When you’re going about your everyday business, you rarely expect to end up on the floor after tripping over a hazard on the ground! But it does happen. For this article, I’m going to quickly discuss claims for compensation arising from tripping over an object on the ground.

If you go to a shop or a restaurant, or a pub or a club, or any place where you have free public access, there is somebody who is responsible for that premises. That person or company has a duty under the Occupiers Liability Act to make sure that the premises they are in charge or of safe for the public to use. This means that floors should be clear of any hazards.

Those in charge of a premises should have systems of inspection and maintenance to make sure that the floors are free from any objects that could pose a tripping hazard. Obviously in certain places like busy supermarkets, many an item of stock ends up on the ground after being knocked off by kids or falling out of a basket. So the purpose of having systems of inspection in place is for staff to clear away any potential hazards.
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We live in an age where beauty is everything. We’re all concerned about how we look, and most people in modern society today follow the latest trends, fashions, and are out to look as good as they can. It’s no surprise therefore that more and more people are turning to cosmetic surgery to achieve this. It’s a common thing nowadays for people to nip down to their local clinic for a bit of Botox or a tummy tuck.

But it isn’t just the little things we’re doing to ourselves. A huge amount of celebrities have had facelifts, nose jobs, boob jobs, and all sorts. The private clinics are (I imagine) making huge amounts of money from the people who will go to any lengths to look as good as they can. As with most things like this in life, with an increase in private surgery comes the obvious increase in people making personal injury claims for surgery gone wrong!

A classic example is those who choose to have their surgery abroad. Whilst people are happy to pay to look good, we’re still in financial meltdown with the ongoing recession and no signs of recovery. My understanding of cosmetic surgery is that it isn’t exactly cheap to have! So people are often tempted to go abroad where they can get a deal at a lower price. But naturally people need to be careful about this kind of thing, as you have to ask yourself why the surgery is cheaper abroad. How can you be confident that the quality of the surgeon is going to be as good? How can you be confident that the regulations over in foreign countries is as good? Ultimately, you can’t.
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Here we go again! Its snow joke out there; snowmaggeddon has returned; there’s snow way it’s as bad as this; and all the usual jokes and trends on twitter about the weather we’re having at the moment. I remember when I was a kid I was praying for snow to get me off school so I could spend all day sledging and snowball fighting. Now, as a commuter, I hate the stuff!

As well as the obvious delays it can cause, road accidents due to snow are extremely common. All drivers need to adjust the speed and manner in which they drive in to meet the conditions of the road. Snow and ice causes obvious traction issues, so we all need to slow down and take it steady on corners, hills, and country roads.  Sadly, not everyone listens to that.

The point of this article though is to let you know that the weather is not an excuse when it comes to personal injury compensation claims. If you have been injured because another driver has skidded in to the back of you, or veered over from their side of the road, or in any other circumstance because snow and ice on the road has caused them to lose control of their vehicle, they are more than likely liable by law! The at-fault driver cannot use the excuse “I was driving as safely as I could, and I wasn’t speeding; there’s just too much snow and ice and I couldn’t keep control of my car!”
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Personal Protective Equipment (or PPE for short) is essential in many occupations. Any equipment or clothing you need to keep you safe in the workplace is covered by specific regulations relating to the Provision and Use of Work Equipment. Such equipment can range from gloves to prevent contact with irritant chemicals in a kitchen, to hard hats on a building site, or to breathing apparatus for dealing with asbestos.

One example of where PPE is very important is when it comes to knees. A great deal of professions involve getting down to low heights and small spaces; so kneeling on hard floors may be a common thing for you. Plumbers do it to get beneath sinks; carpet fitters do it to lay the carpets; anyone who needs to work at low heights is likely to do the obvious thing and kneel on the floor. But is that safe?

