When we think of injuries caused by accidents in the work place, we usually think of trips and falls caused by spillages or misplaced wires, or staff using faulty equipment that hasn’t had the sufficient checks it needs. However, that’s not always the case; a report in the Daily Mail is about a teacher who has been awarded £150,000 after she lost her voice trying to make herself heard in the classroom.

The report reveals that Joyce Walters, 50, damaged her vocal cords after straining to raise her voice above the volume of noise coming from a nearby playground. As a result, she was forced to quit her job and the 50-year-old says she now struggles with everyday tasks such as talking on the phone, and suffers from a sore throat when she raises her voice in bars.

In total, Mrs Walters received £156,000 in out-of-court settlements from her council after claiming she could never teach again. Experts say this is one of the largest payouts of its kind, and creates an example of the growing culture of compensation claims and payouts. Last year, another teacher was awarded £173, 595 for dislocating an ankle during playground duty.
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Taking part in regular fitness activities such as sport is highly encouraged by the government and our peers. Not only is it a good way to meet new friends and is a form of social activity, it also helps tackle common problems such as obesity, heart disease and depression. When we take part in any sporting activity it releases endorphins – a happy hormone in our body.

There are a variety of sports in the sporting world that we can choose to take part in, some which involve more physical activity than others. Due to the physical nature of some sports those taking part are aware that they are putting themselves at the risk of a sporting injury. Some sporting accidents can cause serious injuries; some so severe that those injured may not be able to take part in their favourite sport for a long time. A lot of sporting accidents are not the fault of the player themselves, but may be due to other circumstances; if this is the case they may be able to make an injury compensation claim.
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All of the theme parks throughout the UK are starting to close as the season comes to an end. With weather conditions such as ice and rain the rides will not be able to run as well as they would in the summer. The end of season for some theme parks gives them the chance to have new rides built in their theme parks and to test the old rides to make sure they are safe for when the new season begins.

Theme parks are a huge attraction in the UK with thousands of us visiting them each year. They give us a thrill that we would not be able to feel any other way. Some of us have our favourite types of rides, such as roller coasters, and others love them all. Some of us choose to stay away and watch from a distance. Whatever you do at a theme park they make for a great day out, if done in the right weather conditions.

Some people that choose to stay away from rides do so because they are afraid that an accident might happen, or they don’t trust the rides. All rides at theme parks are regularly checked to make sure they stick to health and safety regulations. If they fail any of their tests, the public will not be allowed to use them.
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For a lot of teenagers their 17^th birthday is the one they look forward to the most. This is because at 17 they are allowed to apply for their provisional driving licence which means they are allowed to start having their driving lessons. There are thousands of people learning to drive every day, some in their teens, some much older.

Driving gives us a sense of freedom that we’ve never had before – it gives us the power to go where we want, when we want. It means that we don’t have to rely on other people to drive us around or hang around at bus stops in the cold weather. Along with the new found freedom driving gives us, it also gives us a responsibility.
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When we become injured in an accident that wasn’t our fault and choose to make an injury compensation claim a solicitor will look at all aspects of the accident when gathering evidence to find out who was negligent in causing the injuries. Some injury compensation claims may result in a verdict of contributory negligence.

Contributory negligence is when it is agreed, or a court decides, that the injured party in some way contributed towards the injuries they sustained. This doesn’t necessarily mean that they are saying that person helped cause the accident, it may mean that their actions prior to the accident made the injuries worse than they could have been.

For example, if you become involved in a car accident that wasn’t your fault and then suffer injuries due to this, the speed of your vehicle may be assessed, and whether you have been drinking may be assessed, for example. If they find that you were not wearing a seatbelt at the time the accident took place, they may hold you negligent towards your injuries for failing to do so. Stating that the seriousness of any injuries sustained could have been prevented if you had abided by the law and wore a seatbelt.

In a lot of injury compensation claims contributory negligence is used as a defence by the opposing party. In cases like this the defendant may need to prove the negligence of the claimant.

