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Due to our busy lifestyles and fast food culture, many more of us are eating out at restaurants, pubs and cafes.  It may be for a quick breakfast such as a bacon sandwich before work, it may be grabbing a quick bite at lunch, or it may be an evening meal to celebrate a special occasion. Whatever it is, we would hope that the food has been cooked correctly, the food is of a high quality, and the premises in which it has been cooked has a high standard of cleanliness.  This, however, is not always the case.

In many cases of food poisoning the symptoms are mild and we may suffer for a period of 24 – 48 hours, then feel fully recovered.  However, in some more serious cases involving food poisoning, the symptoms can go on for a longer period of time, be more aggressive, and ultimately land the victim in hospital seriously ill.  In groups of people such as the very young, very old, or people already suffering with an illness, contracting a serious case of food poisoning may even become life threatening.

If you fear that you may have food poisoning, the common symptoms to look for are sickness, diarrhoea, stomach cramps, a high temperature, and a loss of appetite.  You may have all or some of these symptoms.
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Supermarket injury claims are a lot more common than most people think. There are so many ways in which you can end up being injured in a place full of liquids and food products; spillages and mess on the floors are extremely common. Just ask yourself the question – when was the last time you went in to a supermarket and didn’t notice something out of place on the floor?

So, what happens if you’re shopping along and you slip on a patch of spilt milk, or trip over a boxed up cheese cake lying on the ground? Some may say there’s no point in crying over spilt milk; but landing hard on a solid supermarket floor can easily leave you with a hefty bruise if you’re lucky enough to avoid a broken bone.
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Whiplash is a common injury arising from road accidents. It’s caused by the sudden movement of the neck or head in a jolting fashion which is normal after an impact. Unfortunately, whiplash is a much more complicated injury than you’d think. In fact, if you are reading this and you are having the symptoms, you may be in for a bit of a shock. Here’s a guide on how it all works:

Whiplash Symptoms

• Pain / stiffness / inflammation of the neck, back, and shoulders. Pain can radiate in to other areas as well (arms, legs etc).
• Headaches – normally common directly after the accident.
• Reduced movement in the affected area, and / or muscular spasms.
• Pins and needles and / or numbness in the hands and arms.
• Dizziness and tiredness – even vertigo in some cases.

A whiplash injury is generally hard to predict in the early stages. It affects different people in different ways, and is often subject to the force of the impact you have been involved in. You could be suffering for a couple of weeks, or you could be suffering for months and months.
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Certainly not the Ghostbusters! But it can be a confusing time when you’ve had an accident to know exactly what to do. With so many law firms out there all promising to deal with your claim in the best way, who should you go with? If you’ve had a road accident, you’re probably being inundated with calls from the other driver’s insurers offering you quick cash settlements, and your own insurers are probably calling you to make you go with their own appointed legal team!

It’s confusing!

So, here’s a little advice on what to look for in a law firm, and what to avoid. But first things first; take a breather, and do your homework!

Injury Lawyer – Get Your Own!

Never let another company, especially your own insurers, a breakdown or garage service, or any other company whatsoever offer to “pass you to the best lawyer”. Avoid them at all costs! The clue as to why you must avoid them is in the statement: Costs!

If you let your insurers appoint their own “in house”, or “appointed”, or “recommended” lawyers, you’re in for a rough ride.  All the insurance companies do is sell the claim on to the highest bidding law firm on their panel. It’s often known as Legal Expense Insurance, or Legal Protection, and it’s an absolute scam. The money the lawyer wastes on buying your case comes straight from the running costs of your claim – leaving you with a poor service, and a lawyer with less money to fight harder for a top payout.
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Here at The Injury Lawyers we are only too aware of the frequency of which accidents happen.  We receive numerous calls each day informing us that people like you and me have sustained some form of personal injury through no fault of their own.  In many cases the unfortunate individual may have been involved in a road traffic accident, slipped or tripped while walking, or have sustained an injury when carrying out their normal duties at work.  Typically, these accidents occur within the United Kingdom.  So, what happens if you sustain a personal injury which is not your fault whilst you are abroad?

Just imagine that nightmare scenario.  You have booked the holiday of a lifetime.  You have waited to go on this holiday for the best part of a year.  The time to go on that dream holiday has come around.  You arrive at your destination, settle into your hotel, and go about those usual holiday activities.  Unfortunately, only days into this dream holiday you are unfortunate to have injured yourself by tripping over some defective paving situated only metres away from the pool you intended to spend much of your time in.  Are you able to make a claim for compensation?  After all, you have sustained a genuine injury that, should you have sustained while at home, you would have been entitled to claim for compensation.  If you have been involved in an accident abroad it is important that you seek the advice of a quality injury lawyer.  It is only by doing this that you can find out whether you can make a claim for compensation, and it is also the first steps to you getting that compensation you may deserve.

If an accident has occurred while you are outside of the United Kingdom, it does not restrict your ability to obtain compensation.  If you have been injured at your resort, have been involved in a road traffic accident when using a hire car, or have gone on an excursion, and any of these have been organised by your holiday company  as part of a package, you can make a claim against the holiday package provider right here in the UK!  Most UK based lawyers will be able to assist you with this. If the claim is against a party directly abroad, you may need to enlist the help of a lawyer specialising in foreign injury cases.
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Many careers are obviously ones which entail working at a height; these include those in the building trade, TV aerial installers, or tree surgeons.  Working at heights, however, can cover any one of us – for example a receptionist being asked to change a light bulb at height or a librarian attempting to reach items high up on shelving.  So we can see that this type of situation can affect any one of us, so personal injuries resulting from working at height situations are becoming increasingly more common.

