There are all sorts of weird and wonderful ways we can end up injuring ourselves – but there are also a lot of ways we can end up injured in an accident that was completely foreseeable! Employers have an important duty of care to ensure that their employees are safe and free from any hazard whilst at work. This goes down to the premises being safe, to the machinery being safe, and personal protective equipment being provided.

Having safe equipment and being provided with the right personal protective equipment(PPE) are two of the most important regulations an employer must adhere to. After all, the requirement for equipment is normally in place to prevent an obvious and unavoidable hazard in the work place. You wear hard hats on a building site, masks when using a welder, gloves when handling hot or dangerous liquids / chemicals – the regulations and the legislation in place are clear.

Equipment – In General

Equipment should be regularly inspected and maintained to ensure it remains safe and does not pose a hazard to those using it. Machinery and plant equipment should have sufficient guards to prevent accidental access to dangerous parts, and should always have a plentiful amount of emergency stop buttons within easy reach of your working position.
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According to the Scarborough Evening News a NHS worker is seeking compensation of around £200,000 because of a shoulder injury she says she has sustained whilst at work.  The Scarborough Evening News reports that Julia Graham has had to have two operations on her shoulder because she is being overworked and wants compensation because she can no longer carry out her role as an ultrasonographer.  It would also appear that the hospital in which Mrs Graham works has admitted liability, but also alleges contributory negligence.

Employers owe their employees a duty of care which entails that they ensure that their employees’ health and safety needs are met.  According to Mrs Graham the NHS failed in this duty because they did not carry out the appropriate risk assessments, doubled her work load, and ignored her injury complaints.  It is alleged that this failure has meant that Mrs Graham has seen her shoulder problems worsen.  This is due to the fact that a lot of the time, Mrs. Graham is required to undergo tasks like scanning patients and various administrative duties which involved a lot of body movement.  The tasks required her to frequently lean and turn and to repetitively use her left hand.  This was also coupled by the fact that her work was high pressure and meant she had to stay several hours after her designated time to leave work.  As such, problems in her neck and shoulder began.  Mrs Graham has since had physiotherapy, acupuncture, and an operation, but says this has done little to help her situation.

The Scarborough Evening News says that the NHS, despite admitting liability, will suggest that Mrs Graham contributed to her injuries.  That is, that Mrs Graham was experienced enough to be in charge of her tasks, but failed to help herself by not taking account of the risks and carrying on with the tasks she was given.  This demonstrates the importance of seeking the advice of a professional injury lawyer.  If you have been involved in an accident at work or have sustained an injury whilst at work, what would you do if your employer said you were partly to blame for your accident?  It is one thing to deny this allegation, but you need to give reasons to support such a denial.  This is one of the reasons why you should seek the advice of a quality injury lawyer.  They can make arguments on your behalf as to why you are not in any way to blame for your injuries.  Without this advice you may be awarded less compensation than you deserve.

If you have been in an accident that wasn’t your fault, you can make a claim for compensation if you are suffering from a whiplash injury.

Whiplash is normally caused by the sudden and violent jolting of your neck either forwards, backwards, or sideways; commonly occurring after a road accident. Even in a minor crash you can end up with a nasty whiplash injury. It’s normally quite easy to establish who is at fault in a road accident – if you’re the blameless victim, you can make a claim for whiplash if you are suffering the symptoms.

Whiplash Symptoms
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One of the most frequent questions we get at The Injury Lawyers is as to whether you may be entitled to compensation.  In other words, do you have a claim?  Fortunately, we are quality injury lawyers with a vast amount of experience in this area we are able to provide you with the answer to this question in minutes (normally).  All we need to know is the sort of accident you have been involved in and the injuries you have sustained.  These are the most important pieces of information.  If you have not been injured, you may not be able to make a claim.  However, if you have suffered an injury, no matter how minor you may think it is, you could well have a claim and be entitled to compensation.  It is also important that the injuries you have suffered were not entirely your fault.  So, if you sustained an injury which is not your fault, you may deserve compensation and it is essential that you seek the advice of a professional injury lawyer who can immediately advise you.

It may now be a good idea to give you some examples of the work we undertake at The Injury Lawyers.  It will show you the sort of claims that can be made and help you take your first steps in obtaining that compensation you may deserve.

• One of the most common accidents suffered by our clients are those involving road traffic accidents – in other words, car crashes and motorcycles accidents.  If you have been unlucky enough to have been involved in one of these and it was not your fault, you can make a claim for compensation.

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Most people go to the supermarket maybe once a week to do the ‘big’ shop. Supermarkets are the height of convenience – everything is under one roof, prices are low, and you can bank on the fact that they’ll have everything you need in stock and with a good choice at that.

