Motorcycle accidents will often result in fairly serious injuries being sustained by the rider. We’re more than used to dealing with the devastating effects of these types of accident as we actually specialise in representing victims making a claim after a motorbike accident. From the first day when we speak to you or see you at home or hospital, to the day we settle the claim, we’re here every step of the way.

So I thought I’d write a little blog about contributory negligence in motorbike personal injury compensation claims.

Contributory negligence is an allegation from the defending side of a claim that you are partly responsible for the accident or your injuries. By this point, they will normally have admitted liability, but will be suggesting that they are perhaps 80% to blame and you are 20% to blame. As such, any compensation you receive will be reduced by the percentage of blame that is apportioned to you.
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Most of us use stairs several times a day without even realising what we are doing; so when we suddenly find ourselves tumbling head first down them because we just put one foot in front of the other and didn’t see the step was broken it can be a bit of a shock! It can also be extremely painful – especially if the stairs are made out of materials such as concrete, metal or wood. So are you able to make a claim for falling on loose steps? The answer is probably yes.

Commonly these types of accidents come under something called The Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 unless it happened at work. The “Occupier” under this legislation is often thought to be the person who has sufficient degree of control over the premises who should realise that if something is not right, may result in somebody being injured. Therefore, the defendant in these cases is usually the person that is entrusted with the responsibility for maintaining the building and the steps.
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A lot of people know their rights when it comes to making a claim for personal injury compensation for an accident at work. But some people are a little unsure about their rights if they work part time. Do you still have the same rights as a part time worker or casual worker?

The short answer is yes – you, as a part time employee of the employer, are still covered by all of the workplace regulations that cover full time employees as well. The regulations are there for anyone who works directly for the employer. Even if you work just one day a week, there is the same duty on your employer to make sure that you are not injured at work. The same duty at work applies.
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If you are injured on a bus, can you make a claim for personal injury compensation? Can the bus driver be held liable? When might they be held liable, and pave the way for you to make a successful injury claim? Here’s a little advice about it.

Bus drivers have a responsibly to pay due care and attention to avoid any passengers becoming injured whilst under their care. Ultimately the bus company will be responsible and will have to pay out, usually through insurers, in the event of making a claim. As a passenger in a collision, you pretty much have a guaranteed claim for compensation if you are injured.

So aside from the obvious avoidance of road accidents, i.e. if the bus driver is responsible for causing a road traffic collision, when else can they be held liable?
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From the perspective of a workplace personal injury compensation claim, your employer owes you a very important duty of care for them to adhere to The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992.

Regulation 4 of the legislation states:

(a) so far as is reasonably practicable, avoid the need for his employees to undertake any manual handling operations at work which involve a risk of their being injured; or

(b) where it is not reasonably practicable to avoid the need for his employees to undertake any manual handling operations at work which involve a risk of their being injured

Further to this, employers are responsible to risk assess all manual handling activities and assess whether both the employee who will be undertaking the manoeuvre and the route are suitable. So things like stairs, which can be an obvious hazard, must be taken in to serious consideration. Common problems caused by stairs when it comes to manual handling are:
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The definition of medical negligence is an ‘act or omission by a health care provider in which the treatment provided falls below the accepted standard of practice‘. If a doctor or nurses care falls below the expected standard, their actions may be considered negligent. It would have to be proved that the medical professional did something wrong or failed to meet their duty.

Examples of medical negligence:

• Misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose
• Incorrect treatment, which leads to an adverse affect on the patient and their condition
• Being prescribed incorrect medication
• Failure to give you the standard of care expected.

The duty of a medical professional must not fall below the standard that would be expected of a reasonably competent doctor. It needs to be seen that a body of doctors would have acted in the same or similar manner, when treating the patient in question.

Inherent risks of treatment are normally not considered to be negligent, as they are simply a risk you agree to in order to receive that medical care. The risks and complications would have been present, regardless of the actions taken by the medical professional.
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For most road accident personal injury compensation claims in the UK, it’s the lawyers that have to make the first offer to the insurance company to settle the claim. Before, and in many other types of claims such as accidents at work or slips and trips, we provide the other side with medical evidence and losses information and invite them to make an offer for settlement to us.

But now, due to legal reforms that came in to force from April 2010, we have to make the first offer to the other side when we provide the medical evidence and losses information.
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Given there are so many lawyers out there who can represent you for a claim for personal injury compensation choosing the right one can be a mission in itself. Competition has been extreme in the personal injury industry, which is why some firms have thought of clever ways of reeling you in to using their services.

Cash up-front and a free iPad have been two of the most popular hooks used by firms to get you to sign up to their legal services. For the purposes of this article, I’m going to look at the free iPad offer and why you probably no longer see it, and why you shouldn’t really trust it…
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A bit of a niche area of law here – what are you rights if you have an accident in a restaurant, or perhaps a bar or a cafe, because of a chair? Well, let’s look at the law and whether you may be entitled to make a claim for personal injury compensation.

Generally speaking, unless you work at the restaurant, the law that applies is the Occupiers Liability Act, and this vital piece of legislation dictates that the occupier of a premises, i.e. those in charge or responsible at the restaurant, have a duty to take all reasonable steps to prevent an injury occurring.

When it comes to chairs, what are classed as reasonable steps? Well a system of inspection would be a good start – checking to make sure that the structure of the chairs is stable and ensure there are no breaks or defects to make sure that the chair is not liable to break or collapse. A record of this should be kept as well.
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At work, your employer is under a pretty heavy duty to look after your health and safety, and make sure you are not injured whilst working. When I say heavy, I mean there are a lot of workplace rules and regulations that employers must abide by, and breaching any of these regulations can pave the way to you making a work injury claim for personal compensation.
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