Last week I blogged about Christmas time pre-medical offers.  Essentially I wrote that in the run up to Christmas it is not uncommon for insurers to make you an offer for compensation to settle your claim there and then, and that the reason for this is because they know that at this time of year money can run a little short, and if they make an attractive looking offer given the circumstances, insurers can often get away cheaply from the claim.  Here is another little bit of guidance on offers of compensation – again from insurers – but this time prior to you seeking legal advice from an expert injury lawyer.

At The Injury Lawyers we often come across people who have settled their claim in full and final settlement before they have even considered legal advice and representation.  In such circumstances, it looks as if they have been captured by the third party; hence the term ‘third party capture’ which depicts an insurers’ practice whereby they contact the innocent victim directly and settle their claim for compensation almost straightaway. 

What this means is that they cannot later ask for more compensation having consulted an expert injury lawyer who has advised that they have under-settled their claim.  It is essentially a tactic by the insurer to get away from a potential compensation claim cheaply.
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Despite numerous safety awareness campaigns, at The Injury Lawyers we have found that it is not uncommon at all for people to drive without wearing a seatbelt.  This is despite the fact that not wearing a seatbelt is illegal, that should you be involved in an accident, a seatbelt could save your life.  You would have thought it would definitely be worth wearing one!

It is important to know that the law states that it is the driver who is responsible for those in their vehicle wearing a seatbelt.  So, if you are giving someone a lift and they are not wearing a seatbelt, you could find yourself in hot water.  The law on wearing a seatbelt is relatively straightforward in respect of adults. 

If you are over the age of 14 and travelling in a car or a van, you must wear a seatbelt.  A child under the age of three must use an appropriate seat restraint, whilst a child up to the age of 12 or 135cm in height can also use a seat restraint, and children of 12 and 13 years must wear a seatbelt where one is available.  A big exception is buses, where passengers are not required to wear seatbelts.  This does not apply to coaches where seatbelts have been fitted.
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No doubt you have all seen or heard about the Japanese luxury sports car pile-up – probably one of the most expensive road traffic accidents I have seen in a while with media reports stating that the damage was calculated at £2.46 million! The scene of the once pristine Ferraris, Mercedes – Benzes and Lamborghini now completely destroyed was heart crushing – especially for any car fanatic!
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What is a pre-medical offer?

A pre-medical offer is an offer which is made by the Defendant to settle your claim for compensation prior to a medical report being compiled and disclosed to the Defendant.  The typical course of action in a personal injury claim is for the Claimant to attend a medical appointment so that a medical report can be compiled and later disclosed to the Defendant.  Having possession of a medical report enables both parties to value the claim for compensation and see if they can reach an amicable conclusion to proceedings without the need of going to court to allow a judge to decide on the amount of damages.

Why would the Defendant make a pre-medical offer?
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It’s that time of year again – Christmas! We are all busy buying gifts and decorating our houses and seeing family and friends. But for us here at The Injury Lawyers, it’s that time of year again for a different reason; yes, it’s Christmas – but it’s also the time of year for insurance companies to get rid of Road Traffic Injury claims as quick as possible and they use the costly Christmas period to lure clients in by offering them pre-medical offers as a final settlement payment for their claims.

For anyone at this time of year, £1,000.00 seems like a dream come true – but don’t be fooled – your claim may be worth a LOT more. Don’t let insurance companies stop you from getting the compensation that you deserve.

A pre-medical offer is a full and final offer to settle a personal injury claim before any medical evidence has been obtained or disclosed, and irrespective of what the future might bring when it comes to your continued suffering and losses. Offers can often be between the region on £1,000.00 and £1,250.00, which can often seem tempting for the client. A nice cheque of £1,000.00 laid out for you, no hassle of medical examinations, or waiting for the case to settle. But don’t be fooled as you need to consider the bigger picture before accepting any offer.
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‘Patience is a virtue’- this motto in my opinion has been done to death over recent years.  I do believe that that there are times in our lives where we simply either cannot afford to be patient, or our patience is taken for granted; one particular area where this is most potent is in the world of personal injury.

