It’s easy to slip – that’s why premises owners have an important duty to ensure all floors and traffic routes are free from any articles that could cause a person to slip. Failing to do so means you may have a claim for compensation against them.

Slipping in a Shop / Restaurant / Cafe / Club / Any Other Public Place

Owner of such premises above have an important duty to ensure that all floors and traffic routes are free from any articles that could cause a person to slip. How should they do this? By regularly inspecting all areas of their premises on a reasonable and regular basis – Particularly in restaurants, cafes, and clubs where food and drink can easily end up on the floor. Staff should be fully trained in how to look out for and clear spillages as soon as possible. Preventative measures should always be used if there are to be any delays – sufficient warning signs or cordoning off an area to prevent the public from accessing it.

If the floor is being cleaned (e.g. mopped) then the staff should be fully trained to ensure they adequately warn passersby of the hazard a wet floor poses. Signs should be numerous and very visible, and cordons should be used in some circumstances. Every reasonable effort must be made to ensure that passersby are either prevented from accessing a hazardous area, or are sufficiently warned of the hazard it poses.
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The title of this blog may be referring to motorbikers – however, this blog could refer equally to cyclists, users of mopeds and similar vehicles, as all these road users are of a particular vulnerability when compared to car, van, or truck drivers.

Many accidents involving the vehicles above can occur due to defective road surfaces, items left in the road, or the meeting of traffic at junctions and roundabouts.

It is important that if you have been involved in a road accident to report it to the Police as they may want to compile a report about the incident.  Seeking medical attention for your injuries, whether it be at A and E or at your GP, is important as they can assess your injuries and make a note in your medical records. Obtain photographic evidence of your injuries and keep them safe – this could provide valuable evidence for a later personal injury claim.
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There are many careers which obviously involve working at a height.  These include tree surgeons, builders – especially roofers and scaffolders, and TV aerial installers.   These people put themselves in danger on a daily basis to give us their essential services and we are of course grateful to them for that.  Therefore it is an obvious assumption that working at height injuries are most common with people in careers as listed above.  This assumption maybe correct, however, people in all sorts of different careers can suffer a working at height injury – for example, a librarian stacking shelving, or a shelf replenishment assistant in a supermarket falling whilst filling up products on shelves.

If you have had an accident whilst working at a height and it was not your fault then you may have a claim for compensation.  Employers must comply with legislation as set out in the Working at Height Regulations 2005. The full facts of this legislation need not be the topic of this blog – however, there are a few points which can be taken from it.  These being that the working at height situation should be properly supervised and planned, the correct safety gear and equipment should be checked prior to use and should be used in the correct manner.

If an accident does occur whilst at work it is important to report it to a supervisor as a record of it may need to be placed in an accident book. It is also important that you seek medical assistance to allow a medic to place a record of it in your medical notes and assist you with stabilising your injuries. You may want to check if there were any witnesses to your accident and obtain their contact details as they may be able to support any later claim you may have. After the accident, you may want to take a note of accident details, such as the time and exact location, to keep events fresh in your mind.  Lastly, but probably most importantly, you need to seek the assistance of a specialist personal injury lawyer to bring your claim for compensation.  This should be done directly with the solicitor; I say this as there are many referral agents out there who will simply sell on your claim to the highest bidder rather than you getting the firm who will give you the best service.
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Supermarkets may be some people’s worst nightmares due to queuing, traffic getting in and out, or just the general stress and strain of the weekly food shop.  Alternatively, some people may love the weekly supermarket shop as the prices are cheap, there is lots of choice, and usually discounts galore.  Whatever you feel about the supermarket shop, one thing is sure enough – that it is the last thing on your mind that you will have an accident that was not your fault and you end up injured.

We have many clients coming to The Injury Lawyers with claims stemming from supermarkets.  Their accidents include items falling on them from a poorly stacked shelf, slipping on a spillage that was negligently left un-cleared, or tripping over an item negligently left on the floor causing a hazard on an aisle.

