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The roads and streets can be a dangerous place – having worked in this industry for as long as I have, you tend to pick things up most people would miss. Next time you are out and about shopping, walking your dog, or visiting your friends and family, take notice of what’s on the ground you are walking on. It goes without saying that I ask you not to concentrate too hard to ensure you don’t walk in to anything or walk in to the road; but, if you can, just have a look at what’s around you on the streets and roads.

You will probably notice raised paving slabs, cracked concrete, gaps in the kerb, or the dreaded pothole in the road. Normally, these aren’t things you would look out for or particularly spot when you are out and about; but, if it’s in the back of your mind, you will probably begin to notice a lot of dangerous defects out there.

That, ladies and gentleman, is the reason why people end up making a claim against the council. Claims for compensation in general, but particularly council tripper claims, have a bad reputation for some unknown reason (although it probably has something to do with the way our lovely media paint a council claim). If you work in this industry, consciously try and look out for, or have tripped over a defect in the past, you will likely notice the extent to which they litter our pavements and traffic routes.
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If you are injured or experience ill health because of a faulty or defective product, you may be entitled to claim for compensation.

The Consumer Protection Act 1987 (CPA) provides important safeguards to protect consumers from defective products. It makes it easier for a person to claim compensation if they are injured because of a fault in a product.

Nearly everything we buy could be a product that is covered by the CPA.  The CPA recognises that, if not manufactured or sold properly, any product could potentially be harmful to a person’s health. Product liability covers a wide range of products including everyday items such as food, cosmetics or clothes, through to one off items such as electrical goods and children’s toys.
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At The Injury Lawyers, we strive to get our clients the maximum compensation they deserve in the shortest time possible.  We are able to do this because we are experts in our field and have the knowledge and professionalism to know how to progress your claim in the best possible way.  That said, our clients can go a long way in helping us get their compensation in the fastest time possible as well.

In most personal injury claims, excluding those which arise from relatively straightforward road accidents, a Letter of Claim will be produced and sent to the opponent.  This is in most cases is the first bit of correspondence between your legal representatives and the Defendant, and outlines the details of your accident, the injuries you suffered as a result of the Defendant’s negligence, and why we consider the Defendant was indeed negligent.  It is therefore key that the Letter of Claim is thorough and that it provides as much detail as it possibly can.  This way the Defendant should be able to get on with their investigations sooner and come back with an admission of liability.

So how can you help make the Letter of Claim as clear as possible?
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Accidents at work are one of the most common types of personal injury claims. It is not just people in dangerous jobs or those involving high risk activities who suffer accidents at work. The most common accidents involve ordinary people doing everyday tasks.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is an independent watchdog that monitors job-related health and safety as well as illnesses that are caused by work.  The latest figures from the HSE show that in 2000/10, 28.5 million working days were lost because of work-related ill health. 5.1 million of these were caused by accidents at work.

If you have an accident at work, you should make sure that you report the accident using the reporting procedure available in your workplace. Your employer is required to keep a record of any workplace accidents by law. Your employer must also report any serious accident to the HSE.
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At The Injury Lawyers we have never paid a referral fee for any of our client’s claims.  In fact, there are no circumstances under which we would pay a referral fee for a claim.  It is simply not how we operate.

A referral fee is a fee paid to a third party in return for an accident victims details where this person has been involved in an accident and likely has a potential claim for compensation.  Usually a solicitor will pay an insurer or claims management company and they will give them contact details so that they can hopefully get the victim on board to make a claim, and in the long run make money from doing so.

Typically a referral fee will cost anywhere in the region of £200 to £1,000.  By paying a referral fee a solicitor has demonstrated that they are wanting to act on your behalf to make money.  For example, your case could be worth £10,000 to £20,000 to your solicitor who has paid £1,000.  As you can see, a good profit can be made and it is in their interests to get hold of your claim at this price so that they can benefit in the future.
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When we refer to an accident at work, most people think only of a severe incident which has resulted in broken bones or worse – but accidents do not have to be as major as this and can also be psychological as well as physical.  If you have had an injury at work, it should be reported to a manager or senior within the company as soon as possible.

It is the responsibility of your employer to ensure that all staff know the health and safety rules within the workplace, and what the procedure is in the event that an accident occurs.

There should be a qualified first aider within the work place who attends to the injury, and unless the business is a very small concern, there should also be an accident book where all injuries occurring within the work place are recorded.  Employers are also responsible for reporting certain accidents/injuries to the Health & Safety Officer, and you as the employee have the right to receive sick pay if you are entitled to it.
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Should I make a claim for compensation? This is a common question asked to us when we are advising people about the merits of any potential claim they think they might have. Ultimately, it’s your life, and therefore your decision – no one can take that away from you, or force you in to making a claim.

So, as the decision is entirely yours, here are a few positive reasons why making a claim for compensation is a good thing.

Compensation Payout
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At The Injury Lawyers we often come across individuals who have been involved in road traffic accidents.  In the vast majority of cases they are able to provide some details for the negligent third party and we are able to progress their claim for compensation straightaway. 

But, what if you have been involved in a road traffic accident whereby you have been injured through no fault of your own, but the other driver has no insurance?  If the negligent third party had insurance you could claim compensation from them – but this uninsured drier may not be worth suing personally.  Does this mean that you cannot make a claim for compensation?

No.  That would be unjust.  It would be highly inappropriate if it were the case that your having no insurance meant that you did not have to pay someone you have injured any compensation.  Instead, a claim for compensation is pursued through the Motor Insurers’ Bureau, more commonly known simply as the ‘MIB’.  This compensation fund was set up in 1946 to provide compensation for those drivers who had been injured at the hands of an uninsured driver.  So, even where the negligent third party has no insurance, you can still be compensated for your injuries; the only difference is that the money is coming from the MIB and not the negligent driver’s insurers which it typically would.
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If your holiday abroad is ruined because of an accident or illness that is caused by the negligence of someone else, it is possible that you could still make a successful claim here in the UK.

In general, if you have an accident abroad, you would usually only be able to claim compensation by making a claim in that country under their laws. This can be very difficult and expensive – especially if the legal representatives in that country do not work on a no win, no fee basis. There are often language barriers, the law may be completely different, and you may have difficulty dealing with a legal representative who could be thousands of miles away.
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Making a claim for compensation for injuries arising out of a relatively straight forward road traffic accident is both easy and fast.  Whereas a couple of years ago you could be waiting months, probably years for your compensation, it is now likely that you will receive your compensation in a few weeks or a couple of months.  This is because since April 2010 there has been a new system in place which has streamlined the claims process making it both more efficient and more effective.

Under the new system your legal representatives submit a Claim Notification Form to the negligent party’s insurers via a Ministry of Justice online internet portal.  The Claim Notification Form (‘CNF’) details your accident, your injuries, and the Defendant’s contact details amongst other relevant particulars relating to the accident.  This is submitted online and the Defendant’s insurer has 1 business day in which to acknowledge receipt of your CNF.  Once acknowledgment has been received, the Defendant’s insurer has a further 15 business days to admit or deny liability for your accident.  It must be stressed at this point that is quite common for admissions of liability to be received within just a few days.  Most insurers, where they know that the Defendant clearly was at fault, will just hold up their hands and admit liability as quickly as possible.  This means that your claim can be progessed much faster; but in any event, within 15 days you should know one way or the other whether you will be paid out or not.
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