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The term ‘Product Liability’ may at first seem like legal jargon for which you do not know what it means, and it may seem too complex to be bothering with finding out what it means. All it does mean however is that within a personal injury context, it is a product which has in some way caused you harm.

Products which appear on the shelves of our shops should go through a series of checks to ensure they are safe for the public to use. Now, for a product that causes you harm – these checks may not have been completed thoroughly, or the product may have been missed some how and not checked at all.

There are many potential claims for product liability. One of the first is due to faulty products. If you have received an injury due to a faulty product then you may have a claim for compensation. Examples of such an injury could be burns from a faulty hot water bottle bursting, an unsafe chair which causes it to collapse, or a child’s toy which may have not been suitable for that age group, and thus small parts have detached causing injury to the child. It may also include food items which have been contaminated and as such has caused you an injury or illness – an example of this may be that small pieces of glass has entered your product – this could be due to a fault at the manufacturers and their packaging process.
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BBC News has reported that police forces across the country have paid out nearly £800,000 in compensation in the last three years to victims of dog bites by police dogs.  Astonishingly, one single dog bite victim received almost £50,000 alone in compensation.  The Greater Manchester Police faced the greatest payout, nearly twice as much as any other police force, with approximately £180,000 handed out in compensation.  In second place were the Metropolitan police with around £95,000 in compensation paid out.  The total compensation awarded compensated 2,725 suspects, 196 members of the police forces, and 155 members of the public who were bitten by police dogs.  The West Midlands police were accountable for the most amount of dog bite incidents, with 644 over the last three years.

Although these figures seem high, I imagine most of you would agree, and as the police themselves have suggested, that dogs are an important resource in the fight against crime.  That said, any incident which sees an innocent member of the public bitten by a police dog is far from satisfactory and must be avoided.  As the BBC News reports, one victim, Brian Kiddel, has described his dog bit as ‘the most frightening experience I ever had in my life’.  It simply is a position none of us would like to be in, nor would we want anyone to be in.  It is therefore welcome news that the Associations of Chief Police Officers Assistant Chief Constable Nick Ingram has stated that although ‘Police dogs are a valuable and essential resource which, when used effectively, make a valuable contribution to reducing and detecting crime and disorder and building safer communities’, the police are trying to ensure that ‘the training, deployment and management of dogs is constantly improved, devised and developed’.

Unfortunately it is not just police dogs that happen to bite innocent people.  In recent times there has been a substantial increase in the number of people being bitten by dogs throughout the United Kingdom.  Currently we have in place the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 which has banned certain, dangerous, categories of dogs, and it is well set out that it is the responsibility of the dog handler to ensure the safety of members of the public when the dog is unleashed.  That said, dog bites do still occur and it is important that if you have been unlucky enough to have been a victim of a dog bite, you do seek the advice of a professional injury lawyer who can advise you on a potential claim for compensation.
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People can have mixed feelings regarding work. They can love their work or they can dread it – when work only becomes a means to making up the cost of living.  Whatever your feelings regarding work I can hazard a guess that it is the last thought on your mind that you will suffer an accident at work which was not your fault.

Many clients come to us after having gone through the trauma of having, what maybe, a serious accident at work. More often than not they are worried about claiming against their employer due to potential repercussions. We always advise clients that employers could get into a lot of trouble if they treated you any differently due to you claiming against them.  Also, that is why firms like us here at The Injury Lawyers are here – to act on your behalf within the claim.

If you suffer an accident at work that was not your fault then you may have a claim for compensation. After suffering an accident at work it is important to report it to another member of staff as an accident book record needs to be completed. You should also seek medical attention for your injuries; this not only assists with your injuries but also allows the medical professional to make a note in your medical records.  Check for any witnesses to the accident as they may be able to provide valuable support to any later claim you may have. Lastly, you should seek the advice of a specialist personal injury lawyer. This is best done as soon as possible after the accident whilst the events are still fresh in your mind; many sorts of cases have a 3 year limitation period, whereby after 3 years from the accident date you may not be able to bring your claim.
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You’ve probably seen the adverts in the past where people have slipped on a wet floor and caused themselves an injury. The idea of slipping on a dangerous floor has even become the punch line of many jokes for those that either don’t understand or misconceive the concept of claiming for compensation.

If you have slipped over and injured yourself in a premises owned by someone else, you may have a claim for compensation.

Ultimately, an injury from a slipping accident is not a nice thing to endure. In fact, it can be the cause of serious injury – which is why the rules and regulations are in place to ensure owners take proper responsibility for their premises.
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It seems that many more people are becoming aware of their rights when it comes to claiming for a personal injury.  This may be due to the increased amount of advertisements on television and radio heightening awareness for people who have had an accident that was not their fault.

With the above in consideration, many clients still come to us entirely unsure and unconfident in the fact they have a valid personal injury claim for compensation.

