I don’t know whether it’s just me, and that I have a particularly impressive ability to find stories about holiday illness, or whether it is more that recently there seems to have been quite a few ‘holidays from hell’.  A lot of the news articles I have flicked through have seen high numbers of tourists win compensation for the bugs they have caught whilst on holiday.  For instance, the Daily Mail has today run a story which involves 138 people who have won compensation from their tour operator having contracted illness whilst on holiday in Bulgaria.

The Daily Mail reports that these 138 tourists had to put up with poor food hygiene, rooms with frogs, could not flush their toilets, were unable to wash, had to go without electricity and water for a few days, and travel through mud to reach reception.  As such the tourists began to complain of things like sickness, diarrhoea, and stomach cramps.  In a recent judgment, those affected have been awarded compensation; the level of which each person is to receive is still to be decided.  However, in the meantime, a £300,000 interim payment has been raised to help those who suffered illness whilst on this holiday.

As the victim’s legal representatives suggest, ‘What our clients experienced…was simply unacceptable…Many of those who became ill have gone on to suffer years of pain and torment, all of which could have been avoided had Thomson and the management of the hotel acted reasonably and put their clients’ safety first.’  And they are exactly right!  Your tour operator has a duty of care to its customers to ensure your health and safety whilst on holiday.  If there is an outbreak of sickness at your accommodation, your tour operator must ensure that you are aware of this and provide you with advice as to how to deal with this.  Your tour operator must also make sure that your hotel is up to standard.  For example, the sanitary conditions must not put you at risk.
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There seems to be more people on the roads than ever before – we always seem to be stuck in a jam whether it’s on our way to work, coming home from work, completing the school runs, or simply going to the shops on a Saturday.  Not only this, but people’s lives in general are more chaotic and busier than ever before; they always have places to be and people to see. These facts put together mean that the roads are more clogged with people who may have too much on their mind and may not paying the necessary care and attention to the road – this in turn causes accidents.

Many of our clients that have been in accidents that were not their fault have successfully made claims for compensation with many of them suffering from whiplash as a result of the accident.

Whiplash is caused by a sudden jolting to the neck – as caused in situations such as road traffic accidents; however, it can also be caused by other events such as falling from a height. This sudden jolting causes the neck to move beyond its normal range of movement: thus causing damage. 
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You may think you know what no win no fee means as we hear the term a lot nowadays – whether it be on a television advert, radio advert, or from marketing people stopping you on the street asking whether you have had a slip or trip.  The term ‘no win no fee’ may sound fairly simplistic and ‘does what it says on the tin’; but behind this term there may be risks to you.  This is why at The Injury Lawyers we like to write these blogs in order to inform and help you make an educated decision as to which law firm is right for you to instruct.

When you instruct a solicitor to take your case on a no win no fee basis they may want you to agree to a no win no fee agreement otherwise known as a Conditional Fee Agreement. These agreements, depending on the solicitor, may be fairly lengthy documents containing a lot of small print; therefore it may be a temptation to simply trust your solicitor and not fully read the document. I must stress how bad this is – whatever the document, you should always read it through thoroughly before agreeing to it.

At The Injury lawyers we are always surprised by some of the agreements which clients who have transferred to us from another firm have agreed to. Some agreements place the client at a high risk of having to pay solicitors costs. When I say costs, this means the cost of the time the solicitor has spent on your claim – this can run into thousands of pounds.
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Road Traffic Accidents – the motorway

Motorways – some people love motorway driving, whilst others avoid it at all costs. People may enjoy motorway driving as it gets you where you want to be quicker, whilst (mostly) avoiding traffic and traffic lights. Others may dread motorway driving as it needs a certain level of heightened skill, confidence, and concentration – with travelling at such high speeds you cannot afford to lose concentration for a second, and this can make many people nervous of it.  I personally used to always set the sat nav to ‘avoid motorways’ however currently driving to work I cannot go by any other route (that will not take me hours).  Due to this I have gained experience in motorway driving and have come to enjoy it.  Whatever your feelings on the motorway, it would be the last thought on your mind that you would have an accident that was not your fault.

If you have had an accident on the motorway and it was not your fault then you may have a claim for compensation.  Accidents on the motorway can be due to people not maintaining the necessary care and attention which is needed even more so for this type of driving. Accidents on a motorway can occur for a number of reasons as listed below, I have listed two of the main ones below:

Not leaving space: Many accidents occur on the motorway as cars are simply driving too closely together. Going at such high speeds, if/when there is a queue ahead or someone breaks suddenly there is no time to stop before hitting the car in front.  Accidents such as these have a heightened occurrence at motorway junctions where, at times of peak traffic, queues can back up and cause collisions. Some motorways have the chevron markings on the road and advise to cars to keep a certain number of chevrons distance from the car in front. If you are hit from behind whilst on the motorway, or any road, the chance, you are pretty much guaranteed a successful claim.
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Apparently we are all making claims for compensation.  As soon as the slightest thing happens to us we want to be compensated.  In fact, the situation has got so bad that no-one dare let us do anything now in case we get the smallest of ‘injuries’ and put in a claim.  Worse still, apparently people are getting compensation without having to prove any wrong-doing on the other sides’ part or with the flimsiest of evidence.  And this is all because lawyers keep telling us to make claims on a ‘No Win No Fee’ basis.  Well, that is what the media would have us believe at least.  So are we gripped in a ‘compensation culture’ that is worsening the society we live in?

I would say definitely not.  You simply cannot be compensated unless you have a real injury, and this was caused by someone else’s negligence.  Certainly, if you are making a claim for compensation owing to a personal injury, you will need evidence, such as a medical report, to support your injury.  And even then, you (well, your lawyers) will need to demonstrate that you were injured because of someone else’s negligent action(s).

