You may have noticed recently that there has been a lot of news and focus on potholes.  This has happened for a few reasons.  Firstly, the bad weather we had just before and over Christmas has well and truly destroyed some of our roads.  The freezing temperatures meant that any water that had seeped into the cracks in our roads expanded and created numerous potholes in the surface.  Secondly, as a result of all these potholes cropping up, there have been numerous accidents as a result; for example, people tripping or twisting their ankles in these potholes, and vehicles getting damaged by the trauma of suddenly hitting a pothole at speed.  This has meant that people have been complaining more and more, which has hit the news. 

And thirdly, almost every county council in England released details of the amount of money they had spent on repairing potholes, and the amount of money they had had to pay out as a result of people requiring compensation having sustained injuries at the feet of potholes.  This again made national news, as huge sums had been spent as a consequence of potholes appearing on our roads in large numbers.  It was therefore no surprise to read a further article on potholes in the Hunts Post.  The story relates to the £2.7million that Cambridgeshire County Council have already spent fixing potholes in the first few months of this year.

The Hunts Post reveals that Cambridgeshire County Council have fixed roughly 10,000 potholes up to March this year.  This has come at a cost of £2.7million, of which just over £160,000 relates to compensation claims.  Interestingly, when compared to previous years, this is an increased spend of over 800%.  In March, the Department for Transport has granted a special aid fund for councils in the sum of £100million to help them deal with the financial burdens this particularly tough winter has created by way of potholes.
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It has been recognised throughout the legal world that personal injury claiming as a result of road traffic accidents are on the increase. This is one of the reasons why the system with which solicitors deal with road traffic accidents has changed.  Road traffic accidents that occurred after 30^th April 2011 between a value of £1000 and £10,000 must now be dealt with under a new system. This system is simpler, faster, and much more stream-lined than the old system that was in place. One of the reasons why the system is faster is that everything is completed electronically – therefore making the exchange of documents with the other side instantaneous. The system comprises of 3 stages; each one I will set out below.

The first stage is where the Claim Notification Form is filled out by the Claimant with the help of a solicitor. This form aims to set out all the circumstances of the road accident and is the first item the Defendant will receive with regards to your claim. Within 15 business days of this being sent, the other side should respond with a decision as to whether they admit fault or deny fault.

If fault is admitted on your claim, it proceeds to Stage 2. If liability is denied, it then drops out of the system and it is for your solicitor to assess the prospects of your case, and upon this review, decide whether to proceed with your claim.
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Nowadays, people are becoming more and more aware of the potential to make a claim for compensation where they have been injured at the hands of a negligent third party.  In all likelihood, this is probably due to the fact that there has been an increased campaign by personal injury law firms to attract clients.  However, although more people have the knowledge that they may be entitled to compensation, not so many know exactly how the process of making a claim works, and how to go about starting this process.  This blog is intended as a short guide to your personal injury claim.

If you have been involved in an accident then in all likelihood your claim will be dealt with under the Pre-Action Protocol for Personal Injury claims.  This is a streamlined process for your claim, setting out a series of steps to bring it to an efficient and effective conclusion within the shortest time possible.  The first stage is the creation of your Letter of Claim.  This outlines all the details of your accident; for instance, the accident itself, the nature of your injuries, and the losses you have suffered as a result of your accident.  By way of example, when you ring The Injury Lawyers, we will take all the details we need, leaving no stone unturned, and then go about producing a thorough letter of claim.  In this way, the other side, the negligent third party, will know all about your accident and can get on with their investigations straightaway.

Once your Letter of Claim is submitted, the Defendant has a period of 21 days in which to acknowledge it.  In most cases they will pass this letter to their Insurer or Solicitor who will investigate your claim on the Defendant’s behalf.  A maximum of three months is permitted for investigation of your claim.  This is not to say that your claim will take nearly four months from the date the letter of claim was sent, but to say that this is the period of time the law allows the other side to come back to your legal representatives with their position on liability.
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The workplace can be a pretty dangerous place to be in; particularly if you work in a factory or on a constructions site. The dangers we could potentially face in the workplace are minimised or cleared by the numerous amounts of Health and Safety rules and regulations that all employers and employees are legally required to adhere to. In theory, if all employers and all employees stick to these rules, the amount of compensation claims being made would be very small.

When your employer fails in the important duty of care they have for your health and safety, and you are injured as a result, you are entitled to make a claim from the insurance your employer has a legal responsibly to have in place.

So – what can they fail you on, and when can you make a claim?
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Recently there has been much discussion in the news regarding the state of our highways – this has mostly been about potholes. An article on Sky News states how councils cannot afford to pay the 10 billion pounds needed to get our highways back up to a good state of repair. Furthermore, a report from the Asphalt Industry Alliance states how councils in many instances have been unable to repair potholes caused by the cold weather at the end of 2010 before the cold snap hit again in 2011. So, we can see from the media there is a problem with the state of our highways, and these funding issues may remain for some time. So, it seems like a good time to discuss potential personal injury claims that come as a result of pothole damage.