Most people probably don’t consider the damage that can be done to your knees by kneeling down for extended periods of time. By kneeling down and working in crouched positions, trauma can be caused to the knee joint over and over again, which in turn causes injuries like cartilage wear and tear, build up of fluids, or common conditions like beat knee (or carpet layer’s knee, coal miner’s knee, or housemaid’s knee as is it also known as). The trauma that can be caused by repeatedly staying down on your knees on a hard surface can be significant.
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Ear, Nose and Throat Surgery (ENT Surgery) is the study of disorders in relation to the ears, the nose and the throat – rather obviously. This is done by an ENT Surgeon. If you have sustained injury as a result of negligent treatment or care from an ENT Surgeon then you may have a course of action in medical negligence. Although this is relatively uncommon, patients can still receive sub standard care and it could even be that a mistake has been made during surgery. This can lead to often serious injuries and distress for the patient.

Negligence in this area can be from a wide range of sources. Initially negligence could arise from a failure to diagnose a condition. Negligence can also come from sub standard treatment or actual surgical mistakes. For example if you sustained nerve damage as a result of negligence during treatment, you may be able to make a claim. There are other potential injuries such as damage to bones surrounding the eye/skull, permanent loss of smell etc. Clearly with surgery there are certain risks and in this sense clinical negligence cases are more complex. The potential injuries are severe.
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It’s so common for people to want to know how much they might be awarded for making a claim for compensation. The fact is, it’s very hard to tell right from the start of the claim, as it’s all based on medical evidence and losses. So, to help you out, here is a quick guide on the sorts of things we look at when valuing a claim for compensation.

The Injury

You can, of course, claim for the injury. The amount is based on the severity and length of any pain, suffering, and loss of amenity. Generally speaking, the more you suffer the more we get for you. We value the claim based on medical evidence which we obtain from a suitable qualified expert. If you suffer a broken bone, you will normally be seen by an orthopaedic expert. If you sustained a laceration or a burn, you would commonly see a plastic surgeon.
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We get a lot of enquires from people who have been injured in an accident on a bus. Whether you have a claim or not can commonly come down to one simple question: was there a collision?

If there was a collision with another vehicle, you should have an excellent claim. The reason is because the fault should lie between either or both of the parties involved. Vehicles don’t just crash in to each other for no reason… not normally anyway. As such, someone, or both drivers, are at fault.

What if the collision was with a building, or a lamppost or other object? Well if the bus driver is at fault, you have a good chance of making a claim against the bus company. Essentially, as long as someone is at fault, and there is viable insurance to potentially claim from, we should be able to pursue a claim for you.
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Supermarkets can be like obstacle courses sometimes – what with cages, boxes and staff everywhere you turn! So what happens if one of these obstacles unfortunately causes you to have a nasty fall and consequently injure yourself? The answer – you are entitled to claim for compensation!

I am not going to pretend that these are the easiest cases we deal with here at The Injury Lawyers, as that simply would not be true. These cases come under something called the Occupier’s liability Act which means that the occupier of any premises has to ensure that the area is safe for lawful visitors. Leaving boxes hanging around in the aisles certainly does not appear to adhere to this principle.
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When it comes to personal injury claiming, we are the experts! As an actual law firm dealing with claims (not some claims management company passing you over to the highest bidding lawyer!) our expertise in whiplash claims spans over decades. Whiplash is the most common injury involved in a road accident, and when it comes to road accidents, they’re usually fairly straightforward when it comes to proving who is at fault. Most people can normally work out right at the start that they definitely have a claim, but they’re not sure how much they can claim for.

Given that, our busy new claims team are often asked the question “how much is my whiplash claim worth?” Now, it’s important to understand that this isn’t something anyone can just easily answer. Each claim is different and is assessed on its own merits – so we can’t just say to you “Oh, that’ll be worth £3,000 mate!” Then comes the next question, “Well, just give me a ball park figure or an average – I won’t hold you to it!” The last bit usually makes me chuckle a little.
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If you are pursuing a personal injury compensation claim then you probably want to know the possible value of your claim (i.e. how much compensation you will receive). You may receive something called a “pre-medical offer” from the Defendant.

A pre-medical offer is simply an offer to settle your claim before you have been examined by a qualified and professional medical expert. It’s important to note that the Defendant is not being nice or amicable by making a pre-medical offer; it’s more than likely they’re only trying to save themselves some money.
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