I imagine that some of those reading this blog may be aware of the case I am about to briefly outline.  It involves a cup of coffee purchased from a McDonald’s restaurant in America nearly two decades ago…

The Claimant, Ms Stella Liebeck, suffered very serious burns, in particular to her legs, as a result of her spilling a scalding hot cup of coffee on her lap.  In fact, Ms Liebeck was hospitalised for over a week, lost a fifth of her body mass, and required medical treatment for two years.  It was considered by the judge that the coffee was too hot and in fact far hotter than any coffee served by other food and drink outlets – and was inadequately labelled as to warn Ms Liebeck, and other coffee drinkers, of the potential hazard it posed.  While McDonalds stated that they purposely served their coffee extremely hot so that commuters who purchased the product would be able to drink it for longer, others have suggested that McDonalds ensured that their coffee was piping hot so that their customers could not drink it straight away in the restaurant and would therefore not gain a refill!  Either way, Ms Liebeck was awarded nearly $650,000 compensation.

Some may argue that coffee is obviously going to be hot, and that accordingly, the risk is clearly apparent.  Indeed, many have argued this and suggested that the case can only be described as ‘frivolous’ and ‘ridiculous’.  This blog, however, does not intend to argue the rights and wrongs of that case, but to raise awareness of the potential compensation you may be entitled to should you have suffered a personal injury as a result of a defective or dangerous product.
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The recent news of the death of former British boxing champion Gary Mason whilst he was cycling on the roads of South London, brings road safety whilst on bicycles, motorbikes, scooters and mopeds to the forefront of our minds.

Sadly, road accidents involving the vehicles named above are increasingly common.  This is due to the roads getting busier and the fact that vehicles such as motorbikes seem to appear out of nowhere.  Most accidents involving motorbikes happen due to traffic meeting at junctions, crossroads and roundabouts, bad weather conditions, or items being in the road.  It is also not a too uncommon sight whilst driving, especially around student areas, to see a bus pulling into a stop and narrowly missing a cyclist.

Statistics seem to suggest that motorbike accidents in the UK occur most prominently in males between the ages of 30-39.  This is a group of people who are most likely to be the main breadwinner, maybe supporting a family, and are coming towards the peak of their career.  It would therefore be imperative for anyone who has been involved in such an accident to contact a good personal injury lawyer with expertise in this area as soon as possible in order to get the claim underway, get liability admitted, and put forward an application for interim payments.  Interim payments are payments which can be obtained for victims of accidents before settlement of their case to ensure they are not suffering financially whilst waiting for their case to come to a conclusion.
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In 1998 former Commonwealth Games cyclist Manny Helmot was involved in a cycling accident.  When out training he was knocked off his bike by a car, sustaining severe injuries.  Twelve years on, Manny received one of the largest compensation payout in Britain – a whopping £13.75million.  For those who have been unfortunate enough to have been involved in a cycling accident, or in fact suffered a personal injury as a result of some other form of accident, this is not to say you will likewise receive millions of pounds.  There are factors which are taken into account when deciding the amount of compensation you should be awarded if you have suffered injury as a result of an accident.

Your compensatory award is normally calculated in two parts.  Firstly, your lawyers will ascertain your injuries and look to obtain General Damages for these.  Secondly, your lawyers will assess any other losses you have suffered as a result of your injury and seek to attain Special Damages for these.  Both these forms of damages are now explored.

General Damages

General Damages is the term used to describe the compensation you will receive for your physical and psychological injuries.  For example, have you suffered a broken arm, burns, severe bruising or post-traumatic stress disorder?  With reference to Manny’s case, Manny lost the use of his right arm, was rendered partially blind, and sustained brain injuries as a result of his cycling accident.  Accordingly, he was compensated for each of these injuries.
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Most of us visit a supermarket maybe once a week to do the ‘big’ shop, as everything is conveniently under one roof, and we often save a lot of money doing all the shopping in one big go.  However, we don’t expect this convenience to come at a price to us and for us to have an accident in a store. 

It may come as a surprise but supermarket accidents are becoming one of the most common types of personal injury claims.  This can be due to items being poorly stacked on shelves and falling on you, slipping on a spillage, or tripping on an item left in the aisle.  If you have been involved in an accident in a supermarket then you may be entitled to make a claim for compensation for your injuries.  It is the duty of the supermarket to ensure the safety, as much as is reasonably possible, of their customers is maintained whilst shopping in store.  In order to avoid such an accident to one of their loyal customers, supermarket employers must make sure the necessary checks are carried out for trip and slip hazards, and to ensure to train employees fully in all key areas of health and safety.  The supermarkets must comply with all the Health and Safety standards.

If you have been involved in an accident whilst in a supermarket, and it was not your fault, here are some tips:
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It is no secret that roads are getting busier and people are always in a rush to get places, so it is no surprise that the number of road accidents each year is on the increase. 

The start of a new year is always a good time to look back over previous year’s statistics and take note of how safe, or not, our roads have been. According to the Department of Transport back in 2009 there were 163,554 road accidents reported to the police involving personal injury.  Many of these personal injury claims will involve Whiplash injuries.

