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If you ever find yourself injured in an accident as a consequence of someone’s negligence, leaving you distressed and at harm either from a physical or psychological injury, it is only justifiable to ensure that you are well compensated as a result of this injury for your pain suffering, and loss of amenity.

With this in mind then, it is important to understand that it is not possible to seek compensation directly from an individual who caused the accident as, from a financial perspective, they would certainly struggle to compensate you properly. Therefore the preferable route would be to seek damages against their employer as chances are they will posses adequate insurance for you to claim from.

Having said this, in order for a case of vicarious liability to be successfully brought a distinction must be made between what qualifies an individual to being under a ‘contract of employment’ and under a ‘contract for services’.
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Believe it or not the amount of accident which arise on or about stairwells are consistently increasing with each passing year. In light of this it is important to understand then that if you are ever so unfortunate as to suffer an injury on a flight of stairs and you are adamant that the accident occurred as a direct result of another parties negligence, you may have every right to bring a successful claim and as such recover adequate compensation for your injuries.

It is imperative to understand that the nature surrounding potential avenues to claim under defected stairwells are numerous. Let’s take the workplace for a predominant example. Under these circumstances the employer of any business which hires employees are under a direct legal obligation to ensure that any staircases within their establishment are compliant with all the necessary health and safety checks to ensure that they are adequately protected from any potential legal repercussion.

Such health and safety include providing an assurance that all staircases well lighted particularly in areas which are mostly susceptible to visual difficulty in addition to making sure that appropriate handrails are provided for ease of climbing and support. It is also worth mentioning that employers must carry out consistent checks to ensure that the stairwells are always safe for usage, it is not enough to test them once and believe that that is enough.
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When we hear the word whiplash, most of us think of a road accident involving the collision of vehicles.  It is true that whiplash is the most common type of injury caused from a road traffic accidents; however, this is not always the case. This type of injury can also be common in contact sports such as rugby and boxing, or from a slip or trip resulting in a fall.

What is whiplash? 

It is commonly soft tissue damage in the neck, back and shoulder areas; the head may jolt quickly backward and forwards, or sideways.  This sudden jolting motion causes damages to the ligaments and tendons.  We cannot always protect ourselves from incidents such as this, but if they happen, especially when it’s through no fault of our own, it can be very stressful and inconvenient.
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The point of making a claim for personal injury compensation is to firstly award you with compensation for the pain, suffering, inconvenience, and loss of amenity that you endure as a result of your physical and / or mental injuries. However, on top of this, you are entitled to claim for what’s known as Special Damages.

Special Damages are made up of financial losses that you or even others affected by the claim incur. The common ones are things such as lost earnings from being off of work, medical expenses for treatment or prescription / over the counter medication you have to buy, travel expenses, and another key item called Care and Assistance.

Anyone is entitled to make a care and assistance claim, so long as it can be justified. Care and assistance is for any person making a claim who has to rely upon anyone else to look after themselves. This type of thing is common in serious injury claims, or cases where a debilitating injury has been sustained – such as any limb disability from, say, a broken leg, or dislocated arm, etc. Naturally, these types of injuries usually result in serious mobility impairment – everyday tasks can become a struggle, or even nigh impossible, in some circumstances.

What Can Care and Assistance Cover?
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As of April 2010, claiming for compensation for whiplash caused by a straightforward road traffic accident just got a whole lot easier.  A new process was introduced which has cut drastically the length of time a claim takes to settle. 

Under the old system you could be waiting nearly 4 months just simply for an admission of liability from the negligent third party, and then you would still have to go about obtaining medical evidence and enter into negotiations with the other side to see if a settlement could be reached.  Nowadays, an admission of liability can be received within a couple of weeks and your claim settled in a couple of months!

