Chemicals can be inherently dangerous to all of us. One of the world’s most famous industrial disasters occurred in Bhopal, India in 1984. In this disaster toxic gas leaked from a pesticide plant and the actual number of resulting deaths is disputed.

Government figures state that around 3,700 people died as a result of the incident, although some estimates claim that as many as 8,000 people have died since as a result of the toxic gas. This alone is an example of just how dangerous chemicals can be.

A chemical accident refers to an event resulting in the release of a substance or substances that are harmful to our health and or to the environment. Such events include explosions, leakages or the release of toxic materials that can cause illness, injury and death.
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Very common question we get here at The Injury Lawyers; but the answer is not so easy to give you. I will try and be brief with this blog so you can get an insight in to how we find out what your claim is worth, and why I can’t tell you now!

There is only one foolproof way to value a claim for personal injury compensation – by seeing a qualified medico-legal expert who produces a report, and by having an expert personal injury solicitor to assess the report and value the claim.

This is the way to truly find out how much the claim is worth.
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Your claim for compensation will consist of two types of damages. General damages are the part which covers the compensation for your actual injuries, pain, suffering and loss of amenity. Special damages are things that you have had to pay for as a result of the accident. These are recovered as part of your claim.

There are lots and lots of things that clients can claim for, with the most common losses incurred as a result of an accident being:

• Loss of Earnings
• Travel Expenses
• Medication Expenses
• Care & Assistance

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Had an accident and suffered an injury through no fault of your own? Here’s a quick step by step guide as to what you need to do to make sure you have the best chance at making a successful claim for compensation.

Do you have a claim?

If you have been injured through no fault of your own, you might have a claim for compensation if there is someone else, or some company, responsible for what has happened to you. Give us a call on our free claims helpline on 0800 634 75 75 and we can usually assess your claim in minutes of the call starting.
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Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) is caused by compression of the median nerve which goes through the carpal tunnel in the wrist. Sufferers are likely to experience tingling, numbness and pain in their hands.

Other less specific symptoms can include loss of grip strength which is more characteristic of arthritis. The National Centre for Biotechnology Information say that the most common cause of CTS is typing, but there are other causes. It is strongly believed that genetics are a factor.

People who suffer from CTS may note that the tingling and numbness in their hands often occurs at night. Sleeping positions such as sleeping on your side may be an associated factor. Some sufferers note that the pain caused disturbed sleep.
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Historically the law did not always allow any claim for wrongful death, or any claims by the dependents, as the right of action was held to have died with the victim.

The right of dependents to bring an action was first brought into being by the Fatal Accidents Act 1846. The law was consolidated with the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 and significantly amended by the Administration of Justice Act 1982.

The executor or administrator of the estate can claim for the losses suffered on behalf of the estate. Such claims would relate to the following:

1. Pain and suffering of the deceased prior to death;
2. Any financial losses incurred by the deceased prior to death;
3. Funeral expenses.

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Losing a loved one is a harrowing experience. This can be intensified when the incident involves an element of negligence on behalf of a third party. In the event a loved one has lost their life as a result of negligence (e.g. some sort of preventable incident), the Fatal Accidents Act 1976 (‘the Act’) may apply should the need arise to make a claim for compensation.

The Act allows a claim to be brought against a negligent third party, if that act caused or contributed to the death of your loved one; despite the fact that your loved one has passed. To be successful, under the Act, it would need to be proved that any ‘wrongful act, neglect or default’ occurred which would have given your loved one entitlement to maintain a claim and recover damages from that third party.

By way of example, this could be circumstances relating to a work place accident; a negligent act made on behalf of a medical professional, or a road traffic accident attributed to negligence.
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Everyone knows that patience is a virtue; but a very common question we get here at The Injury Lawyers is how long will my claim take?

There is no absolute right or wrong answer to this question as every claim is as different as the person making it; in fact even if the same person makes two claims they won’t necessarily have the same facts or get the same amount of compensation.

While it is difficult to say that a claim will last an exact amount of time, we are able to give guidelines as to how long your claim should take if all goes well. When you claim with us at The Injury Lawyers we will always work as quickly as possible to progress your claim toward the best settlement possible for you, and we say that on straightforward claims this can be done in as few as 6-9 months.
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Industrial deafness is a form of industrial disease. If you are suffering from industrial deafness then you may be entitled to make a claim for compensation.

Noise in the workplace is a significant hazard. Historically employers were not aware of the dangers of noise exposure. This led to a cut off date in terms of bringing a claim for industrial deafness. The Courts have ruled that you cannot bring a claim for compensation for industrial deafness where the exposure to noise occurred solely before 1963. Where exposure occurred partly before 1963 and partly after 1963 then may be entitled to bring a claim, however any damages would have to be apportioned accordingly.

To give an example of this consider that Joe Bloggs was exposed to noise between 1960 and 1966. The first period (i.e. between 1960 and 1963) would be classed as non negligent exposure and therefore Joe Bloggs will probably not be able to recover compensation for exposure to noise during this period.
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Health and safety is of course vitally important. But it is also incredibly frustrating at times as well. We can all see that health and safety rules are necessary, such as in the workplace or at certain attractions (such as theme parks etc).

However health and safety rules sometimes seem ridiculous and this had lead to numerous people commenting that we are a society that has gone “health and safety mad”. When you contrast the workers of previous decades to the workers of today, you can see how things have changed. Obviously a lot of changes such as having protective clothing, hearing protection, hard hats etc have been welcomed and rightly so.

Health and safety rules have recently surfaced in the press again. In fact the BBC published an article on the 10^th September 2012 regarding ministers’ plans to exempt thousands of businesses from health and safety inspections.
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