Archives

It cannot be surprising to learn that many personal injury claims are brought as a result of Road Traffic Accidents (RTA’s), especially when you think how many cars there are on the roads and how congested our traffic is nowadays. Due to the fact that there are so many claims brought about as the result of RTA’s it is necessary to have proper measures in place to deal with them in the right way when it comes to people making claims for personal injury compensation.

This is where the “Pre-Action Protocol for Low Value Personal Injury Claims in Road Traffic Accidents” comes in – but what is this?

Protocols and procedures are all very legalistic ways of saying that there are rules in place that say how something should be done. The Protocol sets out time-frames and deadlines for certain steps of the claim to be completed which apply to both Claimant’s and Defendant’s.
Read More

There are certain places where road accidents commonly occur. The more common ones are roundabouts, from side roads, car parks, and petrol station forecourts / garages. For this article, as the title suggests, I’m going to focus on claims on a petrol station forecourt involving cars.

You fill up your car with overpriced petrol, wincing at the price that comes up on the screen at the pump, and then begrudgingly make your way to the kiosk to tear a huge hole in to your pocket given the high price you have to pay to keep your car on the road. This naturally means you’re likely going to walk across a petrol station forecourt – which of course is full of cars moving around after they’ve finished filling up and paying. Right there is one of the primary reasons you can be injured on the forecourt; because there are generally no designated traffic routes around.
Read More

Many people rely on public transport to get around and the most common kind of public transport is the bus networks. Most of us live within close proximity to bus stops unless you live in a rural area. If you get on a bus and sustain injury, whether that injury be caused by defective items on the bus or by the driver’s negligence, then you may be entitled to make a claim for compensation.

Ultimately it is the responsibility of the bus company to keep passengers safe and free from harm. A bus company is liable for the acts of its employees acting in the course of their employment. Therefore if a bus driver is negligent and causes an injury, a claim can be brought against the bus company.

If you sustain injury on a bus as a result of a broken chair, then chances are you are entitled to recover compensation. It is the responsibility of the owner of the bus (the bus company) to ensure that the bus is reasonably safe. Any defect on the bus should be rectified to prevent injury from occurring. If there is a defect on a bus then the defect should be rectified before the bus is put into service. You’d normally expect a bus to be inspected at least once  day.
Read More

Over the last couple of weeks we have seen adverse weather conditions all over the UK with snow turning into rain resulting in more flooding which the majority of us experienced before Christmas.

As a road user you may have noticed the affect of the weather on the road conditions. With extreme weather conditions the road surface becomes damaged and potholes start to appear.

The issue of potholes is a problem for both vehicle users and pedestrians and whether you drive over a pothole and it causes damage to your vehicle and potential whiplash, or whether as a pedestrian you trip and fall.

Under the section 41A Highways Act 1980 the highways authorities are under a duty to maintain the highways at a public expense and to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that safe passage along a highway is not endangered by snow or ice.
Read More

I would say that 95% of the accident claims we see which involve a roundabout are caused by people who are in the wrong lane or are changing lanes. The Highway Code stipulates that you should take note and act on all the information available to you when approaching a roundabout. This includes traffic signs, traffic lights and lane markings which direct you into the correct lane. Therefore you should be checking the lane markings and signage to ensure you are positioned correctly for your exit.

Motorists which stay in the left hand lane and proceed all the way round the island in this lane until they reach the exit travel across roundabout exits – which other vehicles are attempting to exit at that point in the correct lane. Liability unfortunately is not always clear cut as often the parties involved will argue that they were positioned correctly on the roundabout.
Read More

The duty of a bus driver to their passengers is the same as any other driver to their passengers – they have a responsibility to ensure that passengers are not injured due to any negligence on their behalf.

The most common accidents on buses are caused by the driver performing an emergency stop or braking harshly. Passengers are generally thrown around on the bus as a result of this and this can cause personal injury.

However this does not necessarily mean there is fault with the driver of the bus. An emergency stop is just that, stopping due to an emergency.

In the case of Wooler v London Transport Board the claimant was injured when the bus driver performed an emergency stop when the lorry in front stopped due to a pedestrian stepping out into the road. It was eventually held that the bus driver was not at fault for the claimant’s injuries as the bus was obviously following the lorry at a safe distance as it managed to stop without colliding with it.
Read More

You normally think that you’re pretty safe as a pedestrian walking along the pavement. After all, the pavement is the designated route for you to safely navigate around. We all know that crossing roads can be dangerous, so aside from the occasional cyclist who chooses to ignore the rules of the road and cycle on the pavement, most of us expect to walk along pavements trouble free.

However, even on a pavement there are dangers of being hit by a car. The most common circumstance is when you’re walking past a driveway or an entranceway to premises. You can normally spot them as the curb will drop down to allow vehicles to pass freely along the section of the pavement.

The Highway Code puts a duty on both road users to take extra care and look out for pedestrians, and equally for pedestrians to be aware of road users. As a pedestrian, you should treat the driveway or entrance as you would any junction or crossing. Look both ways and only cross when it is safe to do so. This is the best course of action to take for the sake of your own health and safety.
Read More

The most common road traffic accident claims we deal with here at The Injury Lawyers is when a vehicle has been hit in the rear by another vehicle.

A vehicle is often stationary or slowing down when the driver behind fails to react to this and just drives straight into the rear of your vehicle. Fault for this type of accident is pretty straight forward – after all, you do not have control of the vehicle behind do you?

The Highway Code says that a driver must “Drive at a speed which will allow you to stop well within the distance you can see to be clear: You should leave enough space between you and the vehicle in front so that you can pull up safely if it suddenly slows down and stops.”

This is simple and pretty self explanatory and to be honest – common sense – so why do we have so many rear end shunt traffic accidents such as this?
Read More

Accidents on roundabouts are one of the most common types of accidents we deal with here at The Injury Lawyers. A frequent cause of many roundabout accidents is when a motorist is in the wrong lane for their exit and position themselves incorrectly when travelling around the roundabout.

The Highway Code’s rules on roundabouts stipulates that you should take note and act on all the information available to you, when approaching a roundabout. This includes traffic signs, traffic lights and lane markings which direct you into the correct lane. You should be checking the lane markings and signage to ensure you are positioned correctly for your exit.
Read More

It is understandable that when you have been involved in a car accident the first thing on your mind is not to write down the car registration plate of the other car. We simply put our trust in that person doing the right thing and exchanging details with you.

However, unfortunately in this world some people do not always do the right thing and therefore on some occasions the other person may simply drive away from the scene before you’ve even had chance to process what has actually happened.

Fortunately in the UK there is an organisation called the Motor Insurance Bureau which enables people to pursue a traffic accident injury claim even without the details of the other car. The organisation is funded by all the insurance companies in the country and deals with around 50,000 claims every year!
Read More