The first stage in this new claiming process is to submit a Claim Notification Form.  This a simple form that you can go through with an expert injury lawyer on your side which details your accident, those involved in your accident, and the injuries you suffered from.  The form itself takes about 15-20 minutes to complete, and once you are happy with it, it is submitted to the Defendant’s insurer who has just 1 business day to acknowledge it. 
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If you’re asking this question, your solicitor may not have explained the difference between General Damages and Special Damages, or mentioned recoverable losses, or what makes up a claim for compensation.

Don’t worry – our team here at The Injury Lawyers are always on hand to advise you! Here is a guide of all that you need to know:

How is My Compensation Valued?
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It is no exaggeration when I pronounce that asbestos can quite rightly be defined as a silent killer. Thousands of people in the UK alone suffer from an asbestos related disease of some form or another – and what is most poignant is that, unlike other life threatening diseases which may more often than not be brought about by an hereditary consequence, in most circumstances, diseases which are either directly as a result of asbestos or where asbestos has acted as a catalyst in the diseases growing can be prevented by carrying out relatively simple safety precautions and exercises.

In light of this then, it is not unreasonable to say that, should you be the victim of an asbestos related disease as a result of negligent exposure to it by another party, you are well within your rights to claim compensation to cover any loss or injury.

But when can you claim?
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It is a sad fact that on too many occasions, when an individual has an accident in a building or office which is open to the public, more often than not the natural reaction is one of uncontrollable panic and embarrassment – it is not enough that you have slipped over on the floor, but when it’s in front of everyone as well! It is important to understand however that it is at this point where you are at your most vulnerable; as such it is not uncommon for people to just want to forget about the situation and move on as quickly as possible.

In light of this, I cannot stress enough that this is the wrong decision to take, if you are ever unfortunate enough to suffer an injury either at work or in a public building as a result of slipping on some poorly maintained surface or flooring which is a direct result of the occupier or employers negligence. You may very well be able to claim for personal injury and your losses which, although may never be able to fully make up for the embarrassment a fall brings, will certainly hope to bring a quiet sense of justice and satisfaction for you.

It is important to realise that establishments such as supermarkets and public houses are all under a legal obligation to ensure for their patrons that their time spent in their establishment is not only a pleasant one, but also one that is safe and without negative consequence. Because of this, it is considered a legal requirement that regular inspections regarding the entirety of the establishment are carried out as and when required, providing assurances that any potential defects or hazards are dealt with as swiftly and efficiently as possible to ensure that visitor accidents are always kept to a minimum; therefore protecting the appropriate occupiers from any legal repercussions.
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Aside from our unique Genuine No Win, No Fee agreement that unlike most other law firms actually guarantees in writing that you cannot be charged, and the private medical care we offer at no charge to our clients, or the fact that we are expert injury only lawyers, there is another reason why we believe we are the right people to handle your claim for compensation.

It’s not top secret and it’s not some Jedi mind trick; in fact, it’s something so simple that we are a little confused as to why other lawyers don’t do the same thing.

Simply put – we are nice to our clients!
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It is no exaggeration when I tell you that injuries caused by the incorrect lifting of objects, whether it be in the course of your employment or indeed otherwise, are some of the most common and worryingly easy to get.

It is important to understand that it doesn’t matter whether you are the utmost prime condition, or if you are like me, after somewhat overindulging through Christmas, you’re feeling a little snug around the midriff – lifting injuries are not dictated by how fit you are, it is all do to with how you position yourself before and during the process of lifting, and also, which is similarly important, how you place the object down after moving can also have identical repercussions on your back and spine if not carried out correctly.

With this in mind then, and if you have ever been asked to move around objects at work and have done so without ever really giving it a second thought (I know I have before), it is worth understanding that from your employers perspective it is a legal obligation to ensure that, before any carrying of any kind is carried out, a course of sufficient and reasonable training and practice is compulsory to show all employees how to lift in a way which ensures a good centre of gravity over the object at all times, and covers all bases and precautions which must be undertaken before any lifting is attempted.
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