Whiplash is becoming an increasingly common injury as a result of a road traffic accident so this is why us at The Injury Lawyers feel the need to inform visitors to our site of the essential do’s and don’ts when pursuing a whiplash claim.
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Picture this. You are a footballer only days away from the greatest game of your career.  You go to work, carry out your normal duties, and end up with a groin injury that could prevent you from fulfilling your boyhood dreams.For Mark Peat, goalkeeper of lowly Berwick Rangers, this was somewhat of a reality. Just days from his mouth-watering clash with Scottish Premier giants Celtic, Mark ‘felt a wee pop in [his] groin’. The Daily Record reports that Mark, who works for Greggs the baker, was going about his usual daily tasks, which typically include loading and transportation duties, when he suffered a groin injury.  On this occasion it would seem that Mark was simply pushing a roll cage around a Greggs factory when the incident happened. For Mark, as I am sure many can imagine and sympathise, the timing of the injury could not have come at a worse time. Luckily for Mark however, the effects of his injury wore off in time for him to face Celtic. Sadly, on this occasion, Mark’s heroics were not enough to spare Berwick from defeat, losing, commendably, by only 2 goals to nil.

It just goes to show that injuries can occur at any time, and the workplace is just one arena in which incidents can happen. Fortunately in Mark’s case, his injury was relatively minor and he was able to resume normal activities in no time at all.  Moreover, it is not even to say that his injury was directly attributable to his working practice.  However, here at The Injury Lawyers we hear of accidents at work on a daily basis and we cannot stress how important it is, if you have been injured in your workplace, to the get the advice of a professional injury lawyer so that they can advise you as to whether you are entitled to make a claim for compensation.

It is important to understand that your employer owes you, as an employee, a duty of care. They must look out for your health and safety. – e.g. – ensuring that your workplace is safe by maintaining equipment or reducing your risk of injury by providing you with the correct clothing and equipment; by way of the Health and Safety at Work etc Act 1974, your employer must acknowledge your health and safety concerns.
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Many people believe that making a personal injury claim is a difficult and lengthy process, made worse by the likelihood that the other side will do everything possible to avoid admitting liability. As such many people have been put off making a claim for personal injury when in fact they are entitled to thousands of pounds in compensation. This guide has been created to assure those with genuine personal injury claims that your injury lawyers will do everything they can to settle your claim at the earliest opportunity. 

The process of making a personal injury claim has been made a great deal easier by the introduction of the Pre-Action Protocol for Personal Injury claims. This Protocol sets out a series of simple steps that are to be taken by both sides in order to settle your personal injury claim as soon as possible. We will firstly produce a Letter of Claim which outlines your accident, the injuries you have suffered and details of any financial losses you have incurred as a result of your injury. We always produce a thorough Letter of Claim to ensure investigations of your claim can begin straightaway. This Letter of Claim is sent to the other side who have a period of 21 days to acknowledge receipt. 

In most cases the other side will pass the Letter of Claim to their insurer or solicitor within the 21 day period.  As soon as the Defendant or his/her insurer or solicitor acknowledges the Letter of Claim they are allowed a period of three months to investigate your claim.  Importantly, this is not to say that these investigations will take three months, this is purely a deadline in which the other side must come back to us stating whether liability is admitted or denied.  During this three month period we will contact you fortnightly to make sure you are always up-to-date on the progress of claim.  We also regularly chase the other side for their position on liability.
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The “Big Freeze” is something which has no doubt affected each and every individual within the UK in one way or another. The overwhelming amount of snowfall appears to have hit the UK unexpectedly, bringing certain areas of the country to a standstill. Highway authorities have been criticised for being unprepared for these conditions, resulting in numerous road closures across the country. A number of unfortunate drivers were stranded on the motorway and had no other option but to sleep in their cars!

Considering the havoc and chaos which this mere snowfall has caused, taking into account the road closures, airport closures and business closures, it would seem that the only people who will have benefited from these adverse weather conditions would be the sledge suppliers!

Inevitably, as a result of these weather conditions, numerous people have been involved in unfortunate accidents and sustained injury. So where would those individuals who have personally suffered injury as a result of these conditions seek remedy? Questions of course would follow from this, such as – (1) who would be held accountable for this injury?; and (2)what type of injury was sustained?
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The use of seat belts when driving or being driven in a vehicle has always been a message sent out to people whenever a road accident has been reported. We all know that we have to wear them for our own safety as well as the safety of others in the car and it is something which the police look out for when on the roads. Many of us, however,do not realise the consequences of not wearing a seat belt when it comes to a personal injury claim as a result of a road traffic accident.

If you have been involved in a road accident and it was not your fault, you may be entitled to compensation.  However, if a seat belt was not worn at the time of the accident, the potential compensation you are entitled to can be reduced by up to 25%. Many people become careless when travelling in a taxi or coach and neglect to put their seat belt on; the recent news story of a coach overturning in Norfolk carrying 48 passengers, yet having no fatalities, was put down to the passengers wearing seat belts.

Just to reiterate, the rules surrounding the use of seat belts are that every individual over the age of 14 must wear an adult seat belt.  Children who are under the age of 14, depending on age and height, must wear a child restraint or an adult seat belt. There are exceptions to these rules and more in depth detail on the law in this area regarding the safety of children in the car is available at http://www.childcarseats.org.uk/index.htm.
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Some of us love them and some of us hate them, whatever our opinion, motorbikes are here to stay on our roads. They are a preferred means of transport for some road users and if other road users look out for bikes on the roads then together we should be able to cut their accident rate. Unfortunately, as it stands motorbikes and their riders are the most likely to become involved in a motorcycle traffic accident.

When out on the roads all road users have a duty of care to show to one another. This means that they should never do anything that puts the health and safety of other people using the road at risk. All motorists on the roads should always look out for road users such as cyclists, bikers and pedestrians. These road users are most vulnerable if they do become involved in a road traffic accident.

Bikers are often not seen by other motorists or motorists say that they simply appeared out of no-where. Before turning off it is important that as a motorist you check all your mirrors to make sure that there are no bikers approaching behind you. As a biker there a number of things you should do to ensure your safety on the roads.
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