It’s no secret that in many areas the state of Britain’s roads are substandard. The cold snap we endured this winter probably didn’t help! Most pot holes are created by water seeping in to cracks in the highway surface. If the water freezes, it subsequently expands, putting pressure on the concrete and causing it to break.  But who is responsible for it all, and what are the duties they have?

Most public highways are the responsibility of the local council to regularly inspect and maintain them, and ensure they are not a potential hazard people using them. If the local authority fails to do this, then they are liable to pay compensation to anyone suffering an injury through the state of the highways. So here are a few examples:
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It was reported in the media on 22/5/10 that Republic of Ireland international footballer Shane Duffy recently suffered a life threatening injury during a training match which experts have claimed was such a ‘freak injury’ that it might not occur again for another 100 years.

Duffy, 18, who also plays for Everton FC, was representing his country in a training match against an Irish amateur team when he collided with opposition goalkeeper, Adrian Walsh, and suffered a laceration to his liver. Medics rushed onto the pitch to attend the stricken player and he was then rushed to Mater Hospital in Dublin where he underwent emergency surgery performed by surgeon Gerry McEntee. It is understood that the injury had caused him to suffer massive internal bleeding and that he lost over two thirds of his blood supply.

The Republic of Ireland’s team surgeon Professor O’Byrne praised the hospital’s staff for their expertise and swift actions, which he believed saved the teenagers life, and commented that the young player had “Collided with a player in a way that you would see thousands of times in football matches. It was a freak injury that in another 100 years of medicine, we may never see again.”
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I’ve said it before, and I shall say it again; road traffic accidents are a common occurrence – they do happen all of the time. It’s always a tragedy to hear of a severe car crash resulting in life altering or even fatal injuries, but it’s even harder to hear when a crash is caused by the absolute selfishness of a drink driver.

There’s a very good reason why there is a drink drive limit – alcohol affects our brain and impairs our judgement and cognitive ability; both vital requirements to have working properly when driving. And we all know that breaching the safe alcohol limit is against the law for the very good reason that its puts the driver and other people on the roads in serious danger.

So why do people still do it!? And what are the tragic consequences…
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If you have been involved in a road traffic accident, you have probably sustained a whiplash injury. If the accident wasn’t your fault, you could be entitled to claim for compensation. Whiplash injuries may not be so obvious straight away. You may have some aches and pains initially but after a matter of weeks injuries can even leave clients bed bound.

If you have had a whiplash injury you will probably find that you are contacted by a number of companies trying to persuade you to claim with them. Try not to be persuaded by insurance or claims management companies; this is because your claim will be under settled in a big way! Insurances companies for the party at fault will probably contact you saying that they can settle you claim in a matter of weeks, and they may even give you an amount they are willing to pay you there and then.
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Most of us find that when attending our GP surgery, we often see a number of different GPs and medical practitioners and have no continuity of care.

Often this is frustrating and means that we have to repeat our medical history on every visit and we never build up a relationship with our GP. But sometimes this problem can lead to a misdiagnosis when GPs are unfamiliar with the patient’s past medical history.

A case has come to light recently whereby the failure of a GP to properly read and understand the patient’s medical records and history has led to a misdiagnosis and a failure to spot a condition, which without immediate treatment at the onset of symptoms, leaves the sufferer with very serious permanent symptoms.
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The majority of you reading this blog will have probably already passed your driving test and most likely would hate to have to put through the whole rigmarole ever again! Nerve racking, stressful, and expensive are just a few memories that spring to my mind when thinking back! It’s true what they say as well…you never really know how to drive until you’ve passed your test and you’re out on the roads alone.

What do you make of this then?

I read recently on the Daily Mails website that the Driving Standards Agency has ‘revamped’ the driving test once again and this will be coming in to place from 4^th October this year.
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Third Party Capture is probably something that not many people have heard of. It’s something that a lot of insurance companies have in place to try and save themselves money. If you have been involved in a road traffic accident, you will probably receive a lot of phone calls from numerous companies trying to persuade you to allow them to deal with your claim – even from the third party’s insurance company.

The third party’s insurance company will try to make it sound very appealing for you to place a claim with them directly. For example, they will promise to settle your claim very quickly, which means less hassle for you. They will probably also tell you that you could receive your settlement figure in a matter of weeks. This will probably all sound very nice until you realise what they are actually doing – The Third Party’s insurance company will offer you all these things is an attempt to cut their fees. If you choose to go with them it means that they don’t have to pay any legal fees to a company dealing with your claim – and it also means they will more than likely under settle your claim!
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You may or may not have heard of Legal Expense Insurance; your insurance company may offer it as part of your insurance cover on your car. But whatever you do, don’t pay for it!

Basically it is a service that insurance companies offer that is nothing more than a sham! What happens is, if you have had an accident and you report it through to your insurance company, they will most probably try to persuade you to place a claim with them for any personal injuries you may have sustained. I would strongly advise that you don’t place a claim for personal injury with them; this is because you will straight away lose money. Claims companies and Insurance companies are not equipped to deal with personal injury claims; it’s solicitors who can only deal with these claims efficiently.
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They are a lot more common that you might think! Which is surprising given that the rules and regulations employers must adhere to are strict and numerous to protect the safety of the employees in their working environment. So here’s a little insight in to why employers fail to adhere to regulations (leaving them open to a claim against them), and what employers are expected to do:

Well, perhaps it’s a lack of understanding of the importance of health and safety regulations in the workplace that is a root cause. There are common duties that all employers must ensure to uphold; such as ensuring all access ways are free from hazard (e.g. no holes in the floor!!!), ensuring all electrical equipment is duly tested for safety (e.g. no explosive kettles!), or even employees being trained and instructed on the buildings fire procedures. So what kind of rules and regulations must employers adhere to?
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The recent case of Dr. Daniel Ubani is still fresh in many people’s minds. To recap, he was a German locum GP who inadvertently injected a 70 year old patient with over ten times the safe amount of diamorphine; a strong painkiller, resulting in their death. Not so well known is the fact that he is still practicing medicine in Germany, despite the seemingly clear case of negligence. Dr Ubani avoided a manslaughter prosecution in the UK as he had already been convicted in a German court of law, finding him guilty of death by negligence and giving him a nine-month suspended sentence.

In a similar case, a German surgeon, Werner Kolb, operated on a 92 year old lady during a routine hip procedure. He had been employed by the Lincolnshire Trust as holiday cover for one of their surgeons. As European law stipulates that Medical qualifications must be accepted at face value, no further checks were performed. During the operation, he strayed into a danger area and severed an artery, causing the patient to lose over 2 litres of blood. The patient was left bed bound by the operation and subsequently died of pneumonia.
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