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The Government have recently advised that in April 2013 routine health and safety inspections are no longer to continue on business premises that are considered to be of low risks. This new suggestion is part of the Government’s plans to remove or change more than 3,000 of the current health and safety regulations.

In the reformed plans, businesses that are deemed as high risk such as construction sites and food productions, or businesses that have a poor track record, will still be inspected for the purposes of health and safety. It has been said that establishments such as pubs, clubs, shops and offices are no longer to be subject to the inspections.

The new plans have been backed by the business minister Vince Cable stating that the reforms to health and safety will allow businesses to focus on creating jobs and wealth rather than “being tied up in necessary red tap”.
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Cosmetic surgery is becoming increasingly popular with youth today due to the ‘need’ to look good and therefore there has been a noticeable rise of claims resulting from cosmetic surgery.

The issue of cosmetic surgery has been in the media this week with the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons calling for a ban on advertisement for cosmetic surgery to those under the age of 18. The British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons want to prevent celebrities advertising the surgery who may be idolised by youth and to prevent all special offers on surgery as a way of protecting the vulnerable and discouraging people with the full process. 

The Government has taken real note of the British Association of Aesthetic Plastic Surgeons request and has announced that the Department for Health will be reviewing the regulations concerning cosmetic surgery. Already there have been twelve recommendations which have been sent to advertising regulator, the Committee of Advertising Practice, to consider.
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Supermarket cages (also known as roll containers, roll cages, roll pallets etc) can be a danger to you, whether you work in a supermarket or simply shop in one. Unfortunately many accidents involving supermarket cages have happened in the past and continue to happen to date.

The Research Report 009 titled “Safety of roll containers” describes a roll container as follows:

“Roll containers are half pallet-sized platforms, with four running castors and with a wire cage used to contain goods during transport. They may be used to transport goods in a lorry between a warehouse and a retail store for instance or within a supermarket to transport goods from the store room to the sales floor.”
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Last month the Government has been advised by the Transport Select Committed that there has been a rise in fatal deaths from road traffic accidents for people aged 18-25 years old. This has been the first increase of death in over 10 years and has therefore put the issue in the media.

Fatal road traffic accidents are the main killer amongst the 16-24 year old bracket. The rise of deaths has been shocking – an increase of 12% in pedestrians and a rise of 6% of cyclists and motorcyclists.

The rise in figures has been blamed on the current Government for scrapping the national targets and comments have gone so far as to say that the Government is not dealing with road safety as a top priority.  As a result of these comments the Government has announced that they will publish their road safety strategy later this year.
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There have been some recent reports that a major city’s NHS Walk in Centre has been charging patients £25.00 to treat whiplash injuries.  There is now concern that this trend could follow through the other NHS services.

A local counsellor in the city has slammed the charges quoted as saying they were “disgraceful” and “…flies in the face of the basic NHS values of healthcare being provided free at the point of use”

The city’s cabinet member for health, care and independent living has also stated she is “very concerned” about the charges.
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Pleural plaques are a form of scarring of the lungs. Pleural plaques do not usually cause any symptoms but they are an indication of previous exposure to asbestos. People with pleural plaques often become anxious, understandably so, that they will develop a fatal asbestos related disease such as mesothelioma.

In 2006 the law changed in relation to pleural plaques. The Court of Appeal ruled that people who suffer from the asbestos related condition would no longer be entitled to recover compensation.

If you have pleural plaques you are at an increased risk of developing other asbestos related illnesses such as asbestosis and mesothelioma. While the ruling of the Court of Appeal still stands, people who are suffering from pleural plaques may not be entitled to recover compensation.
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The issue of road traffic accident claims has hit the news again this week with reports that there has been a fall of 11% in road traffic accident Claims but yet an 18% increase in personal injury claims arising from a road traffic accident.

It has been suggested that the reason for the decrease in road traffic accidents in the reduction in people using their vehicles as transport due to the high increase in petrol.  However the reason for the increase of claims has resulted in blame on the Solicitors who deal with ‘no win no fee’ claims.

The suggestion that Solicitors are to blame has gone so far that Mr Ken Clarke, Justice Secretary, is proposing that success fees for solicitors are abolished. A success fee is a simple as its name – if a Solicitor is successful in the claim the Defendant has to pay a fee to the Solicitors for their success of the claim. This is designed to take the weight of losses from claims that do not win and have to be ceased on a No Win, No Fee basis for the client.
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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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Most people falsely believe that the reason our car insurance is rising so rapidly is as a result of personal injury claims for compensation. We’ve been telling people for years that there are deeper, darker secrets in the insurance world that are truly responsible for the huge increases we have seen over the last few years.

We were delighted when former Justice Secretary Mr Jack Straw brought the insurance companies ‘dirty little secret’ to light about referral fees as the real reason why our premiums were constantly on the rise; and even more delighted that the papers were passed through parliament and we are set to see referral fees banned sometime next April.  Now we have another factor brought to light – again, something we have been fully aware of for a long, long time.

The Background of Referral Fees
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Whiplash Compensation in the News

Personal injury is often in the press; whiplash even more so. Sadly, the majority of what people hear about is nothing but bad news and the insurers’ side of the story. We have covered probably most current affairs issues surrounding whiplash and personal injury, and we will continue to defend the innocent victims of whiplash who genuinely suffer pain and incur loss until our dying breaths!

Once again whiplash is in the news as the government are announcing plans to cut car whiplash claims. It’s all very well making a good effort to cut out the fraudulent claims – we agree with that – but stating the plans to “cut car whiplash claims” is a careless statement.
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