For most of the unfortunate people who find themselves to be a victim of negligence, their main aim is to not only recover compensation for their pain, but also to receive closure of the situation as quickly as they can. With this in mind and to ensure that the legal procedure for claims is kept relatively straightforward, there are certain things we can do to speed up the process when the other side or their insurers delay the process by failing to adhere to the rules in place. One such avenue is a “Pre Action Disclosure Application.”

The nature behind a Pre Action Disclosure Application is relatively straightforward to follow. When a defendant fails to comply to the compulsory time limit for injury claims of 3 months and 21 days (to investigate your accident and injuries), we are well within our rights to make a request to the court which forces the Defendants side to disclose any documentation or evidence they may have that could be used as vital evidence in determining whether you have a winning claim or not.
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These days we are all trying to do our bit for the environment – walking, sharing vehicles, trying the bicycle, and using the bus. Amongst the hustle and bustle of busy city life, many more of us are finding using the bus an easier and faster way to travel from A to B. You don’t have the stress of cuing in traffic or the worry of parking; it seems the perfect way to travel sometimes.

However, I can’t help but notice the increasing amount of claims for compensation as a result of a bus accidents here at The Injury Lawyers. Bus accidents can happen not only because of a collision with a third party vehicle, but they can also be a result of the negligent driving of a bus driver.

Whenever I have used the bus, most drivers are cautious to stop and start gently and ensure you have fully stepped off the bus before departing at the bus stop. Most of us are lucky and know nothing different – it seems like standard bus driver behaviour. However, unfortunately, some of us think very different about bus drivers. If you have been in an accident and sustained injuries as a result of a negligent bus driver, don’t suffer in silence – get the compensation you deserve!
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As Christmas is just around the corner, we all need to be in tip top condition for braving the great outdoors. Getting battered by merciless cold gales, paired with endless queues in shops has somewhat taken away the seasonal jolliness I enjoyed as a kid. Putting my Ebenezer mindset away for a brief moment, Christmas is easily stressful enough without having to worry about receiving an injury of any kind – particularly if this injury is through work!

One of perhaps the simplest and indeed easiest ways to injure yourself at work is through handling equipment or objects dangerously. Your back, although collectively one of the strongest parts of your body as the core, is worryingly easy to injure through lifting and manoeuvring heavy or awkward objects. It is important to realise that when lifting an object, it is not necessarily its weight which predominantly injures, but how you attempt to lift it as well.

Through awareness of how easy an injury such as this is to sustain, it has now become a priority for employers to follow strict rules and procedure highlighted under the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 when employing individuals and introducing them to the workplace.
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As a rock climber (albeit not being able to do it for a while over recent years) and as an advisor to the victims of work accidents on a daily basis, I know a thing or two myself about health and safety at height. The inherent risks of working at height are, well, obvious; even at low heights, such as from a ladder or a stool, you can end up with broken bones and nasty muscular injuries. People working at huge heights – roofers, scaffolders, etc – will know the risks all too well.

That’s why there are so many rules and regulations in place for those who have to work at height. Health and safety when it comes to working at height cannot be stressed enough – it’s so, so important! That’s why we have the Working at Height Regulations 2005; a powerful piece of legislation that’s in place to ensure that employers and those in charge of other employees in the workplace fulfil their duty of care to prevent injuries from falls.

But the big question is this – if you fall from a height at work, can you make a claim for compensation?
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How much is my claim worth? This is probably the question that we at The Injury Lawyers get most asked.  In fact, it was only the other day that I was asked this very question and had a somewhat lengthy conversation trying to explain that it is actually impossible to value someone’s injury claim at the very outset.  Here is a quick guide as to how a claim is valued:

The law is clear.  If you sustain injuries by means of a negligent third party, you are able to receive compensation to put you back in the position you would have been in had the accident not have occurred.  It follows that you can therefore receive compensation not purely for your injuries, but also for any losses that arise directly from the accident and your injuries as well.  Compensation for your injuries is called General Damages, and compensation for your other losses is called Special Damages.

General Damages:
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