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.
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The amount of compensation you are entitled to receive is all about the severity of the injury, the affect it has on your everyday life, and how long you will be suffering for. On top of that, there are losses and expenses to consider – like lost earnings from time off work, medical expenses, treatment fees, etc.

This all takes medical evidence and collating your individual losses. It can end up being a great deal of work. So when people ask us the question “how much can I claim for – just give me a ballpark figure – I won’t hold you to it!” it’s not as easy as it sounds. For straightforward injuries we can perhaps give you averages and statistics, but it still maybe nowhere near the figure you’re actually entitled to receive.
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We take on a lot of work accident claims, and a lot of them relate to workers injured on the back of the lorry they are either driving or working from. I’ll give you a few examples and explain a little about how the law works when it comes to who is at fault and how to make a claim for personal injury compensation.

First and foremost, a lorry is classed as work equipment – and under the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations, your employer has a specific duty to inspect and maintain all work equipment to make sure no one comes to harm when using it. As it so happens, there are also some strict liability regulations that mean that if you are injured due to defective work equipment, you may have a very strong case. Say for example the shutters break and fall on you because a catch is broken, or they get stuck as you’re pushing them and cause you to badly jerk your back. Even if there was no way your employer could have stopped this from happening, you may still have a very good claim.
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If you sustained injury at work and it was not your fault, you may be eligible to claim for compensation as your employer is under a duty to keep you safe and free from harm.

Obviously there are a number of measures that should be taken to ensure that you are not injured at work. Employers should make sure that the working environment is as safe as possible – this could be done by reducing the risks.

In an office environment a potential tripping risk may exist, such as by tripping over bags, boxes, wires etc. The employer should put processes/procedures in place to reduce the risk – such as a policy that bags must be kept fully under desks where they do not pose a tripping hazard.
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This is a fairly common question that is asked of our expert claims team here at The Injury Lawyers. The answer is no; you don’t HAVE to go to hospital if you don’t need to.

It is highly recommended that you see some form of medical expert. You don’t have to go to hospital if you can see your GP for an appointment instead. As long as you have some form of medical attention which leads to your medical records being updated with information about the injuries you have sustained and how they were caused, you should be fine.

The reason you need medical attention is that we will later value your claim for compensation based on medical evidence from a report we will obtain from a suitable expert. It is a great help to the expert to see your medical records to show that you sought help after sustaining the injuries. They can use this as part of the report.
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People often have the misconception that claiming for compensation requires you to be seriously injured, or at least in a position where something is broken and a hospital was needed for treatment. This is not the case – and I’m not talking about injuries that are far worse, like amputations or brain damage; I’m talking about sprains, bruising, and other injuries under the scope of soft tissue damage or lacerations.

The answer is simple – no you don’t have to have broken something, and you can claim for what we would class as minor injuries. There are two potential roads to go down – firstly, if your injury lasts more than four to six weeks, it should be worth at least £1,000. As long as it is worth at least this much, we can make a compensation claim as we are entitled to recover our legal fees from the other side. If it’s worth less than that, you can still claim but the case would likely fall within the realms of the Small Claims Track. For this, a solicitor cannot normally recover fees so you might have to go it alone in a small claims court.
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At The Injury Lawyers we deal solely with personal injury claims. You can normally only make a personal injury claim if you have sustained an injury and it was not your fault. Therefore if your employer did not give you protective equipment, such as gloves or a hard hat, and as a result you have sustained an injury, then you may be able to claim compensation. However a failure to provide gloves in itself would not give rise to a successful claim. You can only claim if you have been injured as a result.

Depending on the nature of your job, gloves could be a form of personal protective equipment (PPE). PPE is designed to protect workers from harm or reduce the risk of injury occurring. Gloves could protect you from vibration, dangerous chemicals, sharp objects, or abrasions from rough materials for example. If you were not given gloves at work and you regularly used vibratory tools, you may develop injury as a result (such as vibration white finger). So if the failure to provide gloves causes or contributes to an injury, then it is likely that you do have a claim against your employer.
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Normally you will end up suffering with whiplash after a road traffic accident; unless it was serious and caused you multiple bodily injuries. For the purpose of this article I’m going to stick with whiplash.

Some people are lucky and their whiplash symptoms will completely resolve after a few days. For others, you could be suffering for weeks, months, or even years. There is no miracle cure for whiplash – the pain and symptoms can be managed with pain killers and anti-inflammatory medication, but sometimes it takes more than just a few pills to recover from this sort of injury. That’s where we come in!

We offer the whole package for a whiplash claim – we will settle your claim for the highest amount, and we will deal with your vehicle hire and repair needs, and private medical care as well. We can arrange private treatment to help you recover from your injuries at a much faster rate. This is great for you for two reasons – first you get to recover quicker, and secondly you kind of have to take treatment if it’s needed or offered as you have a duty to mitigate your losses. That means you must do all you can to recover as quickly as you can rather than just suffering on and on needlessly.
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Here at The Injury Lawyers we deal solely with personal injury claims – we are therefore experts in the personal injury field. If you are wondering whether you have to be off work to make a claim for compensation, put simply, the answer is no. If you are injured in an accident that was not your fault, you could be eligible to claim compensation. It does not matter whether or not you took time off work.

It could be that your injuries did not affect your work and therefore you may have been able to continue in your employment. With minor injuries, for example minor whiplash injuries, people may not have to take any time off work. Whether or not you do need to take time off work will depend on the nature and severity of your injuries and also the nature of the job that you do. If you do heavy manual work then you may be less able to fulfil your duties. However before taking time off speak to your employer as they may be able to offer you an alternative role while you get better. This is often referred to as “light duties”. You may be able to work but you may not be able to do anything heavy.
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If you have sustained an injury at work, such as by tripping over boxes, you may be entitled to recover compensation. Many employees are reluctant to pursue a claim against their employer for fear of losing their job or fear that it will make life at work more difficult. This is certainly understandable and ultimately it is always your choice whether or not you would like to make a claim. It is your right to claim if you have sustained injury at work and it was not your fault. Whether or not you exercise that right is a decision only you can make.

Trips at work can happen anytime, whether it is tripping over bags on the floor, boxes or cables etc. Most working environments have some kind of equipment that could potentially cause a tripping hazard. There should be procedures in place to keep employees reasonably safe and free from harm. Bags and boxes should not be left in areas where they pose a tripping hazard. These kinds of hazards can often be avoided by adopting simple but effective measures such as keeping bags under desks. Not all trips will lead to injuries and it may just be a case of embarrassment. However if you have sustained injury, you may be eligible to make a work injury claim for compensation.
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