If you are looking to make an injury compensation claim and think that the other party may try and show you were negligent and contributed to your injuries, you can still make an injury compensation claim. It simply means that the amount of compensation you are rewarded could be reduced; for example, a claim that would have resulted in £10,000 compensation may be reduced to £7,500. For more information on injury claims or if you are looking to make a claim contact the Injury Lawyers.

Most motorists in the U.K have the appropriate vehicle insurance to protect them and the other party involved, in the unfortunate event that they become involved in a car accident. When you take out insurance, depending on the type of cover you choose, it covers a range of things. The most basic and cheapest kinds of insurance you can take out is third party fire and theft; however a lot of us prefer to pay out that little bit extra and have fully comprehensive insurance.

Unfortunately there are some drivers out there that disregard the need for them to have motor insurance. They may do this for a number of reasons; whatever reason they choose, they do it because they think that they won’t get caught. When we think of uninsured drivers we may think that it is extremely unlikely they we could become involved in an accident with one. However, the latest figures released show that one in ten motorists has been involved in a car accident with an uninsured driver.
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With the increase of air pollution and the bid to cut down on emissions being released into the air, more and more of us are choosing to cycle to work. Cycling to work is a great way of keeping fit and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. It also frees cyclists from the never ending queues of congestion on the roads.

In the UK, bicycle lanes are unfortunately only on specific roads, which means that cyclists are often forced to use main roads. This can be frustrating not only for the cyclist, but also for other road users. Some road users become irritated by cyclists and see them as hogging the road or causing more traffic. One of the reasons drivers become frustrated by cyclists is because they sometime’s don’t know what to do in the presence of them – should they overtake them, should they not? Some drivers want to overtake but are unable to do so because of on-coming vehicles.
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If you have been injured in a supermarket accident that wasn’t your fault in the past three years then you may be able to make an injury compensation claim. Supermarkets must provide a duty of care towards their customers which requires them to make sure that customers in their stores are not at risk from any hazards. This applies to all supermarkets, including Asda, Morrison’s, Waitrose, Tesco, Aldi, Lidl or a local independent supermarket.

To help prevent accidents all supermarkets usually have a system in place that requires members of staff to carry out regular checks, clean up any spillages, and to keep a written record of their cleaning programme. This helps the supermarket in the instance of an accident because they can then use this as evidence to prove that they showed a duty of care in looking after their customers.
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A lot of sporting venues now offer a range of children’s parties. These types of parties normally come as part of a corporate package and allow the child whose birthday it is to choose a sport for them and their friends to take part in. When booking a birthday the parent or guardian in charge should inform staff at the sport centre how many children they are booking the party for, how old they are, and if they have any allergies they should be aware of.

After the birthday party has been booked, a birthday party host will also need to be booked to host the party. They will be informed what type of sporting activity the child has requested along with the number of children attending. Most sporting venues have a set ratio for the number of children to one coach; if there are a lot of children that are expected to attend the party, they will need more than one coach. This is to ensure that the children attending the birthday party can be supervised at all times.

Although sporting activities can be extremely fun, they can also be dangerous if the children taking part are not supervised properly. Due to the high impact of running and jumping around in sporting activities, accidents can occur. At your child’s party the coach should do everything in their power to keep any possible accidents to a minimum; this means keeping the children under control and making sure they are not at risk of any injury.
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Some of us will do everything possible to avoid driving in the hours of darkness; however, with winter approaching, that is no longer an option. A lot of us will now be going to work in the dark and coming home in the dark – mixed with the miserable weather these winter drives can create some of the worst traffic jams in the year. When driving in the dark it is essential that you make sure all of your lights are on to provide you with the best visibility possible and to allow other drivers and fellow road users to see you.

As a driver we are obliged to show a duty of care to all other road users – falling to maintain the lighting is failing the duty of care you have for other road users. Due to the weather conditions on the roads and the change of season there may be more hazards than normal. Now autumn is almost over there will be lots of leaves on the ground – when these are mixed with rain water they can become slippery. This is a hazard to road uses because their vehicle may be caused to skid if they break harshly on a pile of wet leaves.
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