With the recent death of the IndyCar race driver Dan Wheldon, the issue is once again raised regarding the risks associated with professional sports.

We are all aware of the associated risks in sports, and IndyCar racing is no exception. The fact that we are aware of the risks is detrimental factor when claiming for personal injury arising from a sporting activity. It can be often quite difficult to make a claim, as there are always inherent risks involved in sporting activities.

When dealing with a personal injury case arising form a road traffic accident or an accident at work, the law requires you to prove a duty to take reasonable care was breached and has subsequently caused an injury. In sporting activities, a high standard of breach of duty is required given the inherent risks involved, and there is requirement to show that the Defendant’s conduct was ‘Reckless disregard’. This term has a arisen from the famous case of Wooldridge and Summer [1963] 2 QB 43, of which the meaning can be elaborated form the words of Lord Justice Sellers
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Compensation claims, Health and Safety, What to Do

I suppose we are now, commercially, in the run up to Christmas! I’ve seen the decorations start to come out in the malls and shop windows, and I’m seeing the cards and gift-wrap consumables prop up in every card shop and supermarket around. Personally, I don’t like to think that the run up to Christmas starts until December 1st! But my view is somewhat outdated; even my own girlfriend has started buying presents…

But it got me thinking about something. Toys – we all had them as kids. The sight of an action man or a beautifully constructed lego set has the power to regress most of us in to a moment of childhood memoir; but as the market for toys increases over the coming months, and as competition remains high to produce the biggest and best toys, is our children’s health and safety even considered during the process of design and manufacturing?
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If you have been injured in an accident that was not your fault, you may be entitled to compensation, which is designed to put you back in the position you would have been in had the accident not have occurred. 

For example, if a faulty piece of work equipment caused you to sustain injury, you could be compensated for that injury or if you have had a trip and fall in the high street because of piece of defective paving you could be compensated for any associated injury.  For most people, compensation claiming is not something they have done before, and therefore it is natural to wonder when people want to know how to go about this.  Here is a quick guide:

The first thing you should think about is instructing a quality injury lawyer on your behalf.  Aim for an injury lawyer who will not charge you for their work, will get you the maximum compensation you deserve in the shortest time possible, and who is an expert in the field of personal injury claims owing to their numerous years of experience in dealing with these sorts of claims.  With the right injury lawyer on your side, you will be well on your way to obtaining the compensation you deserve, and will be in experts hands – better still, in most cases, your injury lawyer will do most of the work for you.
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Some people will have you believe that making a claim for compensation is difficult and ultimately not worth the effort. Well, if you have been involved in a road traffic accident and sustained injuries, being compensated for these injuries is actually very straightforward – many cases can be over and done with in a few months.

The first stage of making a car accident claim is straightforward, as we submit all the details of your case to a ‘Claims Notification Form‘. 

This form, which is submitted online via the Ministry of Justice portal, outlines things like the accident date, details of the accident, vehicles and drivers involved. 
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I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again; there really are countless rules and regulations that your employers have to abide by in order to uphold health and safety legislation in the workplace. Ultimately, your employers attitude towards safe workplaces and conditions has a significant impact on someone very important in the firm; you!

Your employer must do everything they can reasonably and practically do to ensure that your workplace and working conditions are safe and hazard-free. This comes down to everything – the floors you walk on, the desks you sit at, the warehouses you carry boxes round, the equipment you use, and the equipment provided to you to assist you to stay safe in your job.

The focus of this blog is the workplace itself.
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Many would agree that a person under the age of 18 is not suitable to bring a claim for compensation on their own accord.  Sure, you may get a few mature 15, 16, 17 or 18 year olds who could probably do so; but a child of the age of 3 or 4 could not, nor a child of 10.  As such, a child, or a ‘minor’, i.e. a person under the age of 18, cannot bring a claim for compensation of their own accord. 

However, this is not to stop them claiming for compensation.  They can either wait until they are 18 and make a claim any time up until they are 21 years old, or a ‘litigation friend’ can do so on their behalf.  At The Injury Lawyers we would suggest that, where a child is particularly young or it would be a couple of years until they are 18, that they have a litigation friend to act on their behalf in making any claim for compensation.  This is because we consider that the longer you take to make the claim, the less fresh the events are in your mind; there is a greater likelihood that evidence will be lost or witnesses will be either untraceable or less reliable.

What is a litigation friend?
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There are loads of different workplace rules and regulations that your employer is legally bound to follow. There are so many in order to fulfil their purpose of protecting employees in the workplace. It is the responsibility of your employer to take all the necessary actions to ensure these rules and regulations are upheld; this is achieved in several ways, namely the two most common methods:

• Risk Assessments
• Training

Risk Assessments
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Personal injury and how to claim may seem like a daunting prospect to grasp at first; particularly when it’s riddled with crazy legal jargon and terminology. It will come as no surprise when I tell you that accident victims can be easily overwhelmed and disheartened at the idea of claiming. When paired with the substantially traumatising experience of the accident itself, victims are often left feeling angry, alienated, and cheated.

But fear not! Help is at hand, in the shape of our genuine No win, No fee agreement, shouldering the burden and pressures which accompany claiming for compensation, giving you the time and priority needed to focus your attentions on more important issues, such as your speedy recovery.

After information about your claim has been received, our primary action is the creation of a letter of claim which states the critical information surrounding your accident. This is sent to the third party defendant (person or company at fault). From here the third party defendant has a period of three weeks with which to pass this letter of claim to any relevant insurers, insurance brokers, or solicitors who represent them, or confirm they are dealing with it themselves.
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After experiencing a brief ‘Indian summer’ in late September/ early October, the weather is now turning cold again and it surely won’t be long until we are reaching for those hats, scarves and gloves in preparation for the, if the past two winters are anything to go by, seemingly inevitable deluge of heavy snow and ice.

The past two winters of 2009 and 2010 are said to have been the coldest in the UK for over 100 years, so not many of us will remember many worse winters. The cold weather bought with it heavy snow and ice, which lead to a huge increase in accidents and resulted in extremely busy periods for personal injury lawyers, such as ourselves, who were inundated with new claims and advice enquiries.

But how easy is it to make a claim against a local authority for compensation following an accident as a result of snow and ice? Well, the answer is unfortunately not very easy at all and this is illustrated in the case of Rhiannon Pace V City and County of Swansea 2007. In this case the accident victim was injured in a Road Traffic Accident caused by black ice on the road. It was accepted by the Judge in this case that the accident was caused by the ice, however he ruled that the local authority had not been negligent. When considering this case, the Judge considered two questions, the first of which is: Was the local authority’s winter maintenance plan proper and reasonable?
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Cosmetic surgery is on the rise, and that comes as no surprise given the media / social pressure on people and their appearances these days. In particular there is increasing pressure on celebrities to look their best at all times – God forbid them leaving the house without a face full of make-up and dressed in their scruffs – the ‘paps’ would have a field day!

I can certainly see the attraction of surgery, if I had the choice I’d look like Cheryl Cole … I mean, who wouldn’t?! But have the extremes people go to for that “perfect” look gone too far?

Take for example the new reality soap The Only Way is Essex; where cosmetic surgery is the norm as the majority of the female cast have had different work carried out including, nose jobs, teeth enhancements, breast enlargements, and more recently there is even talk of bum implants! Additionally a recent episode screened a botox party where the guests were encouraged to undertake the treatment.  Since the show there was reportedly a huge increase in surgical enquiries; presumably individuals wanting to look like the celebrities they see on screen.
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