A pothole can be a tripping hazard to pedestrians, or a hazard to any vehicles driving over them. Vehicles such as motorbikes, mopeds and bicycles are particularly vulnerable when it comes to defects on the road surface; potentially causing catastrophic accidents.

If you have suffered an injury as a result of a pothole, and it was not your fault, then you may have a claim for compensation. It is advisable to get the advice of a specialist personal injury lawyer with pothole related claims, as many of them can be complex.  It can firstly be a complex issue to ascertain who has responsibility for the land – i.e. does the council have responsibility for it? If so, which council? Is it a private owner? Secondly, it can be difficult to actually get the council to admit fault.
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We all know that you are far more likely to be seriously injured in a motorcycle accident than you are in a car accident. Unfortunately, despite numerous campaigns to maintain awareness of motorcyclists for road users, accidents are still happening.

It’s an obvious statement to make – motorcyclists are far harder to spot on the roads than cars / vans / lorries. People are often looking out for cars and any other larger vehicles when emerging from a junction, changing lanes, or entering on to a roundabout. Drivers often fail to consider the presence of a motorcyclist, or even fail to spot one. We have the “look, look, and look again” rule – personally its “look, look, look again, then look again for good measure” with me; and I’ve not been in an accident in my years of driving so far! (Touch wood).

But more to the point – what can be done if you become the victim of an accident as a motorcyclist, or even cyclist?
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Many clients that approach The Injury Lawyers are aware of their right to claim compensation for their injuries. However, upon beginning to advise or clients regarding the other losses they may be able to claim for, there seems to be a lack of knowledge and understanding. We believe that all our clients, as well as any potential claimants out there, should have a good understanding of what they are entitled to claim for.

Claiming for losses in a claim for personal injury can be a complex issue – so it is always advisable to seek advice from a specialist personal injury lawyer. A lawyer should be able to fully advise you regarding your losses. Once a lawyer has gained information about your losses, they should collate these in a document known as a Schedule of Loss. This document will only contain your financial losses as a result of your accident; the compensation for your injuries alone will be dealt with separately.

Below, I have listed many of the more common items you see on a Schedule of Loss. This list is by no means exhaustive – full advice regarding losses should be gained from a specialist personal injury lawyer.
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So, you have been involved in a minor road traffic accident, and as result your vehicle has been damaged, and you have been injured.  Well, in all likelihood, if the road traffic accident was not your fault, or even if it was only partly your fault, you are entitled to make a claim for compensation.  After all, you have suffered an injury at the hands of a negligent third party driver.

So – how do you go about this? The first thing you should do is get all the other drivers details and then attend your GP or hospital so that they can check you over and make sure that you are okay, and provide any medical treatment if needed.  Then, once all this is done, you should get in touch with an independent, quality personal injury lawyer, like those at The Injury Lawyers, with plenty of experience in this area of law and who can provide you with legal representation at no cost to you.  Once you have done this, your professional injury lawyer will be able to guide you through the claims process which I will now outline:

On the 30^th April 2010 the Pre-Action Protocol for Low Value Personal Injury Claims in Road Traffic Accidents deals with your compensation claim.  Where your injury is likely to be worth less than £10,000, this Protocol outlines the process that your lawyers must carry out to help you get your compensation as fast as possible!  You will firstly be asked to fill out a Claims Notification Form (‘CNF’).  It is a straightforward form but do not worry if you get stuck at any point – The Injury Lawyers are just a phone call away from being able to happily assist you.  We always review your form in any event so you have nothing to worry about.
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I would hazard a guess that many of you reading this blog may think you know what ‘no win, no fee’ means. The title seems fairly self-explanatory – i.e. if you do not win your case then you do not have to pay a penny.

Well, I suggest that you consider the following scenarios:

What do you have to pay if you win?
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A common problem with road traffic accidents is that neither party wish to accept fault for the accident. I know of many clients who after a car accident which may be obviously the other drivers fault but upon speaking to them they not only say it was not their fault but also try and pass the blame onto you. This can often lead to lengthy negotiations in personal injury claims and sometimes fault may be split in terms of a ratio say; 70/30 or 60/40.

Obviously we want to prove that the other is 100% at fault for the accident, and in many cases this can be a straight forward and relatively simple process. The topic of this blog is Rear – End Shunts – the reason being that liability in rear end shunt cases is usually easy to establish. A rear end shunt is a term used to describe a car hitting another car from behind. In these cases, it is highly likely that liability will be admitted by the other side, as it is often fairly apparent that fault lies with the driver who came from behind and hit the car in front.

Because of the straightforward nature of these types of cases, most of our clients who have been involved in rear end shunt accidents have a speedy and successful conclusion to their case.  Accidents that happen after the 30^th April 2010 are in a simpler more streamlined system which means that insurers have to respond with their liability decision within 15 days of the claim notification form being sent. This is opposed to the nearly 4 month period they had under the old system. This means that many of our clients who have been in rear end shunt accidents after the above get their claims concluded in a much quicker time frame.
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