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Bouncy castle accident claims may be more common than you think. Unfortunately many accidents on bouncy castles can and do cause severe injuries – and these injuries are often to children or minors. Of course, bouncy castles can be a good source of entertainment for children but they are not as safe as we may suspect them to be.

One major issue seems to be with the variety of age groups that use bouncy castles. The danger here is that young children (such as at the ages of 2 to 10) are using the same bouncy castle at the same time as young teenagers (aged 13 to 16) for example. This is a recipe for disaster.

As we are all aware, children grow up at different speeds and some children aged 13 to 16 can be as heavy and as big as adults. This in turn causes a big danger to the younger more vulnerable children as they could be crushed or injured quite easily. Despite this danger being very clear and obvious, some children are still put into this dangerous situation.
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Although it is never a good idea to get in a vehicle when the driver has been drinking, it does not mean that you cannot make a claim for personal injury if the trip ends in an accident – and let’s be honest, this is more likely than not.

The normal guideline is that as a passenger, you are an innocent party and cannot be at fault for the accident. This therefore entitles you to receive 100% of any compensation that is awarded.

However, getting into a vehicle knowing the driver has been drinking does have consequences for a claim for personal injury. The insurers of the driver of the vehicle will more than likely argue contributory negligence for passengers making a claim for personal injury in these types of circumstances.
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Claims against the hospital – commonly medical negligence claims – are bound to be more sensitive that most personal injury claims.

We are fortunate in our country that we have access to the National Health Service (NHS) but we are still entitled to make a claim if we have sustained injury or have been adversely affected as a result of medical negligence. A first thought is that it can seem harsh to sue the NHS, given that it provides medical treatment free of charge and in theory it is only there to help people who need treatment.

On the other hand people pay taxes and in effect it is these taxes which run the NHS – so ultimately it is a debate in itself whether it is a free service. Another point is that the NHS, as with a private company, has insurance in place for the sole purpose of paying out compensation to injured victims. The fact is that there is no shame in making a compensation claim; if you have sustained a genuine injury as a result of medical negligence then it is your right to claim. The insurance the NHS has is actually more of a self insured department called the NHS Litigation Authority.
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Supermarket cages (also known as roll containers, roll cages, roll pallets etc) can be a danger to you, whether you work in a supermarket or simply shop in one. Unfortunately many accidents involving supermarket cages have happened in the past and continue to happen to date.

The Research Report 009 titled “Safety of roll containers” describes a roll container as follows:

“Roll containers are half pallet-sized platforms, with four running castors and with a wire cage used to contain goods during transport. They may be used to transport goods in a lorry between a warehouse and a retail store for instance or within a supermarket to transport goods from the store room to the sales floor.”
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The two words in the title of this blog are often used by insurance companies in personal injury claims; they can be seen as accusatory and are often misunderstood, and many people bringing a claim see them as two very big words.

Contributory Negligence is often used by insurers or Defendants (any person who a claim is brought against) in order to try and reduce the damages that they will have to pay to the innocent victim.

The way it works is that the Defendant will admit that they were at fault for the accident BUT allege that the Claimant (the injured person bringing the claim) was at least partly responsible for their injuries. To clear a common misunderstanding a Defendant cannot use this to say that the accident was the Claimants fault – there is no such thing as 100% Contributory Negligence. In fact the law was altered as long ago as 1945 to stop this happening.
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We all know how unpredictable life can be and that – especially with accidents – it is very difficult to know what is going to happen next. This doesn’t mean that we can’t try and prepare though and we should all take care to minimise the potential effects of any accident; this is especially true in the workplace.

If your job involves any type of risk to your health then your employer should issue you with items that will minimise the risks where possible – these items are known as Personal Protective Equipment, or PPE. Types of PPE include: Respirators, Protective Gloves, Protective Footwear, Goggles, Hi-visibility clothing and any other item designed to be worn or used for your health, safety and protection.

In cases where the risks to your health and safety cannot be adequately controlled through other measures then PPE becomes a legal requirement under the Personal Protective Equipment at Work Regulations 1992. These regulations say that employers are responsible for providing, replacing and paying for personal protective equipment as well as training you in how to use it safely and effectively.
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Councils have many responsibilities that aid you in your day to day life, such as, the important ones for the topic of this blog: maintaining public spaces (such as parks, playgrounds, swimming pools, museums etc.) and the up-keep of highways, these are roads and pavements.

When the council provides these services it also takes on a responsibility to look after you when while you use them and to make sure that the services it provides aren’t defective or able to harm you if you use them properly. If you are using any of these services and you get an injury that could have been avoided had the council done a better job of maintaining that service you could be able to make a personal injury claim.

Parks, Playgrounds and Council Buildings
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If you work in an office, like me, then you may consider yourself reasonably safe from incurring personal injuries.

However, personal injuries can and do happen in office environments more than most people think. You can do your bit to try and prevent personal injuries occurring in the office, which in reality is actually a very important requirement.

No doubt your employers will have given you a ticking off for leaving your belongings on the floor and causing a tripping hazard, for one example. By keeping the office tidy and employing a common sense approach, most office accidents could be avoided.
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This is anyone’s worst nightmare – being high up when the floor beneath you collapses. The injuries you can sustain from falling from a height, or hitting something as you fall from a low height, can be significant. Our bodies can endure a great deal of punishment, but there only so much twisting, turning, thudding, breaking, and bouncing our body parts can take.

We get a lot of these sorts of claims and they commonly relate to accidents at work. Employees are casually working on scaffolding when the floor decking collapses or breaks, causing you to fall. Equally, the structure of the scaffolding could break apart. It’s normally caused by one of two things: poor construction of the scaffolding, or poor maintenance of the scaffolding.

Whoever is responsible for the scaffolding – whether it’s your employers, or another company you are working with or for on some kind of site or project – must ensure that the scaffolding is erected correctly and is maintained efficiently to prevent such accidents occurring. Health and safety inspections and checking is an easy way to do this. Those responsible for putting up the scaffolding need to be properly trained and provided with the right equipment as well.
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As a pedestrian you can be in danger of being involved in a very serious accident. Motor vehicles are lethal weapons to pedestrians and therefore motor vehicle users must take extra care to avoid injuring pedestrians.

The Highway Code has guidelines for pedestrians which include using pavements if provided, keeping to the right hand side of the road so that you are able to see oncoming traffic if there is no pavement available, and also wearing something light coloured or bright if daylight conditions are poor.

Of course, pedestrians can still be injured even when adhering to these guidelines, as motorists can sometimes be careless.
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