… sadly, its kicking off in a way similar to Jonny Wilkinson’s in England’s Rugby World Cup opener against Argentina last Saturday; in the wrong way!

My recent articles have centred on the fantastic news that insurer’s referral fees will finally be banned following a parliamentary plan to initiate the practice becoming an illegality in the (hopefully) near future.

We, as an independent firm of specialist personal injury lawyers, have always spoken out against the practice of referral fees. We firmly believe, and have seen evidence proving the fact, that referral fees not only add no value to the claim of an injured victim, but they have the potential to destroy it.
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OK – so over the last few months I have been praising former Justice Secretary Mr Jack Straw for exposing the insurance industries “dirty secret” that they are responsible for the exponential increases in insurance premiums by selling claims on to lawyers for pure profit.

When the insurance companies have been telling you that the increase in premiums as a result of personal injury lawyers and claims has resulted in increases of up to 30%, it transpired that this was largely a symptom of your own insurance company encouraging potentially scrupulous claims by pushing you in to making one so they can cash in on up to £1,000 for referring your claim. Even if you’re genuine, they’ll make you claim using their referral fee solicitor; not because they are doing you a favour, but because they get paid to pass your personal details around.

We have spoken out against this on hundreds of occasions, as we never involve ourselves in referral fees, and have advised many victims of the referral fee system to change lawyers as soon as they can after they have been subject to poor service levels and potentially low payouts because their referral fee solicitor is too cash strapped to act for them in the right way thanks to wasting a huge portion of their budget on paying the fee.
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At The Injury Lawyers we deal with all sorts of personal injury claims on a daily basis.  In the main they concern the innocent victims of the negligence of third party drivers.  Road traffic accidents are unfortunately a common occurrence – but when it comes to claiming compensation they are relatively straightforward matters and can be dealt with very quickly.  In most cases you will be able to provide the third party’s details and we can get the ball rolling on your claim straightaway.

But what happens if the third party was uninsured, given that it is the third party’s insurer that will normally be providing your compensation?

Naturally you can still make a claim for compensation; it is just that your compensation will be provided by the Motor Insurers’ Bureau (‘MIB’) and not the third party’s insurer as they do not have one.  It would simply be unfair if you were injured like anyone else but could not be compensated because the third party had committed the criminal act of driving with no insurance.  That is why the MIB was set up in 1946 – to provide compensation to victims of uninsured drivers.
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Many of us lift things within the work place without even thinking about the consequences – this may result in injuries such as repetitive strains on our bodies.

In the rules there is no specific maximum weight that a person can lift at work.  This makes sense as we are all different individuals and the levels that we can push ourselves to vary from person to person.

Ergonomics is described as ‘fitting the job to the person and not the person to the job’.
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Making a claim for compensation for injuries sustained at the hands of a negligent third party is not something many people do.  In the main, this is because they have not been injured.  But for those who have been injured, nowadays they are more aware that they are able to make a claim for compensation.  Yet, in the vast majority of cases, they have never done this before.  It is not uncommon then that such people wonder how to go about making a personal injury claim and what it entails. 

So – Here is a quick guide.

Claiming for compensation is easy and in the most part you will not have to do much; your lawyers will do the hard work for you.  What you will firstly need to do is find a quality injury lawyer that you are more than happy to instruct.  You should seek an injury lawyer who will not charge you a penny for their work, can help you out with some free medical treatment, and who have vast experience in dealing with these types of claims so they know what they are doing and can progress your case in the best way possible. 
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It is important to stress that the below information is only a generally guideline; to ensure you make your claim in time, speak with an expert injury lawyer as soon as you can.
If you have had an accident and have been injured through no fault of your own, the general rule is that you have three years from the date of the accident to make a claim for compensation.

At The Injury Lawyers we believe that the best thing to do is make your claim for compensation as soon as possible after the accident.  This is for the very simple reason that events will be fresher in your mind and we may even be able to provide you with some no cost private medical treatment which would mean that you could recover from your injuries sooner rather than later.
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If you have been injured in an accident that was not your fault, whether it be a road traffic accident, slip and trip, or an accident at work ( to name but a few), you can work out how much compensation you may be awarded for your injuries by using the compensation calculator.

The independent ‘Injury Lawyers’ calculator is there for you to use free of charge.  Key in the details of your injury and let the calculator work out a rough guideline amount of compensation for you.  The calculator is purely for working out compensation for your injuries based on the JSB (Judicial Studies Board) Guidelines, which are referred to as General Damages. 

In addition to this you may be entitled to further compensation for any losses that you have incurred as a result of the accident; Time taken off work, any future time off work, and damage to material goods that will require replacing.  These losses are referred to as Special Damages and will be in addition to the compensation calculated by the compensation calculator.
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The roads and streets can be a dangerous place – having worked in this industry for as long as I have, you tend to pick things up most people would miss. Next time you are out and about shopping, walking your dog, or visiting your friends and family, take notice of what’s on the ground you are walking on. It goes without saying that I ask you not to concentrate too hard to ensure you don’t walk in to anything or walk in to the road; but, if you can, just have a look at what’s around you on the streets and roads.

You will probably notice raised paving slabs, cracked concrete, gaps in the kerb, or the dreaded pothole in the road. Normally, these aren’t things you would look out for or particularly spot when you are out and about; but, if it’s in the back of your mind, you will probably begin to notice a lot of dangerous defects out there.

That, ladies and gentleman, is the reason why people end up making a claim against the council. Claims for compensation in general, but particularly council tripper claims, have a bad reputation for some unknown reason (although it probably has something to do with the way our lovely media paint a council claim). If you work in this industry, consciously try and look out for, or have tripped over a defect in the past, you will likely notice the extent to which they litter our pavements and traffic routes.
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10 People died today, and 100 more people suffered brain damage, loss of limbs or paralysis.

In fact, this happens every day on Britain’s roads. These are the cold statistics; but behind the facts for every person killed or injured on the road, there are friends and families whose lives are shattered by such an unexpected and horrifying event.

You may – perhaps rightly – think you are a good driver, and deaths and injuries are everybody else’s problem or fault. But every day normal people like us take risks, make mistakes, and end up causing loss of life. (Source: Green Flag)
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Whilst I don’t want to put a downer on everyone’s September by mentioning the looming winter months as we approach colder climates and shorter days (which I can’t believe how quick the nights are drawing in – I say this every year…), but summer is really over, and we should probably begin preparing for potentially serious adverse conditions given the last two winters of snow and ice.

I’m sure you all remember last year don’t you? The day Britain came to a standstill when we were pummelled with an insane amount of snow. I certainly remember my six hour journey (one that normally takes me 20 minutes) where I had a real concern that I would be involved in an accident or stuck out all night on the roads. With this kind of weather that we may now have to learn to expect in Britain, there is a lot we have to do to prepare ourselves for the worst.

So – what can you do to make sure you don’t end up in a car accident as wet weather and colder conditions commence their grim approach?
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