Supermarkets, like anywhere else, have a duty to keep their customers safe as far as possible and foreseeable. They must comply with important Health and Safety Regulations.  They must train their staff in the correct manner so they know the correct procedures in – for example – the event a spillage occurs, how to stack shelves safely, or simply to check aisles regularly for items left on the floor.
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If you have been involved in an accident and have subsequently sustained an injury through no fault of your own, making a claim for compensation could not be easier.  Despite what some people believe, or may have told you, making a claim for compensation is not difficult and does not take as long as it once did.  How come? Well, recently there has been the introduction of the Pre-Action Protocol for Personal Injury claims.  This has somewhat streamlined the process, making it more systematic and has made the process of seeking compensation rather easier.  So, if you have been put off making a claim for compensation because you think the other side will drag out the matter, not come back with a decision on liability, or that it will take too much effort, this guide has been created to ease those worries and show you that things really are simpler than you may think.

At The Injury Lawyers we do everything in our power to ensure not only that you receive the maximum compensation that you deserve, but also that you receive this compensation with the least amount of fuss and in the quickest time possible.  How do we do this?  Well we efficiently guide you through the Pre-Action Protocol for Personal Injury claims.  Here is a little guide as to how we do this.

The Pre-Action Protocol for Personal Injury claims sets out a sequence of easy steps that are to be taken by both sides in order to settle your personal injury claim as quickly as possible.  We will initially create a Letter of Claim which summarises your accident, the injuries you have sustained, and details of any financial losses you have incurred as a result of your injury.  We always produce a detailed Letter of Claim to make sure that investigations of your claim can begin at once.  This Letter of Claim is sent to the other side who have a period of 21 days to acknowledge receipt of this letter.
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Vibration White Finger, or Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS), has been diagnosed in many workers where there job involves working with hand held power tools such as drills and chain saws.

It is thought that the condition is due to the vibrations from the power tools causing minor injuries to the nerves and blood vessels in the hand.  These minor injuries then build up over time causing the condition of Vibration White Finger.

The condition may be known more commonly as Vibration White Finger, however, since the symptoms involve much more than simply having white fingers, the name has been altered to a more all encompassing term –Hand-Arm Vibration Syndrome.  These symptoms can vary in different people, but may include cold sensations in the skin of the fingers with discolouration of the fingers, numbness and/or tingling sensations in the fingers, and general aching in the arms, hands and fingers. In more serious cases the sufferer may experience a complete loss of feeling in the finger which can radiate throughout the hand.  These symptoms may come and go or they may be a permanent frustration to the sufferer.
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If you have fallen down a manhole or stepped on a defective utility cover and ended up injured, you may have a claim for compensation.

Personally, I’m rather cautions when it comes to walking over manholes and utility hole covers. It’s nothing superstitious – I just don’t like the idea of walking over a hole in the ground; that, and I have seen a fair few claims involving defective manhole / utility covers which have all ended up with nasty injuries to the victim.

The companies responsible for the manhole covers – whether it be the electricity board, the water board, any other utility company, or the local council – have an important duty to ensure the hole does not pose any hazard to any passersby. Manhole covers must be adequately secured, and the surrounding areas must be free from defects that could affect the cover. The companies responsible must regularly inspect and maintain the area to ensure the cover does not become a hazard.
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Now the term ‘no win, no fee’ is a term which most of us are familiar with. This may be due to personal injury advertisements on the television and radio or from someone on the street stopping you for marketing purposes.

So, ‘no win no fee’ may be a term we are used to hearing, but do we really know what it means.  Well at The Injury Lawyers we are here to inform and educate our blog readers in all aspects of personal injury and so to fulfil our duty we write this blog to educate you on one of the most important parts of bringing your claim – the no win, no fee agreement.

