Building and construction sites by nature can be very dangerous places, with building sites remaining one of the most high risk areas for injuries and fatalities in the workplace. According to HSE, building sites account for 22% of all fatalities within the work place, with construction being the biggest sector for fatalities and major injuries at work.

Common Causes of accidents on building sites:

• Struck by falling tools or materials
• Falls from heights such as scaffolding or ladders
• Ladder accidents
• Slip, Trips and Falls
• Crushing injuries caused by machinery
• Injuries sustained through lack of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)
• Employees not being properly trained on how to use equipment, or properly trained in the correct procedure for work on a building site

Read More

Overreaching can cause tension and stress to the muscles in your back which is often agonising. The Working at Height Regulations provides standards for employers and employees to meet to ensure that they don’t overreach and cause an injury.

Where overreaching occurs

Overreaching is common when working on ladders as you can reach for something too far away. This causes stress and tension to the back muscles which can cause lasting damage. It can also occur on scaffolding or other moving platforms. If a user overreaches, he or she can fall and subsequently sustain more injuries than was necessary.
Read More

Back strains are common where heavy lifting is part of your job. It is important that you take care of your back but equally important that you employer takes necessary steps too.

Common problems

It is not only what is carried which can cause injuries but the way in which something is carried. Twisting and bending to pick up or poor posture when carrying objects can strain your back and damage muscles or plates.

Duties of Employers

Where it is reasonably practicable, employers should avoid the need for their employees to undertake manual handling where it can cause them injury. Where it is not reasonably practicable, they must make a suitable and adequate assessment of all of the manual handling operations, take steps to reduce the risk of injury to the lowest level possible and take steps to provide information to employees of the precise weight and the heaviest side of any load where the centre of gravity is not in the middle.
Read More

There will be approximately 1.76 million cruises taken by Brits in 2013. If you are or have been one of the lucky 1.76 million, then make sure you know the cruise ship companies owe you a duty of care. Accidents can happen anywhere, and cruise ships are no exception.

The different types of injuries or accidents!

There can be many different types of injuries or illnesses occurring on a cruise ship. This can include slips, trips, food poisoning or contagious diseases. Slips can occur as adverse weather can cause sea water to spray on deck or substances left unattended inside the ship can cause you to slip. Trips can occur on cruise ships as much as on land so anything left sticking out or unnoticed which has caused you to trip may mean that the cruise company has broken their duty towards you.
Read More

When fridges and freezers leak in a supermarket the residue can cause people to slip on the smooth floors. If you have slipped in a supermarket, the Occupiers’ Liability Act 1957 places a duty upon the supermarkets, as occupiers, to not cause you harm.

What duty does the supermarket owe?

The supermarket owes the common duty of care to anyone who enters the premises unless they restrict this. This means that the customer who enters the store will be reasonably safe to do the shopping. In addition to this, supermarkets must be aware that children are likely to be less careful than adults.
Read More

Package tours are a common and sometimes cheaper alternative of booking a flight, hotel and other services in an all in one ‘package’. On occasion, accidents occur on package tours and even though it may have happened in a different country, you may still have a claim within the English and Welsh courts under the Package Tour Regulations.

What the law considers a package tour!

The law considers a package tour to be one where there has been a combination of transport, accommodation or other services which account for a sizeable portion of the package. The package tour must have lasted for a period exceeding 24 hours, or alternatively included overnight stay. It must have been pre-arranged and have been a price which included the transport, hotel etc. It includes business or educational trips and can apply even if you have used different flight and accommodation companies, as long as they have been put together into a ‘package’ by one person or company.
Read More

If you are shopping around for the perfect lawyer to represent you for your claim for personal injury compensation, you may fall within one of the following common categories

1. You have yet to speak to anyone and you are unaware of the recent legal reforms that have left lawyers charging clients for making a claim.
2. You have spoken to a few firms and found they will all deduct 25% from your payout and perhaps even ask you to pay for insurance for your case.
3. You thought you’d found a good lawyer until you got their paperwork and discovered they had neglected to inform you they are taking 25% of your payout and asking for insurance payment!

The above is based on what we have found from the thousands of people who contact us. So whether you have found this article by searching for lawyers in general and had no idea about the changes, or whether you are hunting for the “Holy Grail” that is a genuine 100% compensation offer, you can look no further!
Read More

Drivers owe a duty of care to their passengers just as much as they do to other users of the highway – whether this be to other drivers or pedestrians. One of the main things to know is that, as a passenger in a collision, you probably have a guaranteed claim for personal injury compensation.

As a passenger, unless you did something reckless and crazy like distract the driver or pull on the handbrake, the collision was likely out of your control. As such, you’re innocent. Either the driver of the vehicle you are in or another road user was responsible for what has happened, so you can claim of either party depending on who is at fault.
Read More

Whiplash is usually a lot more complicated than most people think. If you have never suffered from it, you probably don’t have much regard for a person making a whiplash claim. But if you have or are suffering from it, you’ll know it is a real injury and it can be an absolute pain. I’ve had it myself.

So if you want to make a whiplash personal injury compensation claim, how much should you receive? Is it worth making a whiplash claim?
Read More

Slipping accidents are very common in everyday life. We come across slipping accidents in supermarkets/shops as well as slipping accidents in the workplace all the time. If you have slipped and sustained injury and it was not your fault, you may well be entitled to claim compensation.

This type of accident would come under something known as occupier’s liability (if it happened in a supermarket or shop for example). Basically the occupier of premises is under a duty to keep the premises reasonably safe and to keep people on the premises safe and free from harm. Under occupier’s liability, there is a different level of care depending if the person on the premises is legally there (i.e. a visitor to a supermarket) or if the person is there illegally (i.e. is a trespasser). It is surprising for many but trespassers (that is someone on the premises illegally) are still owed a duty of care. Trespassers may be able to claim if they sustain injury on the premises. However most people will of course be legal visitors, such as when you enter a supermarket or shop to browse or to buy shopping.
Read More