The most common road traffic accident claims we deal with here at The Injury Lawyers is when a vehicle has been hit in the rear by another vehicle.

A vehicle is often stationary or slowing down when the driver behind fails to react to this and just drives straight into the rear of your vehicle. Fault for this type of accident is pretty straight forward – after all, you do not have control of the vehicle behind do you?

The Highway Code says that a driver must “Drive at a speed which will allow you to stop well within the distance you can see to be clear: You should leave enough space between you and the vehicle in front so that you can pull up safely if it suddenly slows down and stops.”

This is simple and pretty self explanatory and to be honest – common sense – so why do we have so many rear end shunt traffic accidents such as this?
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With personal injury claims you can recover compensation for General Damages for the pain and suffering and you can also recover Special Damages for any losses incurred as a result of the accident.

An example of Special Damage is loss of earnings.

Say for example you sustain injury, whether it be at work or in a road traffic accident, and as a result of your injuries you may have to take time off work and subsequently you may have lost earnings. As part of a Special Damages claim you can try and recover the lost earnings. As with most aspects of Special Damages you should obtain wage slips as you’ll have to prove those earnings lost due to your injury.
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In a personal injury claim you can be given general guidelines as to the likely compensation you are entitled to receive. However, the amount of compensation is accurately calculated upon the receipt of medical evidence in respect of your accident related injuries.

Whiplash is probably one of the easiest to assess – but the specific amount to be placed on your injuries will depend on several aspects.

The Judicial Studies Board, who provide guidelines to your legal representatives, have set out the following in order to help us assess your claim for compensation and the value of it. The assessment of compensation for your injuries will consider the following:

• The seriousness of your injuries and whether you have suffered any broken bones, any disfigurement or any physical or mental impairment
• Whether you are likely to make a full recovery or whether you are likely to suffer any long term affects/side effects.
• Whether you have experienced any loss of earnings/income or are likely to experience any loss of earnings in the future as a result of the accident
• The level of pain you have suffered or are still suffering
• How your day to day living has been affected by the injuries

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Obviously as a firm of specialist injury lawyers, this question is asked of us a lot. Our specialist team is here to make sure that this question can be answered as best as we can answer it. Unfortunately it’s not so easy to judge whether you have a claim or not unless you give us a bell on our free claims helpline (0800 634 75 75) and let us assess your potential claim.

However, what I can tell you is this: if you have been injured and the blame is with someone else, you may have a claim. For example, you are hit by another vehicle who perhaps went in to the back of you, or pulled out of a side road in to your vehicle. If you weren’t at fault and they were, you may have a claim.

If you injure your back at work because your employer hasn’t given you enough assistance with manual handling activities, and hasn’t properly trained you or risk assessed your manual handling tasks, you should be able to make a work accident claim from their insurers. Employers have a legal duty to have employer’s liability insurance in place that covers their employees when they are injured through no fault of their own.
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There are two common types of accidents that can occur with manholes! (1) The manhole cover is completely missing leaving a big hole in the middle of the pavement and (2) the cover is faulty and falls through when weight is put onto it.

In both of these situations you are entitled to claim for compensation, as of course these types of accidents can cause serious injuries!

So how do you go about making a claim? Pursuing a claim for these accidents are usually against the local council or alternatively against a private company (Such as Gas or Electric) and therefore evidence is always going to be helpful at the beginning of the claim to ensure things can run as smoothly and efficiently as possible. When I say evidence I primarily mean photographs. Although, I understand, that this may not be the first thing on your mind after a nasty fall… Photographs are key evidence to prove that the cover was completely missing or faulty.
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Personal Injury Solicitors cover many different types of personal injury claims. One common occurrence is injuries in the supermarket. I don’t think anyone expects to be injured while they’re out doing their shopping but accidents in supermarkets are more common than people think.

There are many dangers in the supermarket. People could sustain injury as a result of items falling off shelves or they could slip on spillages on the floor. Supermarkets can get very busy at peak times and so many shopping trolleys, people and items in the same store can increase the chances of an accident occurring. There are also staff stacking the shelves and pushing large trolleys around the store. Accidents can occur if people collide with shopping trolleys or if people trip over them. There are many potential accidents that can occur in the supermarket. No wonder I avoid shopping at peak times.

The supermarket has a duty to ensure that their premises are reasonably safe. Basic measures can be taken to keep supermarkets as safe as possible such as stacking bulky or heavy items on lower shelves and cleaning up spillages as soon as possible as well as displaying a warning sign.
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Accidents on roundabouts are one of the most common types of accidents we deal with here at The Injury Lawyers. A frequent cause of many roundabout accidents is when a motorist is in the wrong lane for their exit and position themselves incorrectly when travelling around the roundabout.

The Highway Code’s rules on roundabouts stipulates that you should take note and act on all the information available to you, when approaching a roundabout. This includes traffic signs, traffic lights and lane markings which direct you into the correct lane. You should be checking the lane markings and signage to ensure you are positioned correctly for your exit.
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This is a common question but unfortunately it does not have a set answer. Of course, there are certain time frames in place to ensure your claim is kept moving and dealt with; however establishing a time frame for the overall settlement is simply not possible.

The main reason for this is that every case is different! Every accident has different circumstances (although many with the “standard issues”) and consequently different people suffer differently. Compensation is based on the severity and longevity of your injury and therefore some claims will inevitably take longer if you are suffering from a serious injury.

The two main protocols in place for claims where we would be pursuing an insurer is either under the Road Traffic Accident Protocol (as it says on the tin- for road traffic accidents, or RTAP) and the Personal Injury Protocol (PI). The latter is the one followed for accidents at work, whiplash injury claims and other slip and trip accidents.
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Most people want to know how long a claim will take, but in reality any time frame you are given is simply an estimate based on averages. For example a solicitor may say that a typical road traffic accident claim could settle within 6 to 12 months. However, this cannot be relied upon as a guaranteed fact.

The truth is that solicitors cannot say with any great certainty how long a claim will take.
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Children are extremely curious – coupled with their lack of fear, often end up with bumps and bruises. Sometimes, however, children can be involved in accidents that are a lot more serious.

Accidents can happen anywhere, from in the school playground to being a passenger in a vehicle.

If your child has been injured in an accident through no fault of their own, it may be possible for you to make a children’s compensation claim on their behalf.

You can make a claim for your child up until they reach the age of 18. They will then have three years from the date of their 18th birthday to make a claim themselves if not already done so by a parent or guardian. A parent or guardian making a claim before then is called the litigation friend. The Litigation friend must be independent and therefore if the parent was to blame for the accident, they cannot act as the litigation friend. a grandparent or close friend can always act on their behalf instead.
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