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Unfortunately, criminal assaults are commonplace nowadays – particularly on a Friday or Saturday night when you’re out on the town and some scourge of society decides to set upon you like a neanderthal for what can only be described as ridiculous reasons; normally involving alcohol. But the question here is whether you can make a claim for a criminal assault or not. Luckily, you may be able to make a claim.

If you were set upon intentionally, it can fall within the realms of the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority. This government body, often referred to as the CICA, pays out compensation to the victims of criminal assaults if you meet their criteria. It’s basically a compensation scheme to help victims of assaults claim compensation for the injuries they have suffered.

As it’s a compensation scheme, you must qualify for their strict criteria. If you fail to satisfy one or more of their key criteria, you may find it difficult to make a claim. Here’s a breakdown of the common key criterions:
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So, you are a cyclist, you are doing your bit for the environment whilst keeping fit at the same time, so why oh why did that car have to smack into you!?

Road traffic accidents between cyclists and motor vehicles are unfortunately very common, and guess who comes off worse? It’s a bit of a daft rhetorical question to be honest…

As a cyclist you are one of the most vulnerable road users and can be seriously injured if involved in a road traffic accident with a motor vehicle. After all, the only real protection you have is a helmet or some shin and elbow guards.
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The duty of a bus driver to its passengers is the same as any other driver to their passengers – they have a responsibility to ensure that passengers are not injured due to any negligence on their behalf.

One common form of accident on buses are caused by the driver performing an emergency stop or braking too harshly. Passengers are generally thrown around on the bus as a result of this and this can cause personal injury, particularly when the passengers are stood on the bus waiting to get off at the next bus stop.

Another common circumstance is that of buses pulling away from the bus stop before passengers have had chance to sit down. Although there is no specific duty on a bus driver to ensure that all passengers are seated prior to pulling away, they must take reasonable care to ensure that injury is not caused by pulling away too quickly or abruptly. Also, due consideration must be given if the passengers are identified as being specifically at risk of injury by pulling away before they are seated. For example, elderly people may be less likely to be able to keep their balance whilst the bus was pulling away than a younger person would be.
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The antics insurers get up to when they want to save themselves some money can be unbelievable; and it’s even worse when people end up getting hurt! Here at The Injury Lawyers, we’ve heard it all:

• My insurers say I can’t claim because I don’t have legal expenses insurance
• My insurers say it’s a grey area for me to make a claim as a passenger in my husband’s car when  he is was at fault
• My insurers told me a No Win, No Fee lawyer will charge me if I instruct them

ALL of the above is completely untrue (with the exception of the last one as I can’t speak for all lawyers out there…)
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Dog bites are common in the UK. We actually get a lot of enquires from people who have been bitten or attached by dogs, but it can be somewhat of a grey area in law as to whether you can make a claim or not.

In principle you are entitled to make a claim if the owner has been negligent in failing to restrain the dog, or failing to adequately warn a person going on to their premises that a dog is present and may attack.  

The issue is more to do with the viability to claim – i.e. is there any way you can actually get any compensation from the owner. If they have insurance, then it makes the whole problem far simpler. Most pet insurance covers liability for negligence, so making a claim through the pet insurance is usually no problem. If the attack happened on the premises of the owner and you can prove that the owner should have done more to protect you from being bitten or attacked, there’s the potential to go through the house insurers.
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Training is important – without it, you wouldn’t really be able to know how to do certain things safely and correctly. In a workplace setting it is invaluable and it’s a requirement when it comes to anything that could cause you harm in the workplace.

Many of our own clients have had accidents at work because they have been poorly trained or not trained at all – you can make a claim for compensation if this has happened to you.

Don’t feel that it was your own fault because it was something you consider daft – if you didn’t know, you didn’t know; and if you’ve ended up injured, you should have known!
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No-one would doubt that a building site is a dangerous place – and unfortunately with danger always comes the high possibility of injury. If you are brave enough to enter this ‘mechanical jungle’ it is imperative that both you and your employer take responsibility to ensure your workplace is as safe as possible. To not do so can easily result in serious injury and even fatalities.

Employees working on building sites are faced with a number of dangers, such as operating and working with heavy machinery, and a lot of manual handling, for example. It is because of these hazards that health and safety measures are extremely strict.

One of the common problems with any building site claim is discovering where the duty lies to prevent accidents. However, the key to this is merely determining who was in control?
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A ladder is undoubtedly a helpful piece of equipment – but with its helpfulness comes potential danger. Although using a ladder is seemingly simple, there are certain things that should be considered prior to mounting that first step.

Defective Ladders

One of the most straightforward matters to deal with is when somebody sustains an injury from using defective ladders. All ladders must be sufficiently strong and suitable for the purposes to which they are being used for. Although it is mandatory for employer’s to carry out a risk assessment prior to any employee using a ladder, it is also a good idea to inspect any ladders before beginning to use them-for example: if the ladder appears worn, consider whether this will realistically support your body weight. Also ask yourself; are these the ladders I’d usually use for this task? If you do have an accident from using defective ladders, we may be able to establish a breach of an absolute duty, and you may have the right to claim.
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As a pillion passenger, or any passenger, it is your driver’s duty to take reasonable care for your safety. Therefore, if you are involved in an accident as a pillion passenger and were injured as a result, it is highly likely that a claim for compensation will be successful.

As a passenger it is extremely improbable that you were at fault for the accident, unless you did something stupid to cause the driver to lose control and cause a collision. You can normally expect to receive 100% of any compensation awarded.

However, there can be circumstances where the compensation is reduced due to contributory negligence even if the accident was caused through no fault of you own, but where you have contributed in some way to your injuries.
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As it just so happens, not only have I been advising people about claims for compensation for many years now, but I am somewhat of an expert in sporting injuries myself. I sadly suffered one of the worst sporting injuries you can sustain in January this year (multi ligament ruptures in the knee resulting in nerve damage and needing an operation for multi ligament reconstruction surgery and a nerve graft), and the nightmare its put me through has been enough to know I’m not going to be playing football again anytime soon (if ever!)

The problem is that sporting injury claims are not easy to win. For a claim for compensation to be successful, two key ingredients need to be satisfied – there has to be negligence (i.e. someone at fault for what’s happened) and your injuries have to have been caused by the aforementioned fault.

Now, when you take part in sport, by law, you accept that there are risks involved. If you play football you accept that in a midair jump for the ball, you could hit an opposing player who is also jumping for the ball, and you can both end up falling awkwardly. You accept that you can be tackled and taken down, which can inherently cause injury through impact of the opposing player sweeping you from your feet. You accept that you can fall awkwardly as I did and rupture several vital ligaments in your knee and rupture a nerve as well, leaving you with potentially permanent damage.
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