Archives

Whiplash is a common injury suffered following any sort of road accident – as a car driver, a passenger on a bus, or a motorcyclist / cyclist. It’s caused by the ligaments and tendons in your neck and back being stretched beyond their normal range of movement because of the impact of the collision.

As Whiplash Claims Experts, we get a lot of calls from people looking for whiplash compensation advice, and we are always able to help them out and successfully secure their compensation as quickly as possible.

The common questions we are asked:
Read More

It was reported on BBC News that a custody officer, who whilst at work, suffered a bite injury from a HIV positive asylum seeker, has been awarded £100,000 in compensation.

The custody officer, who is also a war veteran, suffered the attack whilst at work in Gatwick Airport.  As a result of the attack the officer needed 3 operations to repair the wound, and also had to wait 6 months to discover whether she was clear for HIV.

It later emerged that the detainee had bitten another officer only days earlier, and an error meant that other officers dealing with her were not informed, and precautionary measures were not put in place.
Read More

Not a day goes by where I don’t hear about a road traffic accident occurring. With driving 70 miles a day to get to and from work, I often either see an accident, or hear about one on the traffic news updates on the radio. I should imagine that this increase in accidents is due to the increased amount of traffic on the roads with people rushing to get to their destinations.

If you have been involved in a road traffic accident that was not your fault, you may have a claim for personal injury. Even if the negligent driver fled the scene without leaving his details, or was uninsured, you can still claim; but the system is different to what I am going to describe below.

How does making a claim work?
Read More

So – what is a claim for compensation? Do you have a claim? How do you make one? Are there any costs involved? Let me fill you in:

What is a Claim for Compensation?

A claim for compensation is the idea of compensating you for any suffering and loss caused after an accident that was through no fault of your own. Whether you’ve been hit by another negligent driver whilst out on the road, had an accident at work, slipped on a wet floor, or tripped over a hazardous defect / obstacle whilst out and about, if it wasn’t your fault, you may have a claim.
Read More

It is reported by the Health and Safety Executive that two firms, one a farm and the other a contractor, have been fined a total of £130,000 after a construction worker suffered a severe electric shock from overhead power lines.

The self-employed steel erector from Norfolk was installing 2 poultry units, and at the time of the accident was using a scissor lift to clad the gable end of the steel frame, when it came into contact with an overhead power cable, giving the steel worker an 11 KV electric shock.

As a result of the accident, the steel worker suffered severe burns to his stomach and hands, as well as internal muscle damage when the incident occurred in June 2009.
Read More

Most people begin claim for Personal Injury in order to get compensation  for their injuries. However, what they do no often realise is that they are also entitled to recoup any financial losses that they have incurred as a result of the accident. These losses can make up a large proportion of a person’s claim – especially if they have been out of work for some time. Below, I have listed some of the more common types  of losses which are claimed for as a result of an accident.

Loss of Earnings

If your accident has caused you to be out of work, being left unpaid, or on a reduced rate of pay, then you may have a claim for a loss of earnings. All losses claims need to be supported by evidence – so, with a loss of earnings, we would normally require 13 weeks’ worth of pay slips prior to the accident, as well as some form of evidence showing the periods you were absent.  The wage slips also help us to calculate your actual loss, as we can use them to calculate an average for which to claim for.  If you are self –employed, we would normally use 3 years of profit and loss accounts to determine your average loss.
Read More

It was reported in the Advertiser today that a car driver is being sued for £300,000 after allegedly colliding with a motorcyclist in Northallerton.

The alleged circumstances of the accident were that the driver of a Toyota Corolla pulled out of a minor road on the B6271 in Northallerton in to the path of a motorcyclist, and ultimately caused the collision.

After the collision in June 2008, the motorcyclist, a self –employed electrician, suffered fractures to his hip, arm, shoulder, and ribs. He also suffered a further pelvic injury with a pulmonary embolism (a blockage to a blood vessel on the lung).
Read More

If you have been unfortunate enough to have been involved in a road traffic accident, and you have been injured through no fault of your own, but it has turned out that the negligent third party driver either has no insurance, or has driven off without providing you with his /her details, you can still make a claim for compensation!  You might think that, because the negligent third party driver has no insurance, they are not worth suing; or, because he / she has fled from the scene of the accident, you do not know who to sue, and so you have no means of recourse for your injuries.

This, however, is not the case. Thanks to an organisation called the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (‘MIB’), under these circumstances, you can make a successful claim for compensation from them directly.  The MIB was set up to counter the problem of uninsured and untraced road accidents.  It simply would be unjust if you had been injured due to a negligent third party’s wrongful actions in not being insured, or from fleeing the scene of an accident, and you were unable to get any compensation.  Each year, the MIB helps out nearly 25,000 people who have been injured by the negligent actions of an uninsured or untraced driver.

If you have been involved in a road traffic accident in which you were not entirely to blame, and you have sustained an injury as a result, you can make a claim for compensation.  The best thing you could do is contact a quality injury lawyer who specialises in road traffic accident claims, with particular experience in progressing claims through the Motor Insurers’ Bureau.  At The Injury Lawyers, we have been instructed on numerous cases involving the MIB, and know exactly how it works – so why not give us a call today to see if you have a potential claim for compensation?
Read More

Personal Protective Equipment or PPE is equipment which can be used or worn to protect you from risks to your health and safety. It is something which your employer is solely responsible for providing, and it is enshrined in regulation that you have no duty to pay for it, or even to provide a contribution.

PPE is extremely important in the workplace – this being said, however, it should not be used in place of another method of safety which protects you just as well, if not, better – PPE is a last resort failing all else even other methods may be more costly or inefficient to your employer.

There is a wide range of PPE which is available depending on the job that you do, and the risks involved. PPE can range from safety goggles, to safety boots, to anti-vibration gloves. PPE can be so vitally important, as it may not just protect from those one-off accidents, but also those which form over time – these may be known as industrial diseases. An example of an industrial disease is asbestosis – the risk of getting this condition can be greatly reduced through the use of PPE, such as respirators.  There is no curative treatment for asbestosis and it can be fatal; so PPE in this respect is vitally important.
Read More

Often clients approach The Injury Lawyers after being in a road traffic accident, where the driver at fault has either fled the scene without leaving any contact details, or their insurers details, or have reported that they do not have any insurance at all. This can leave many of our clients feeling angry and frustrated and unsure as to whether they can pursue a claim in these circumstances.

Upon having a free claims assessment with one of the team at The Injury Lawyers, we are able to happily inform these clients that they may have a claim through The Motor Insurers Bureau, or MIB, as they are more commonly known. The MIB is an organisation that was founded in 1949, and offers light at the end of the tunnel for victims of road traffic accidents in the situations I have described above.  The MIB are funded by motor insurance companies, so ultimately, they are funded by our motor insurance premiums. The MIB have calculated the cost to us to be around £15-£30 per motor insurance policy.

The MIB will not only look at giving you compensation for your injuries, but they will also look at compensating you for any vehicle repairs or vehicle hire needs you may require. Beginning a claim with the MIB means simply filling out a claim form – the whole process can be explained and dealt with on your behalf by a specialist personal injury lawyer.
Read More