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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When pursuing a claim for personal injury the process can seem like a daunting one to undertake – however, when claiming for compensation there are certain time frames that the defendant must adhere to which can make the process a little more speedy and hassle free.

Pre action protocols were recommended by Lord Woolf in his final Access to Justice Report of July 1996 to build on and increase the benefits of early but well informed settlement. Having a specific protocol in place has many benefits for your claim including:

1. Better and earlier exchange of information between the parties
2. It enables claims to be settled easily and fairly, often  avoiding the need for litigation
3. Promotion of the provision of medical and rehabilitation treatment for the injured party
4. Standardisation of how claims are run across the board

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Well this has probably happened to most of us – we get on a bus and before we have the chance to sit down, the bus pulls away. Now most people would still be able to successfully sit themselves down safely as there are hand rails to hold onto to keep your balance. However most of us would probably say that the bus driver should wait until passengers are seated. Whatever we think, in law is a bus driver negligent for pulling away before a passenger is seated?

Put simply there is no specific duty on a bus driver to ensure passengers are seated before pulling away. Although bus drivers do have to take reasonable care to ensure that injury is not caused as a result of the bus pulling away abruptly or before a passenger is seated. This means that extra care is needed in the case of elderly passengers for example. Elderly passengers are identified as being more at risk of injury if a bus pulls away before they are seated for obvious reasons. This is because they may not have the strength or balance to keep on their feet. Looking at the bus driver’s point of view, they are running to a strict timetable and if they are behind they will naturally be trying to catch up. However safety should always be paramount.
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It is understandable that when you have been involved in a car accident the first thing on your mind is not to write down the car registration plate of the other car. We simply put our trust in that person doing the right thing and exchanging details with you.

However, unfortunately in this world some people do not always do the right thing and therefore on some occasions the other person may simply drive away from the scene before you’ve even had chance to process what has actually happened.

Fortunately in the UK there is an organisation called the Motor Insurance Bureau which enables people to pursue a traffic accident injury claim even without the details of the other car. The organisation is funded by all the insurance companies in the country and deals with around 50,000 claims every year!
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A main concern for many people when they have had an accident is that they may not be able to return to their trade. For example: if an electrician is involved in an accident in which they seriously damage their hand, it is unlikely that they will be able to continue to work in this trade if they can’t use their hand as well as they used to be able to. When this happens you are said to be “disadvantaged on the open labour market” as your employability is ultimately affected.

Primarily, it is important that if you feel your injury is going to affect your line of work that you mention this at the start of your claim. This is because the burden of proof is on the claimant and therefore you (and your injury lawyer!) must show that the injury will affect future prospects of work. Of course, in the above example it is quite straight forward but this is not always the case, especially if the injury concerned is partly psychological.

There are different circumstances that can arise under this heading. It may be that you cannot continue to work at all, can simply not work in a particular trade or cannot work in your trade for a certain amount of time. In all these circumstances there is the possibility to claim for the decline in employability.
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