OK, so this is a bit of a continuation piece from my last article covering criminal injuries – for two reasons. 1. There are a couple more stories Id like to share with you on the subject, and 2. I’d like to go in to a little more detail on the mechanics of a claim for criminal injury!

If you keep up to date with the news (and TV soaps – read on to see what I mean), then you may have heard the story of 25 year old actress Charlotte Davies who has been left blinded in one eye from an assault on a night out in a club, accroding to sources from the Mirror (source). After asking a woman to leave her friend alone following an altercation, the woman speared her in the eye with a broken glass, leaving Charlotte with horrific and life altering injuries.

Charlotte, who has reportedly had minor roles in Hollyoaks and Coronation Street, says her acting dreams are in tatters following the assault in Manchester’s Living Room bar; a place popular with Premiership football stars. The bar are currently reviewing its safety regulations in light of the incident. This is a tragic assault that has left a young budding actress with a permanent disability; lets hope she can still make a success of her career in the acting limelight!
Read More

Former drink and drug addict, Ryan St George, 42, was serving a four month jail sentence at Brixton jail back in 1997 when he took an epileptic fit and fell from his prison bunk bed banging his head on the floor. What happened next was a series of events that left St George needing constant care for the rest of his life.

Once the guards had been alerted to St George’s accident they called for an Ambulance. The Paramedics were delayed in treating St george because their Ambulance was blocked from entering the prison gates by a parked van. Prison warders then argued who should accompany St George to the hospital, further delaying treatment. One Paramedic was quoted as saying St George’s condition was, “in as bad a state as a person can be without being dead.”

Upon hearing the evidence against the Home Office, High Court judge Mr Justice Mackay, ordered that the former prisoner should receive £4.7 Million in compensation. He also told the Home Office that they must pay St George £45,000 rent for a new flat.

Criminal injuries; they differ slightly to that of the majority of accident claims. In most accident claims, the compensation is pursued and recovered from an insurance policy covering the person or the company at fault for the accident – for example the insurers of the driver responsible for a car accident, or the insurers for a company in an employer’s liability case!

So what happens if the case one of criminal assault? The assailant is unlikely to have any insurance to claim from, or adequate assets to fund a claim and foot the legal fees. The claim is therefore brought with the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority – a government body responsible for investigating and paying out to the victims of criminal attacks.

Here’s an example from sources at the Daily Mail (source), involving the story of the gentleman left blinded by a teenage girl hitting him in the face with her stilettos!
Read More

Accidents abroad – so how do they work? You may or may not know that most of us specialist personal injury solicitors can only really deal with claims in the UK – but we can in the majority of instances deal with accidents abroad on holidays! So how does it work?

Well, if you have an accident abroad on holiday, which was booked through a package holiday, and the accident occurred on premises inclusive on the package, or perhaps during an activity included or related to the package, then you can in most cases actually claim against the package holiday provider!

Its covered under (see if you can guess the name!) The Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992 (www.opsi.gov.uk), and it’s a key pieces of legislation us lawyers need when it comes to pursuing this type of claim on behalf of the client.
Read More

Wilfried Fesselmann is an extremely hurt and angry man, and after you hear his story, you can’t fault the man for feeling this way. Mr Fesselmann claims he was abused by Rev. Peter Hullermann when he was just 11 years old. The then young Fesselmann confided in a friend about his nightmare, who inturn told Fesselmann’s parents. They acted accordingly and after the complaint was made, the Catholic Church, relocated the Rev. Peter Hullermann and ordered him to take therapy.

It’s just another awful story, one of thousands that has surfaced recently about the failings of the Catholic Church in their accountability to properly deal with the scores of twisted pedophile priests.

Wilfried Fesselmann is demanding an apology from Pope Benedict XVI but furthermore he is looking to be compensated for his turmoil “even if the church goes bankrupt.”
Read More

Well roads certainly seem to be a hot topic for us at The Injury Lawyers at the moment; or at least when it comes to the topics of my articles of late. Pot holes are plenty, and in the midst of a major economical crisis we may set to be raged at our roads for the coming months! And according to sources from Sky News, we motorists are angry at the conditions of Britain’s roads at the moment, and its having one heck of a knock on effect… (Sky News Source).

In the midst of the upcoming election, motorists have reportedly set the stage for politicians to take the condition of our roads more seriously; and it could affect the way we place our votes! Up to 77% or motorists are “particularly angered” at the current damage on UK roads, namely potholes littering our highways! This has apparently completely overshadowed other transport concerns such as petrol prices, and is therefore leading politicians to look closer at what the voters are looking for when it comes to improving our transit systems!
Read More

Another story of a rather unusual road traffic accident type incident; and perhaps a lesson to be learned on making sure that not just your driving needs to be up to standards, but your towing needs to be safe as well…

According to sources from the BBC (BBC news source), a man has been fined after a teacher suffered severe injuries when a runaway trailer collided with his bicycle as he was training for a triathlon. It was at one stage feared that Kevin Hamilton would lose his leg after suffering damage to the leg, pelvis and hip area following the incident. Thankfully, following surgery, several weeks in hospital, and reportedly Mr Hamilton’s courage, he was informed he will make a recovery.

The court that Mr Hamilton was cycling on the A489, Abergwyddol, when the trailer detached from contractor Michael Byrne’s oncoming van. The trailer consequently collided with Mr Hamilton with force, throwing him in to the air. He landed back on the road and reportedly ‘bounced’ in to a nearby hedge causing him his severe injuries.
Read More

Certainly not one for the Ghostbusters! But when you’ve had an accident and you want to claim for the compensation you are legally entitled to recover, or you want advice on claiming, it’s an important question to ask. Who should you call? Well that’s completely up to you…

So you want to claim or you need advice – decisions decisions! There’s so many companies out there offering you so much; it’s a hard decision to make – probably as hard as deciding who I’m going to vote for in the election this year! So here’s a list of things you should tick off as part of the decision making process!
Read More

You may have seen my recent post on the pot hole that resulted in the tragic death of a British serviceman – and you may yourself be aware that the increase in pot holes in the last few months is causing a nightmare on our roads! Well, it appears one man in his quest to avert such tragedy occurring again has been shunned aside by pedantic police, claiming the sign he erected to warn drivers of pot holes was instead a dangerous distraction… (source).

Fifty-nine year old Kent plumber Ted Relf has since criticised authorities for requesting that he remove the home-made sign following an alleged complaint that it was a distraction to drivers rather than a well placed warning of the dangers the road was hiding. Mr Relf has stated that he erected the sign in frustration at the lack of adequate maintenance for the road, stating “Making people aware of the potholes is a serious issue. It’s just stupid to think that someone would complain about a sign.” Local police have agreed with his contention that potholes themselves are a distraction.
Read More

Now I’ve written a few blogs before on compensation for our brave war heroes injured in the line of duty; I myself have the maximum of respect for our armed forces. And I have previously covered claims against the council; with the most recent one being my cover of the Scams, Claims and Compensation Games program that took an in depth look in to the subject. But I never thought I’d ever cover both subjects in one blog… but according to sources form the Daily Mail, this next story falls in to both categories.

Daily Mail has covered the story of the war hero who survived Taliban attacks abroad, only to tragically killed due to a pot hole in the road (source). Its certainly a sad story to hear; Twenty nine year old Captain Jonathan Allen reportedly suffered major head injuries as he swerved to avoid a puddle filled pot hole at the side of the road whilst riding his bicycle, unfortunately in to the path of an articulated lorry. It is assumed that he allegedly did not see the pot hole until last minute, and the hole has been since filled in by the council just days after this tragic accident.
Read More