Archives
The Tragedy of Medical Negligence
Doctors, surgeons, nurses, and all health workers charged with the care of those who are ill or injured have a duty to ensure that the procedures and medicines they practice and provide are safe and adequate.
Medical Negligence: the term itself is straight forward; for example medical staff failing to sufficiently examine and diagnose a patient or administering the wrong treatment.
So it’s never nice to hear about a serious medical negligence case that has resulted in the death of a young boy; particularly when it could have been prevented.
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Not only do Motor Insurance Bureau deal with claims were ‘at fault’ drivers are uninsured, they also compensate victims involved in accidents where the other driver is untraced, say for example, because they have fled from the accident.
The untraced driver’s agreements 1996 applies to any case were death or bodily injury to any person has been caused by someone using a motor vehicle on a road in Great Britain.
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Maintenance of Work Equipment Claims
The law you need to know: Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations 1998 – ‘PUWER’
The above Regulations outline that your Employer should ensure that all work equipment is maintained:
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Owner’s Responsibility When A Driver Drives Without Car Insurance
What happens if an owner of a vehicle gives his permission for someone who he knows is not insured to drive his car? Not only would he be civilly liable (which means any other injured party will be able to sue him for any injuries or damages caused), he would also be criminally liable.
To what consent the owner would be liable was considered in the case of Monk V Warbey. In this case the Claimant was injured by a car being driven by an uninsured driver with the owner’s knowledge. In order to claim against the owner of the vehicle, the Claimant must show:
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Your Accident Claim is Brought Under the Tort of Negligence
Tort means civil wrong, so where in criminal law a wrong is a crime, in civil law it is called a tort.
Negligence is one of the most important areas in tort. In order to establish negligence the following must be assessed:
- Was the defendant (the person you hold responsible for the ‘tort’) careless in his behaviour?
- And did this careless behaviour cause you a loss or injury?
Most accident claims are fault based – this means that in order for your claim to succeed, you must prove that the defendant is at fault (the Defendant being the person you hold responsible). In order to sue a party for the ‘tort’ of negligence you must prove (among other things) that the Defendant breached the duty of care he owed to you.
So to qualify for the fault ‘test’ you must show that the Defendant’s standard of care fell below that of a reasonable careful person and he is therefore blameworthy.
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Legal Jargon & Financial Losses Following an Accident Claim
I’m sure you have all been in a position were someone is talking some kind of jargon to you in a language you don’t understand and you just stand there smiling, slightly embarrassed, a bit uncomfortable and just nod along like the Churchill dog (from the Insurance adverts) to avoid looking silly but really thinking to your self ‘Please translate you idiot’!
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The Limitation Act 1980 sets time limits for people wanting to make claims and the vast majority of personal injury actions are subject to a 3 year limitation period.
What does this mean for you and your claim?
Well the time limit for making a claim for personal injury is 3 years from:
- The date that the injury is caused or
- The date of knowledge (if later) of the person injured
Who is a Litigation Friend? What Do They Do?
Certain individuals are not deemed under law to have the ability to bring or defend a claim in the court by themselves. This applies to two categories of person: children and protected parties.
- A child is defined as any person under the age of 18
- Under the Mental Capacity Act 2005 a protected party means a party, or an intended party, who lacks capacity to conduct the proceedings
Vicarious Liability: Claims Against Employers
If you have an accident in the workplace you might be concerned about who you are claiming against. Sometimes an accident can be caused by a colleague in the workplace acting negligently and they themselves might not be insured to cover against these accidents and not have the money to compensate you for an injury suffered.
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