No win no fee means that if you do not win your case you do not pay any of the solicitors costs in dealing with the claim.  So you may think – ‘How do we get paid?’ Well, in the event you lose your claim we have insurance which covers anything we paid out as a result of your claim – however, we lose being paid on any of the time we spent on your case.  So it is a risk to the solicitor in taking on a case – however a solicitor will only ever take your case on if they believe there are genuine prospects for success.  However, even if you win your case, you still pay none of our costs – you get 100% of your compensation and no bill from the solicitor.  This is because the other side pay our costs and we take nothing from your compensation.  Compensation is meant to put the claimant back in the position they would have been in had the accident never happened, therefore if the solicitor took a portion of this, the victim would not have been fully compensated.
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Personal Injury claims are on the increase and this may be for a number of reasons, one reason being that more people are aware of their rights and what they can claim for.  However, this does not mean that everyone who comes to us is fully confident in the fact that their injury can give rise to a claim.  The Injury Lawyers are open from 9am – 10 pm and we have experienced staff on hand to explain there and then whether you have a claim – this advice is also free of charge whether you have a claim or not.  You have nothing to lose by trying.

At The Injury Lawyers we are approached by clients who have suffered injuries in a variety of accidents.  I will list some of the sorts of claims which we deal with here at The Injury Lawyers:

1. Accidents at work – these can include injuries from heavy lifting, slips and trips, and falling from a height.  If you feel your employer has been negligent in some way and this has led to your accident then you may have a claim for compensation. Industrial disease cases can also come under this with cases such as Vibration White Finger and Beat Knee.
2. Road Traffic accidents – these are extremely common types of claims and include all means of transportation – whether your accident is in a car, on a motor bike, or even if you were travelling on a bus, you can claim for compensation if the accident wasn’t your fault.
3. Clinical negligence – if you feel that you have not received adequate care from a clinical professional and it has lead you to suffer in some way, then you may have a claim. This can include care whilst in hospital, a walk in clinic, or whilst visiting your General Practitioner. It also covers any private care you have as well.
4. Accidents at school – we have a vast amount of experience in dealing with accidents within schools.  You can act as an agent on behalf of your child by becoming their Litigation Friend and dealing with the claim on their behalf if they have been failed by their school.
5. Accidents in a supermarket – Supermarkets have a duty keep their customers as safe as is reasonably possible.  There are many possible hazards in a supermarket from slipping on a spillage to tripping on an item left in an aisle or having items fall on you from a poorly stacked shelf.

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After a tough winter our highways have been left in somewhat of a state.  The freezing temperatures have meant that potholes are now a common feature on our roads and pavements.  Potholes can be particularly dangerous to road users as some of you may have found out.  Damaging you vehicle is bad enough, but suffering an injury yourself is far worse.  Despite local authorities attempting to deal with the problems caused by potholes, at The Injury Lawyers we are only too aware of the pitfalls of those remaining potholes.  It therefore came as no surprise to learn that a young cyclist suffered a broken jaw as a result of cycling into a pothole.

This is the story of 17 year old Miss Wilkinson who has recently been awarded over £7,000 in compensation having broken her jaw cycling home after work in 2006.  The York Press reports that Miss Wilkinson went flying head over heels over her handlebars after her bicycle wheel went down into a pothole.  In a subsequent court case, the judge found that York Council was liable for her injuries – that is her jaw broken in two places and the trauma resulting from the accident.  This was because York Council, who are responsible for their highways, had failed to carry out their duty to properly maintain their roads and paths.

Your local council has a duty to ensure the safety of its highway users.  In other words, it must maintain its roads so that they are safe to use.  As the judge in this case said himself – ‘The obligation to maintain the highway is a fundamental obligation of very long standing’.  So how can the council do this?  Well, by carrying out regular inspections of their highways.  For example, at least every 6 months, or better still, every 3 months.  Then, should any faults be identified, urgent action be taken to fix them.
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