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Well there are two notable things to point out here; firstly, as it’s an injury at work, if it was caused through no fault of your own then it is likely you have a good chance of succeeding with a claim. The reason for this is that there are numerous health and safety rules and regulations that employers must abide by, and if we can prove that they have breached at least one of them, making a successful claim is a possibility.

The other thing to point out is that it’s nigh impossible to value a claim for personal injury accurately without proper medical evidence and a fully qualified personal injury lawyer, like us, to value the claim. Other than that, the other thing to note on the topic of the injury and its potentially worth is that ligament injuries to the knee is a very broad term.

Basically, the more you suffer and the longer you suffer the more compensation we get for you. If you are suffering for 9 months, you will likely receive more compensation than if you were suffering for just one month. If you have ruptured multiple ligaments in your knee, requiring you to have reconstructive surgery, months on crutches non weight baring, and a heavy stint of physiotherapy, you will likely get more compensation than if you have just strained ligaments in the knee that required you to hobble, albeit painfully, for a few weeks with the hope of a full recovery in a couple of months.
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Accidents at work can be extremely serious- especially if you work with dangerous equipment. Injuries can be extremely debilitating and can even affect future employment opportunities. Although many people know they are entitled to compensation and may be in desperate need of it to cover loss of earnings, medical expenses and other such losses, many are hesitant to claim against their employer.

However, employers know that, unfortunately, accidents are a part of life and although all steps can be taken to avoid them, it is sometimes unrealistic to think that one is never going to happen. For this reason, employers are obliged to have Employer’s Liability Insurance under The Employers’ Liability (Compulsory Insurance) Act 1969 and they can be fined if they are not found to have a valid policy in place – (this is different to Public Liability Insurance which is sometimes optional).

This ensures that, if an employee is injured in the workplace, the employer will be able to meet the claim for compensation should they be eligible to make one. Usually, this means that the claim is between us and their insurance – for example the majority of the time the employer will receive the letter of claim (this is the first letter that is sent from us detailing the claim) and pass it straight across to the insurance and then it is them that we will correspond with- not your actual employer.
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Had an accident and suffered an injury through no fault of your own? Here’s a quick step by step guide as to what you need to do to make sure you have the best chance at making a successful claim for compensation.

Do you have a claim?

If you have been injured through no fault of your own, you might have a claim for compensation if there is someone else, or some company, responsible for what has happened to you. Give us a call on our free claims helpline on 0800 634 75 75 and we can usually assess your claim in minutes of the call starting.
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Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) is caused by compression of the median nerve which goes through the carpal tunnel in the wrist. Sufferers are likely to experience tingling, numbness and pain in their hands.

Other less specific symptoms can include loss of grip strength which is more characteristic of arthritis. The National Centre for Biotechnology Information say that the most common cause of CTS is typing, but there are other causes. It is strongly believed that genetics are a factor.

People who suffer from CTS may note that the tingling and numbness in their hands often occurs at night. Sleeping positions such as sleeping on your side may be an associated factor. Some sufferers note that the pain caused disturbed sleep.
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Industrial deafness is a form of industrial disease. If you are suffering from industrial deafness then you may be entitled to make a claim for compensation.

Noise in the workplace is a significant hazard. Historically employers were not aware of the dangers of noise exposure. This led to a cut off date in terms of bringing a claim for industrial deafness. The Courts have ruled that you cannot bring a claim for compensation for industrial deafness where the exposure to noise occurred solely before 1963. Where exposure occurred partly before 1963 and partly after 1963 then may be entitled to bring a claim, however any damages would have to be apportioned accordingly.

To give an example of this consider that Joe Bloggs was exposed to noise between 1960 and 1966. The first period (i.e. between 1960 and 1963) would be classed as non negligent exposure and therefore Joe Bloggs will probably not be able to recover compensation for exposure to noise during this period.
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Health and safety is of course vitally important. But it is also incredibly frustrating at times as well. We can all see that health and safety rules are necessary, such as in the workplace or at certain attractions (such as theme parks etc).

However health and safety rules sometimes seem ridiculous and this had lead to numerous people commenting that we are a society that has gone “health and safety mad”. When you contrast the workers of previous decades to the workers of today, you can see how things have changed. Obviously a lot of changes such as having protective clothing, hearing protection, hard hats etc have been welcomed and rightly so.

Health and safety rules have recently surfaced in the press again. In fact the BBC published an article on the 10^th September 2012 regarding ministers’ plans to exempt thousands of businesses from health and safety inspections.
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If you are suffering from Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS) caused by your employment then you may be entitled to make a compensation claim. Note that HAVS is also commonly referred to as Vibration White Finger (VWF).

VWF can be caused by excessive exposure to the use of vibratory tools. The symptoms of VWF differ depending on the severity of the condition. Some symptoms can be quite severe, such as loss of grip strength, resulting in sufferers being unable to hold a cup for example. Sufferers also experience increased difficulty with cold weather including whiteness of the fingertips.
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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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We all reply upon equipment to do our jobs; some more than others, depending on the type of work you do. One thing I can confidently say from personal perspective is that I personally cannot stand most equipment! We rely upon it to do our jobs, and then it never works right and always breaks! Yes computers – I’m looking at you!

I won’t pretend to know too much about computers, but what I do know is they love to crash, break, and cause an absolute nuisance to us guys who rely upon them! Although I must admit I’m currently sat at a colleagues desk with a huge chip on my shoulder, writing this blog because our server is having serious issues and it’s fallen upon my personal computer as the one that our techie server guys are using to try and resolve the problems.

But back to the point of work equipment claims – when I’m talking about compensation claims, I’m talking more about people being injured as a result of faulty or inappropriate work equipment; not the stress caused when your networks and servers go haywire! In many industries, work equipment can be very dangerous indeed; with exposed machinery, cutting tools, extremely hot heating machines, etc.
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The Workplace (Health, Safety and Welfare) Regulations govern the standards required by all workplaces to ensure optimum health and safety in the workplace. Accidents at work are unfortunately more common than people think! They can occur in a variety of ways, depending on the type of work someone does and the area which they are based in. This article will mainly focus on office spaces.

Under the regulations a workplace is defined as “any premises or part of premises which are not domestic premises are made available to any person as a place of work“. The regulations also cover the means of getting to and from the designated area, for example: rooms, lobbies corridors and staircases.
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