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Have you ever had an accident at work because of the conditions you have been subject to working in? If you feel that your working conditions led to your accident you may have a potential claim for compensation.

You may potentially have a claim for compensation because your employer has a clear duty of care to their employees; if these standards have not been met and it has resulted in you having an accident, you may be within your rights to pursue a claim. All employers by law should have employer’s liability insurance which covers them for any accidents that may occur. You should not feel in any way worried about pursing a claim against your employers, there is nothing that they can legally do to cease your employment as a result of an accident – this is just a common misconception.
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We have been focussing a fair bit of our time recently on those people who have been injured in an accident in a taxi and feeling at a loss because the accident was’nt their fault? If this sounds like you – then it might be best to think about placing a claim for compensation.

As a passenger in a taxi which has been involved in an accident, in the eyes of the law you are usually seen as an innocent party – that is if you had no involvement in contributing to the causes of the accident. This means that theoretically your claim should be fairly easy to pursue as there won’t be any arguments to claim that you as the victim are at fault for the accident.
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If you have had an accident due to a fault in a pavement or a road, you will be interested to know that it may be possible for you to make a claim for compensation. This is because the person /company responsible for maintaining the condition of the road or pavement may have failed in their duty of care to keep the area in a satisfactory and safe condition.

What to do: Try to find out who owns the part of land where the accident occured. If the area belongs to the council, you could first of all try writing a letter of complaint to them; this record can then be used as part of the investigations at a later date. Remember to record the accident date and time – it’s also useful if you can take photographs of the defect and also of your injuries as part of your evidence for an accident claim.
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Anyone in to motorbikes? Or anyone in to music at all? If you are, then this article may be of interest to you. According to sources from The Guardian, songwriter and producer Daniel Lanois has been injured in a motorcycle accident, and is reportedly in intensive care in Los Angeles (source).

Lanois is well known for his works with UK rock legends U2, as well as having worked alongside the likes of Bob Dylan and Neil Young. The accident earlier this month has been described as serious, with several of upcoming tour dates cancelled due to the severity of his injuries.

Road traffic accidents are common enough; but accidents involving motorcycles often easily occur -and the injuries sustained by the rider are usually always quite severe. We drivers know well enough the importance of checking roads we are merging on to (look, look, and then look again; and again for good measure!), checking our blind spots when switching lanes or overtaking, and looking out in general for motorcyclists on the road. They are harder to spot – so we must take extra care in looking out for them. We have all surely seen the Think Bike adverts on the TV – for me, they really hit home!
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It has been released this week by the BBC that three companies have been convicted of breeching Health and Safety regulations and failed to protect their employees in relation to the Oil depot explosion in Buncefield. Forty three people, amongst homes and businesses were affected as a result of the explosion. The explosion was heard 125 miles away and it has been reported that a huge vapour cloud ignited after 250,000 litres of petrol leaked from a tank. (source)

Employers, by law, must adhere to Health and Safety regulations this can be anything from ensuring their employees have the correct equipment at work to ensuring workplaces are clear from obstruction that may lead to harm. Employers have a duty of care to their employees to ensure that they do not come into contact with any hazardous situations.
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Had an accident in a taxi? Perhaps you were being taken to work, or dropped off after a good night out on the town, and you’ve ended up in a crash! Well, you may not know that as a passenger, you more than likely have a successful claim for compensation – so here’s why.

Road traffic accidents are straight forward enough; normally it’s relatively simple to establish which of the vehicles involved was responsible for the accident. If someone drives in to the rear of your car – they’re at fault. If someone pulls out of a side road and hits your car – they’re at fault. But as a passenger, there is normally very little you can do to contribute to prevent an accident – and in the vast majority of cases, you are an innocent party!
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Accidents happen on a daily basis and are often unpredictable. If an accident occurred when you were travelling on a train and the accident was in no way your fault, you may have a potential claim for compensation. In the eyes of the law, passengers are seen as innocent parties as usually they have not contributed to the accident.

If you or a family member has been involved in an accident on a train line, first of all it would be very useful for the accident details to be recorded. For example: try to record the time and location of the accident and also the circumstances of the accident. In all accident situations it is always advisable to attend hospital or visit your GP no matter how minor your injuries may seem. This also means that a log of details will be kept on your medical records which could prove to be very useful should you choose to pursue a claim for compensation.

It is advisable to place a complaint with the train company so that the circumstances of the event can be investigated and hopefully prevented from occurring again. It also provides a record for the insurers to investigate.
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Have you ever been to a beauty salon or hairdressers expecting to receive a professional treatment but actually the results you got were very different from what you thought you would receive? If you have been harmed in any way i.e. you have been burnt, you have had a chemical reaction etc.. you may be entitled to make a claim for compensation. You should not have to suffer at the expense of someone else’s mistake or unprofessionalism.

All beauty salons should have insurance which covers them for any type of accident that may occur; if something has gone wrong when you have had a treatment, this insurance policy should cover you for any loss or injury you may have sustained.

Depending on the severity of your injury you may be entitled to a sum of compensation. Always seek medical advice first of all – this will provide evidence that you have sustained an injury and it may later be relied upon. It’s a good idea to record in your own words exactly what happened; that way if you choose to pursue your claim you will have all the details to hand and there will be no risk of forgetting any of the events. Try to take some photographs to show the extent of your injury. Again, the photographs can be very useful evidence as the extent of your injury will be easier to assess.
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It has been released recently that NHS hospitals could face financial penalties if a patient is readmitted as an emergency within thirty days of leaving hospital. These changes have been unveiled by the new Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley. Hospitals will receive payment for initial treatment but not for any related problems if the patient is brought back within 30 days, sources from the BBC have confirmed ( source). This seems to be in an attempt to stop patients from being released from hospital early in an attempt to free beds, as figures show that between 1998 – 99 and 2007 – 08 readmissions increased from 359,719 to 546.354.

If you have ever felt that you have been negligently treated by an NHS hospital, you could potentially have a claim for compensation. Depending on the circumstances of the incident, you may be entitled to claim for an amount for any suffering caused by a hospitals negligence. Hospitals have certain procedures that are in place to ensure that the patient is given adequate care and treatment. If something has happened to you because a member of the NHS hasn’t completed their job properly, they are negligent, and you are within your rights to pursue a claim against them.
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If you have recently been involved in a taxi accident you might be entitled to make a claim for compensation. This is because as a passenger in a taxi, it’s most unlikely that you did anything to cause the accident and so you are seen in the eyes of the law as an innocent party.

Thousands of people use taxi’s everyday and although most taxi drivers are experienced, accidents still happen. Most taxi accidents involve one or more passenger who may have sustained injuries.

At the scene of the accident, if possible, you should: Take details from the taxi driver – his/her name, the name of the firm he/ she works for, their registration number, and their vehicle registration number. Take the names and vehicle registration numbers of any other parties involved. Take names and addresses of any witnesses. Try to sketch a drawing of the scene of the accident or take photographs if possible. All this information will be very useful for the police and also if you choose to make a claim for compensation. It is easy to forget things like the positions of the vehicles and this can be crucial when determining liability so photographs are an excellent source of evidence.
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