We deal with all types of personal injury claims including accidents at work. If you have slipped down stairs at work, sustaining injury as a result, then you may be able to claim compensation. People are often reluctant to pursue a claim against their employer and while this is certainly understandable, if you have sustained injury through an accident which was not your fault, it is your right to claim compensation. It is also important to note that the general rule is that you must issue Court Proceedings on a claim or settle the case within 3 years of the date of the accident. Therefore it is better to make a claim sooner rather than later!

There are many regulations in place which employers should comply with.

Employers are under a duty to keep employees safe and free from harm during the course of their employment. If you slipped down stairs at work then initially we would look at what caused you to slip. Did you slip because the floor was left wet? Did you slip or fall because there was a defect with the stairs? Did you slip because you were carrying something which impeded your view of the stairs? There are many possibilities but if one of the above happened then it is likely that you do have a claim against your employer.
Read More

Manual handling is important to get right. Getting it wrong can result in serious injuries; so it’s key for employers to make sure that they deal with manual handling activities in the correct way.

The two key things are training and risk assessments. Anyone, no matter what industry or working environment you are in, must have manual handling training if manual handling tasks are encompassed in their role. This training is not just a one off thing; there must be ongoing training to ensure that people receive refreshed training on a continual basis.

The second key thing is risk assessing a task. An employer should fully risk assess a manual handling activity to look at things such as:
Read More

If you know the basic rules of the road, you should know that when you are emerging from a parked position, you need to make sure that the road is clear in both directions so that you don’t pull out on anybody. That means checking your blind spots as well as your mirrors with a good gaze over your shoulder, and looking ahead to make sure the entire road is clear.

So what happens if you are happily driving along and another driver ignorantly pulls out of a parked position and collides with your car? In theory you have a fairly straightforward claim for compensation. The damage areas to your car should show that your version of events is correct, and it’s always wise to whip out your smart phone and take some snaps at the scene of the accident, and call the police if necessary. If there are any witnesses to the accident, please make sure you take their information.
Read More

Normally it can be fairly easy to tell who is at fault in a straightforward road traffic accident. However, in some cases like accidents on a roundabout or a head on collision, the damage areas on both vehicles may not clearly show who is to blame. I’d like to think people would be honest and admit if they were at fault, but we all know we don’t live in an ideal world. As such, you can end up in a situation where the other driver won’t admit liability for the accident even though they were at fault.

There are commonly two scenarios when this kind of thing happens. The first is that you instruct a quality personal injury lawyer like us to fight for your claim for compensation. As specialists in personal injury claiming, we can instruct experts and obtain all sorts of evidence to help prove your case. Make the claim as quickly as you can as there may even be CCTV covering the surrounding area that we can obtain. However, most places get rid of footage after a mere few weeks so we need to secure it as quickly as possible.
Read More

This is probably more relevant for anyone working in a warehouse, an industrial site, and even those who work in offices (if boxes of files are being moved for archiving or something similar). Workplace regulations are numerous, and they’re there to protect employees from being injured in the line of duty.

When it comes to boxes, if these need to be stacked, then your employer is responsible to risk assess the process to make sure that any stacked boxes are done in a way that is safe to ensure they don’t fall over or cause anyone harm.

This ranges from what sorts of boxes can be stacked atop another, given weights and sizes, to where boxes should be stacked, and how high to ensure a stack is stable. At the same time, employees must be instructed in the correct procedure for stacking boxes safely.
Read More

Care and assistance is something that many people do not consider to be a thing they can recover when claiming for compensation. Of course, when you are injured, everyday tasks such as shopping, cleaning and washing can become an extremely difficult task which you now require help with to complete.

This help can be obtained professionally, but it can also include help from friends and family. Unbeknown to many, help from your nearest and dearest can be recovered – but how does this work?

After the case has got moving and you are happy to proceed, you will receive something called a “Client Care Questionnaire” which is simply a form which is broken down into the common activities such as the above and you are required to estimate how long you have received help doing these things. Please bear in mind that these estimations do have to be “reasonable” and therefore it is important that you are honest when completing this form as the court does not look to kindly on people “over exaggerating” their claim!
Read More

Most crossings are governed by the Zebra, Pelican and Puffin Crossing Regulations and General Directions 1997. This piece of legislation isn’t particularly “well known” however it contains important provisions if you do have an accident that occurs on one of the included crossings.

In this blog I will focus upon zebra crossings as these are usually more prone to accidents as they are not regulated by traffic lights but just the “zebra markings” on the floor and commonly the yellow beacons.

Whilst pedestrian crossings are clearly an appropriate place for pedestrians to cross, they do not provide an absolute right of way for a pedestrian. Therefore as expressed in the Highway Code it is imperative that pedestrians still take vigilant steps to ensure the area if safe prior to stepping out. Therefore there is some responsibility on the pedestrian to judge whether a speeding car is going to stop at the crossing. However, in these types of claims a number of factors can affect where blame is held to lie.
Read More

It’s so common nowadays for people to end up injured in a supermarket. With so many things all under one roof that items can be knocked over and cause an obvious slipping or tripping hazards from stock falling on the floor – it’s a constant problem.

Ultimately, all this leads to supermarkets being pretty dangerous places. As much as you can look out for your own wellbeing by keeping an eye out for hazards on the floors, there are certain things like water or oil that aren’t easy to spot; and when you’re distracted by the bargain prices, the last thing you are doing is watching where you’re walking. As a result, the Occupiers Liability Act is a pretty important piece of legislation for supermarkets to uphold.

By law, whoever is responsible or in charge of a premises has a duty to do all they reasonably can to ensure people are not injured. Whether you have a claim or not is not so much down to the individual circumstances. Many people are unfortunately under the illusion that if you slip or trip in a supermarket due to an item being on the floor, or a slipping hazard that isn’t cordoned off or doesn’t have signs in the area, you have a claim. This is not the case at all I’m afraid.
Read More

In today’s current economic climate, it isn’t easy to find a new job. When you do get a new job, you want to make sure you make a fantastic impression and go the extra mile so you pass the probationary period and settle in to a new career. But as with anything in life, things don’t always go the way you plan them.

Having an accident at work can be stressful enough – having one in a new job can be even worse. The thing is, your wellbeing is the responsibility of your employer, so when you start a new job, it’s your employers responsibility to make sure that you are quickly trained in all things health and safety, and that you are trained in how to use equipment and do your job without ending up injured.

Firms should have a health and safety induction. It’s not the most thrilling thing in the world to read through pages and pages of information that ranges from important manual handling training to how to wash your hands properly; but it has to be done. But what I want to focus on more, in this blog post, is starting a new job where there is a very real risk of being injured quite easily.
Read More

Whiplash is one of the most common injuries sustained in many types of accidents; primarily road traffic ones. It is something that is quoted numerous times in the media and unfortunately has got itself a bad reputation. However, whiplash can be a very debilitating injury, one which can stop people from working and living their everyday lives.

Many people who suffer from whiplash often state that at the time of the accident they felt fine and then a few days later they are experience pain in their neck, shoulders and sometimes the back. Unfortunately this is very familiar to us here at the Injury Lawyers as whiplash is one of them injuries that get worse before it gets better. Now I am not a medical expert, but I imagine that the reason many people do not realise the full extent of their injuries is because of the adrenalin that gets released whenever a sudden shock (and being hit by another car is definitely one of these!) takes place.
Read More