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The amount of times I have received calls from clients saying “I don’t want to accept the first or second offer, I have been told to always accept the third” is ridiculous and quite honestly I am boggled as to where this “pearl of wisdom” has come from – because quite frankly it is utter rubbish!

Your whiplash claim will be valued based on medical evidence. An independent medical expert will be instructed in order to review you and provide a report and opinion on how long you are likely to be suffering with your injuries. This is the main aspect of valuing your injury.

The value of your injury will be placed in a bracket. For example: £1500 – £1750. This means that your claim is worth £1500 at the minimum and £1750 aat the maximum, according to the brackets.
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Supermarkets can be dangerous places – so it would seem by the number of personal injury claims brought as a result of accidents in supermarkets. Not wanting to put people off going to the supermarket, accidents can happen anywhere at any place or time – not just in supermarkets.

Due to the number of people in a supermarkets and the number of potential hazards, accidents are bound to happen on occasion. So what type of accidents can happen in a supermarket?

The most obvious type of accident in a supermarket is when people slip on something that has been left on the floor. Perhaps something has been spilt on the floor such as a liquid drink or some other product which causes a slipping hazard for unsuspecting shoppers. Obviously as soon as a spill occurs the store should bring people’s attention to the hazard, by erecting a wet floor sign for example. However if no wet floor sign is erected then it is likely that shoppers are not aware of the hazard and in this scenario it could be difficult for the store to escape liability if they can prove their systems of inspection are up to standards.
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Manual handling is lifting, lowering, filling, emptying or carrying loads. Manual handling covers carrying a person, an animal or an object. It can be said that most manufacturing or distribution works require a certain amount of manual handling. An element of manual handling probably cannot be avoided in some jobs. Some may not want a machine or automated system to carry things for us, as this could be another way of machinery taking over people’s jobs.

The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 set out the measures which must be taken to reduce the risks associated with manual lifting and carrying while at work. A vast amount of accidents are associated with manual handling, although fatal manual handling accidents are rare. However serious injuries can and do happen in relation to manual handling.

The Regulations mean that employers must, whenever possible, avoid the need for employees to undertake manual handling operations. Obviously this is not possible in each and every job and if you are required to undertake manual handling duties then your employer should undertake risk assessments. Risk assessments involve a review of the whole process, for example could the work be done differently, what measures could be taken.
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The festive season is fast approaching and while it is a magical time of year full of mince pies, presents and the Queen’s speech, it is also statistically the worst time of year for drink driving.

Unfortunately when we have had a bit to drink bad ideas can seem a lot more appealing. While we can all say now that we would never under any circumstances get in the car with someone that has had a drink, it may be a different story at closing time in the freezing cold when you can’t get a taxi.
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If you have sustained injury at work within the last 3 years then you may be entitled to make a claim for compensation.

If you sustained an injury in terms of an industrial disease, then you may be able to claim notwithstanding the 3 year rule. If you have sustained an injury at work then you should contact a Solicitor as soon as possible to see if you have a claim. In terms of general workplace accidents there is normally a 3 year limitation period in which you must issue Court Proceedings or settle your claim within 3 years of the date of the accident; otherwise you may lose your right to claim compensation.

In some cases such as for industrial diseases (for example vibration white finger and industrial deafness) the limitation period is somewhat different as, at the time, you may not have been aware that you sustained injury. A good example is with deafness; at the time of exposure to loud noise you may not notice a hearing deficiency, but later in life you may find that your hearing is not as good as it should be. In this scenario your hearing has been damaged by noise exposure and has meant that you experience hearing difficulties in advance of when otherwise expected.
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There are a lot of personal injury lawyers out there that are more than willing to help with your claim. However, we feel that here at The Injury Lawyers we have dedicated a lot of time ensuring that we offer the best service and ultimately get our client’s the best compensation.

We have done this by looking at what clients really want and need, and by reviewing the competition and improving on what we class as the key areas.

In this blog I will address the No Win No Fee agreement we offer and why our service levels fly high above all the rest.
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In law, if a claim is made on behalf of a minor, then such a claim is normally made through a litigation friend which would often be a parent or carer. Obviously a minor cannot bring a claim themselves and therefore a litigation friend acts for them in their best interests. Obviously you would expect parents to act in their child’s best interests but if, for whatever reason, this was not the case then a professional person could be appointed as the litigation friend.

When a case is brought on behalf of a minor, when it comes to settlement, normally the settlement is made subject to approval by the Court. This is because the Court has to make sure that the settlement figure is reasonable and fair in respect of the Claimant’s (the child’s) injuries. This is known as Infant Approval Hearing.
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Factories can be fairly dangerous places to work – whether it is moving parts on machines, forklift trucks zipping from place to place or just things left laying around that you could fall over, the factory environment is not always a safe one.

There are many potential injuries in a factory and if you work in one your employers has a responsibility to keep you safe while you are there. Employers should provide their employees with the correct safety equipment and training that will allow them to work in as safe an environment as possible.

One of the measures that employers should use to keep you safe is “PPE” or Personal Protective Equipment. These are items provided to you by your employer to work with or use which should allow you to keep as safe as possible while in the workplace.
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Whiplash injuries can range from the very minor to the severe and debilitating. Therefore, it is important that you seek the help of a expert personal injury solicitor to ensure that the compensation you receive is the right amount.

Compensation is awarded based on the severity of your injury and how long this will affect your everyday life, so it is important that the right amount is awarded – if you settle and then are still suffering you may statutory barred from bringing another claim (for the same accident) or trying to reopen or continue the original claim.

As well as personal injury solicitors, there are a number of claims management companies that will try and get you to instruct them. Similarly, your insurance company will also try to refer you to a solicitor and finally, there is also the possibility that the third party will try and capture you. All of the above may also say that they can get you the optimum amount of compensation but there may be more to this than first meets the eye.
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A pre-medical offer is an offer made by the Defendant’s insurer to settle your claim without the need for medical evidence in support of your injuries.

These offers are usually made when the accident is pretty straight forward, liability is not an issue, and the insurer just wants the case off their desk. If you have a legal representative, they should inform you of the risks of accepting such an offer once it has been made.

Basically, the main issue we at The Injury Lawyers have with pre-medical offers is that, if accepted, you never know if this accurately reflects the amount of compensation you deserve.
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