And further, what would a lawyer get from taking on a claim that will never succeed on a ‘No Win, No Fee’ basis?  If you do not win your claim they do not get paid.  And how is a lawyer going to get paid for winning your case, if your injury is not real and you and was not caused by the fault of a negligent third party?  Here at The Injury Lawyers we work on a Genuine No Win, No Fee which means that we never charge you – ever!  That means there would be absolutely nothing in it for us at all to take on a claim that has no chance of succeeding.  We would therefore never encourage this.
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Supermarkets are one of those places that you either love visiting or dread visiting.  There are many reasons why people would like going to the supermarket: there is the fact that everything is under the one roof, there are discounts galore and there is lots of choice. This being said however, there are also many reasons for the alternate view of these being the queuing at the tills, the queuing to get in and out of the car park, and the general hassle of walking around a large supermarket.

Whatever your views of supermarkets, I could hazard a guess that it is the last thing on your mind that you will have an accident whilst shopping in one that was not your fault.  Now you may think, like many of our clients first think and later succeed with their claims, that claiming against a supermarket is a David v Goliath type situation: i.e. it is the small individual vs. the large corporation. This is why firms like The Injury Lawyers are here – to use our know-how and expertise to help you get the result you need. Whoever the claim is against, whether it be against an individual or a large corporation, the system of claiming is the same, so there should be no hesitancy regarding bringing your claim based on the fact that the defendant is a supermarket.

Supermarkets like anywhere else have a duty to protect their customers as far as is reasonably possible. They must also abide by strict Health and Safety Regulations. Supermarkets should train their staff in order to help keep their customers safe.  This may involve training in replenishing shelving safely, training in how to deal with a spillage, or staff rotas to ensure the floors of aisles are free of items that may cause a hazard at all times.  There are many potential hazards in supermarkets; these being spillages causing a slip hazard, items negligently left on the floor of an aisle causing a trip hazard, or poorly stacked items on shelving falling on top of a person.
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At The Injury Lawyers we often get asked whether a child is able to make a claim for compensation.  We have therefore prepared this short guide to hopefully answer all your questions regarding claims for compensation which involve children.

Who constitutes a child?

Legally speaking, a child, or a ‘minor’, is a person under the age of 18.

Can a child bring a claim on their own accord for a personal injury they have suffered?

As with any accident, a person must make a claim for compensation within three years of the date of the accident.  A child under the age of 18 however cannot make a claim for compensation by themselves.  As such, where a child is injured through no fault of their own, they are able to make a claim for compensation up until their 21^st birthday.  However, as we at The Injury Lawyers are well aware, many people wish to make a claim for their child sooner; after all, events are fresh in their minds and it would make sense to get the situation dealt with as soon as possible.  In this situation a child is able to make a claim for compensation through a ‘litigation friend’; in other words, a responsible adult who can act on the child’s behalf.  In most cases this will be the child’s parent or guardian.  Equally though it could be some other trusted adult.
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The roads seem to be getting busier and more chaotic than they ever have previously been.   The chaotic nature of the roads, coupled with the fact people seem to be forever rushing somewhere with lots on their minds, means that accidents can be more likely to happen. Driving without the necessary due care and attention can lead to accidents. If you have been involved in an accident and it was not your fault then you may have a claim for compensation.

Many clients who come to us after being in an accident that was not their fault have been diagnosed with, or are suffering from the symptoms of whiplash.

Whiplash is caused by the sudden jolting of the head which results in the tendons and ligaments of the neck being forced to move past their normal range.  Symptoms of whiplash usually occur between 6-12 hours after the accident and then can increase in severity for up to one week (or more). These symptoms can include tenderness, pain and swelling in the neck, or reduced or even no mobility in the neck.  The sufferer may also experience regular headaches which they did not have previous to the accident. The pain in the neck may even radiate to the shoulders and down the back.  More information regarding the symptoms of whiplash can be found at www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Whiplash.
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I think nowadays people are more aware of their rights when it comes to making a personal injury claim. This may be due to an increase of television/radio/web adverts covering personal injury companies and/or the heightened awareness of claiming in general.

However, with this in consideration, many clients when they first approach us here at The Injury Lawyers are unsure whether they have a genuine claim. This is why we write these posts; to inform potential claimants that they may have a proper claim for compensation to make and to not wait until its too late.
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Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI) , which can also be known Work Related Upper Limb Disorder (WRULD) is a general, umbrella term which relates to the pain suffered from the overuse and repetitive use of muscles, tendons and nerves.  It is reported that 1 worker out of 50 in the UK has reported an RSI injury. It is workers whose careers involve the use of computers or some sort of manual work who are most likely to suffer from a RSI.

There are two types of RSI – Type 1 and Type 2. Type 1 is where the doctor can diagnose a recognised medical condition, such as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, as there is usually some kind of swelling or inflammation.  With Type 2, the doctor is unable to diagnose a medical condition as there is no obvious swelling but the sufferer is reporting pain in the affected area.  Symptoms can vary but can include cramping, swelling, pain, or tenderness in muscles or joints, throbbing and/ or tingling and numbness.

Employers in the UK are under a legal obligation to prevent incidents of RSI wherever reasonably possible; this is through the Safety Act of 1974 and the Safety at Work Regulations 1999.  If you think you are suffering from an RSI as a result of your occupation, then you may have a claim for compensation. A particular RSI case comes to mind whereby an RAF data input clerk aged in her 20’s sued the Ministry of Defence for her RSI injury which stemmed from her occupation. The clerk suffered the RSI in her thumb and was unable to continue full time work in her current employment – the clerk received £434,000 in compensation for her injury.
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