Claims for personal injury can stem from all sorts of different accidents and types of personal injury; I have listed some of these below:
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You may see many personal injury referral agents or law firms advertising personal injury claims stemming from road traffic accidents, and so you are probably aware that if you suffer from a road traffic accident arising either driving in a car or being driven that you may have a claim for compensation.  However, what you may not have realised is that if you have been a passenger on a bus or coach and suffered a personal injury, you may also have a claim for compensation.

The personal injury as mentioned above could have happened in any number of ways whilst being a passenger on a bus or coach. Firstly, and maybe most obviously, is that the bus or coach may have been in a general road traffic accident. This may be due to fault on the bus driver’s part or on another motorist, adverse weather conditions, or a mechanical fault with either the bus or another vehicle. A second reason could be that you have fallen in the gangway of a bus; this could be due to the bus jerking suddenly to a stop, due to tripping over on an item negligently left in the path, or due to a spillage negligently left uncleaned.

If you have had an accident on a bus or coach due to any of the reasons above then you may have a claim for compensation. It must be of note that the above list is not exhaustive and if you have any accident which was not your fault then you may have a claim.
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The term ‘Product Liability’ within a personal injury context means a product which has caused you harm through no fault of your own. As consumers we put our trust in the products we buy, the retailers who stock the product, and the manufacturers that make the product. I can hazard a guess that most of us would not anticipate that a product we purchase could cause us harm, and on the most part they don’t; however, for a number of people this is not the case.

Faulty Products

Products which end up on the shelves of retailers usually go through a number of safety checks to ensure they are safe for the public use. However, as we have seen from many of our clients, these checks may not be thorough enough, or an item may have missed the usual checks. If you have suffered an injury due to a faulty product then you may have a claim for compensation. It may be the case that the faulty product is a chair which when sat on collapsed, or a hot water bottle which burst causing burns to you.  The product may also be a food item which was contaminated with something and caused you illness and/or injury.
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Now I can hazard a guess that many of us can see that the roads are getting busier and busier. This can be seen through the amount of traffic jams we sit in either going to and from work, going to the shops, or doing the school runs. We can also see that new roads and by-passes are being built to handle this increase in traffic.

With this obvious increase in traffic comes the inevitable increase in road traffic accidents. At The Injury Lawyers we have many clients that come to us after a road traffic accident, asking us whether they have a claim. These road traffic accidents can range from a head on collision to a car pulling out of a junction on a claimant, or an incident of drink driving. Most clients on approaching us and telling us the accident circumstances ask whether they have a claim. With many types of road traffic accident this can be a more complex task of judging who was at fault in the eyes of the law. At The Injury Lawyers if we think your claim has a 51% chance of success or more we will usually take on the claim. There are some road traffic accidents however where it is less complex to judge whether there is a potential claim – namely rear- end shunts.

Rear – end shunts is a term commonly used by lawyers and refers to a situation when a vehicle drives into the back of another vehicle. In this situation, on assessing the claim, we would say that the person who has been driven into definitely has a claim for compensation (unless there are extenuating circumstances), and we would definitely take your claim on. This is due to the fact that the other driver is clearly at fault in the vast majority of circumstances.
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Whiplash can be a nasty injury to suffer with. But it begs the question – can you claim for a whiplash injury? When will you recover? How much are you entitled to claim for?

As a whiplash specialist, I can answer your questions! (well, as best as I can!)

If you are involved in an accident that was not your fault, you can make a whiplash injury claim. Normally, whiplash occurs after a road accident; caused by the sudden jolting of your neck, stretching your valuable body tissue further than its normal range of movement.
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I think that most I us are realising that the roads are getting busier and busier. I only started driving a few years ago and I can see a marked difference in the number of cars on the road.   With this increase in the volume of traffic comes the potential increase in the amount of road traffic accidents that are taking place. If you have been in a road traffic accident that was not your fault, you may have a claim for compensation.

Road traffic accidents tend to happen most predominantly at traffic meeting spots such as junctions and roundabouts – it is these places where a lot of people may be fighting for space, thus causing a collision, or they are simply not paying the necessary care and attention to the road and fail to notice that traffic is slowing in front of them. Whilst driving in an areas such as large, multi-laned roundabouts, it also becomes apparent those drivers who do not know where they are going and trying to change lanes at the last moment or are too busy looking at their map/sat navto take heed to the traffic around them are a clear danger.

If you have been involved in a road traffic accident it is important to report the accident to police if necessary, who may want to compile a report. It is important to seek medical attention for your injuries; this not only assists with the injuries but allows the medic to place a note in your medical records. Check for witnesses to the accident and if they are present obtain their contact details as they may be able to provide valuable support to any later claim you may have.  Ensure seek the advice of a specialist injury lawyer; many law firms will give a free assessment to your claim whether they are able to take it on or not. It is advisable to seek advice directly from a law firm as there are many referral agents out there wanting your business to simply sell your claim on to a paying law firm rather than the firm who will give you the best service.
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