If an employer asks or expects their employee to work at a height then they must comply with the Working At Height Regulations 2005.  You do not need to know the full detail of this legislation, but it is useful to know a few key points.  Working at height should be properly supervised and planned – the correct safety gear and equipment should be checked prior to use and should then be used accordingly.

An employer that oversees employees working at height should know at least the minimum requirements of the Working At Height Regulations.  If these regulations are not followed correctly then there is a high chance that an accident could occur: the most common of these accidents being falling from ladders, falling from scaffolding, or falling from a roof.
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I imagine that some of those reading this blog may be aware of the case I am about to briefly outline.  It involves a cup of coffee purchased from a McDonald’s restaurant in America nearly two decades ago…

The Claimant, Ms Stella Liebeck, suffered very serious burns, in particular to her legs, as a result of her spilling a scalding hot cup of coffee on her lap.  In fact, Ms Liebeck was hospitalised for over a week, lost a fifth of her body mass, and required medical treatment for two years.  It was considered by the judge that the coffee was too hot and in fact far hotter than any coffee served by other food and drink outlets – and was inadequately labelled as to warn Ms Liebeck, and other coffee drinkers, of the potential hazard it posed.  While McDonalds stated that they purposely served their coffee extremely hot so that commuters who purchased the product would be able to drink it for longer, others have suggested that McDonalds ensured that their coffee was piping hot so that their customers could not drink it straight away in the restaurant and would therefore not gain a refill!  Either way, Ms Liebeck was awarded nearly $650,000 compensation.

Some may argue that coffee is obviously going to be hot, and that accordingly, the risk is clearly apparent.  Indeed, many have argued this and suggested that the case can only be described as ‘frivolous’ and ‘ridiculous’.  This blog, however, does not intend to argue the rights and wrongs of that case, but to raise awareness of the potential compensation you may be entitled to should you have suffered a personal injury as a result of a defective or dangerous product.
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The recent news of the death of former British boxing champion Gary Mason whilst he was cycling on the roads of South London, brings road safety whilst on bicycles, motorbikes, scooters and mopeds to the forefront of our minds.

Sadly, road accidents involving the vehicles named above are increasingly common.  This is due to the roads getting busier and the fact that vehicles such as motorbikes seem to appear out of nowhere.  Most accidents involving motorbikes happen due to traffic meeting at junctions, crossroads and roundabouts, bad weather conditions, or items being in the road.  It is also not a too uncommon sight whilst driving, especially around student areas, to see a bus pulling into a stop and narrowly missing a cyclist.

Statistics seem to suggest that motorbike accidents in the UK occur most prominently in males between the ages of 30-39.  This is a group of people who are most likely to be the main breadwinner, maybe supporting a family, and are coming towards the peak of their career.  It would therefore be imperative for anyone who has been involved in such an accident to contact a good personal injury lawyer with expertise in this area as soon as possible in order to get the claim underway, get liability admitted, and put forward an application for interim payments.  Interim payments are payments which can be obtained for victims of accidents before settlement of their case to ensure they are not suffering financially whilst waiting for their case to come to a conclusion.
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Most of us visit a supermarket maybe once a week to do the ‘big’ shop, as everything is conveniently under one roof, and we often save a lot of money doing all the shopping in one big go.  However, we don’t expect this convenience to come at a price to us and for us to have an accident in a store. 

It may come as a surprise but supermarket accidents are becoming one of the most common types of personal injury claims.  This can be due to items being poorly stacked on shelves and falling on you, slipping on a spillage, or tripping on an item left in the aisle.  If you have been involved in an accident in a supermarket then you may be entitled to make a claim for compensation for your injuries.  It is the duty of the supermarket to ensure the safety, as much as is reasonably possible, of their customers is maintained whilst shopping in store.  In order to avoid such an accident to one of their loyal customers, supermarket employers must make sure the necessary checks are carried out for trip and slip hazards, and to ensure to train employees fully in all key areas of health and safety.  The supermarkets must comply with all the Health and Safety standards.

If you have been involved in an accident whilst in a supermarket, and it was not your fault, here are some tips:
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Picture this. You are a footballer only days away from the greatest game of your career.  You go to work, carry out your normal duties, and end up with a groin injury that could prevent you from fulfilling your boyhood dreams.For Mark Peat, goalkeeper of lowly Berwick Rangers, this was somewhat of a reality. Just days from his mouth-watering clash with Scottish Premier giants Celtic, Mark ‘felt a wee pop in [his] groin’. The Daily Record reports that Mark, who works for Greggs the baker, was going about his usual daily tasks, which typically include loading and transportation duties, when he suffered a groin injury.  On this occasion it would seem that Mark was simply pushing a roll cage around a Greggs factory when the incident happened. For Mark, as I am sure many can imagine and sympathise, the timing of the injury could not have come at a worse time. Luckily for Mark however, the effects of his injury wore off in time for him to face Celtic. Sadly, on this occasion, Mark’s heroics were not enough to spare Berwick from defeat, losing, commendably, by only 2 goals to nil.

It just goes to show that injuries can occur at any time, and the workplace is just one arena in which incidents can happen. Fortunately in Mark’s case, his injury was relatively minor and he was able to resume normal activities in no time at all.  Moreover, it is not even to say that his injury was directly attributable to his working practice.  However, here at The Injury Lawyers we hear of accidents at work on a daily basis and we cannot stress how important it is, if you have been injured in your workplace, to the get the advice of a professional injury lawyer so that they can advise you as to whether you are entitled to make a claim for compensation.

It is important to understand that your employer owes you, as an employee, a duty of care. They must look out for your health and safety. – e.g. – ensuring that your workplace is safe by maintaining equipment or reducing your risk of injury by providing you with the correct clothing and equipment; by way of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, your employer must acknowledge your health and safety concerns.
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