving. However after a night out this could be a completely different story.
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When pulling out at junctions it is important that you look both ways, making sure it is safe to do so. As you’re aware not only do you need to look out for oncoming cars, but also other vehicles such as motor bikes and cycles.
There are some junctions when it is not possible to see oncoming traffic from both directions. You should handle these junctions with care. Some of these may be referred to as ‘stop junctions’. This is to make drivers aware that they need to take extra care. They can be identified by a red sign, with stop in white writing.
When drivers approach junctions like these they should slow down, in case another driver pulls out on them. If they’re travelling at a safe speed they should be able to stop if a driver does pull out on them.
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We at The Injury Lawyers get a lot of enquires from people who wish to make claims against a council or local authority for the state of the highways. If we believe the defect is significant enough, we will normally take the claim on under our Genuine No Win No Fee. But there is some important information people should be aware of for when they are considering pursuing a claim – so here’s some advice on what to do, and what to know:
I have been injured due to the state of a pathway or a road – what should I do?
Firstly, I should hope you have had some medical attention; particularly if you are suffering quite badly. It’s easy to break a bone on a solid concrete pathway, but even if you are lucky enough to avoid a fracture, always go and see your GP or visit the nearest walk in centre / hospital for medical attention.
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Children and Road Traffic Accidents
Look at the roads from a child’s point of view, lots of motor vehicles driving at high speeds and lots of noise. They’re a scary place, and a no place a child would want to play. However, when on their way home from school or playing outside their home – most children are faced with the possibility of crossing a road.
When we talk about children we mean those who are still at primary school. Sometimes at primary school parents do let their children walk home, especially if the school is local and not a far walk. Or even if their parents pick them up they often wonder off in front with friends or lag behind. Whatever the situation it is important that all drivers take into account the possibility of a child running out in from of them.
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Asbestos – What you need to know!
Asbestos has been a popular building material since the 1950’s and is a naturally occurring fibrous material. It is used as an insulator that keeps the heat in and cold out. Its strong fibre protection means that it helps prevent corrosion.
If the building you are working on was built before the year 2000 then it is likely that some parts of the building contain asbestos. However, because asbestos is often mixed with another material it is often hard to tell if you’re working with it. Asbestos can be found in many products used in buildings, including ceiling tiles, pipe insulation, boilers and sprayed coatings.
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