As supermarkets increase in popularity, it will come as no surprise for you to learn that supermarket injury claims are also on a steady rise.
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Ultimately, if you have been in an accident that wasn’t your fault, it’s likely that you have a claim for compensation for any injuries and suffering. When to claim is entirely up to you. But we’d be doing you a diss-service if we didn’t let you know that there is a time limit for claiming – so, if you’re considering putting it off, you might want to think again!

In most common claims, you have three years from the date of the accident in which to make a claim. But realistically, the sooner you do it, the better! Even though you have three years, if you leave it too long, vital evidence in the hands of those responsible may disappear over time. CCTV footage is normally retained for 2 – 4 weeks at most nowadays. Witness information is always great to have – but you don’t want to risk losing touch with a witness (say, if they move address) or the witness forgetting the key information over time.

The first thing you should always do (to protect your position a great deal more!) is see your GP or attend a local walk in centre or hospital ASAP. Explain to medical staff in considerable detail how your injuries were caused. They should note the details down on to your medical records – which is great for evidence later on down the line of the claim.
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This is a common question I hear on a daily basis from the new clients whose cases we accept – and not just for whiplash, but for any injury suffered through the fault of another person or party.

But how much are you entitled to claim for a whiplash injury? Well, the only way to properly value your injury is with a specialist solicitor on board, and a medical report compiled by an expert. But we can give you a few guides as to what you may be looking at:
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Accidents at work are unfortunately not uncommon as we at The Injury Lawyers know only too well.  Despite stringent health and safety laws, it would seem that employers are not always doing all they can to ensure that their workers are protected when at work.  Although they have a duty of care to look after the welfare of their workers, whether that is through the provision of proper and thorough training, or by making sure the right equipment is available and in a safe working order, it would seem that on some occasions employers do not take the right precautions.  This means that accidents at work occur.  It was only this week that it was reported across several media sites, in particular the Harrow Observer, that Raakesh Patel, a factory worker who produces bagels in Harrow, was involved in a serious accident at work whereby he lost the tops of two of his fingers when they were sliced off by the machinery he was using.

The Harrow Observer reports that Mr Patel’s employers knew that the machinery he was using was faulty, but still allowed him to use it.  As such, when Mr Patel was trying to unblock some dough from the machinery, one of the rotating blades used to cut the dough came on and cut the tops of two of his fingers off.  This was despite the fact that the machine’s safety device should have stopped the rotating blade moving, demonstrating that the machinery was clearly faulty.  As many of you would agree, this is something that no-one would wish upon themselves.  Somewhat fortunately, the local hospital Mr Patel attended was able to save one of the tops of his fingers and re-attach – he was not so fortunate with the other finger.  He will now have a visible reminder of this accident for the rest of his life.

Clearly the machinery was faulty.  The rotating blade used to cut the bagel dough had been allowed to operate when it should not have been able to do so.  Worse though was the fact that Mr Patel’s employers were aware that the machinery was faulty, and yet did not remove or replace the machinery.  The accident report book at the company Mr Patel worked at had entries regarding the faulty machine and yet they did not act.  This meant that this sorry accident occurred and now Mr Patel has to live with his employer’s negligent decision for the rest of his life.  Although Mr Patel did receive compensation, this will never replace the lost top of his finger.
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Personal injury claims are on the increase.  Therefore, it comes as no surprise that more and more people are competing to represent you in your claim.

At The Injury Lawyers, we want you to make an educated decision regarding which law firm is best for your claim.  The trouble with this is how do people get educated and so learn how to pick the good guys from the bad?

Well, this is where our blogs come in.  As personal injury experts, we want to keep you advised with up to the minute blogs informing you about a whole range of personal injury issues.  This particular blog is no different and informs you of one of the biggest confusions within personal injury today.
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We all love to go on holiday to maybe get some sun, relax, and have a change of scenery. We also love to go on holiday to experience the local cuisine – it maybe a paella in Spain, or a tagine in Morrocco.  Whatever the reason, we all would hope that our holiday runs smoothly and goes by problem free and easy.

The above may be true for the majority of us; but incidents such as food poisoning whilst on holiday are becoming more and more common.  This may come as no surprise as many hotels abroad may not have the same health and safety standards we have in the UK – which coupled with high temperatures can cause food to be easily contaminated.

For many, food poisoning can be mild, with the symptoms lasting 24 – 48 hours.  However, serious cases of food poisoning can result in longer periods of discomfort for the sufferer, which could culminate in being taken into hospital, or even, in extreme cases, be life threatening.
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