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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There are many jobs out there that require employees to work at height. It may be that you work for a maintenance team, that you’re a window cleaner or that you work in an office. Whatever your job role is, if you are required to work at height it is your employers responsibility to ensure that you are safe when doing so. There have been a number of accidents across Britain where employees have become injured because the necessary precautions weren’t carried out or because they were sent on a job alone when it required two people to do it.

Before many jobs in the workplace are carried out something that is called as risk check is done. This is where the job waiting to be done is seen as low, medium or high risk. If it is found to be medium or high risk staff responsible for conducting the task may then have to re-think certain things, or change the way it is done to make that task safer.

No matter what job role you have it is likely that you will be required to work at height at some point in you career. Working at height doesn’t necessarily mean working up a pair of ladders or on a building site. If a receptionist is asked to change a light bulb or uses a chair to reach for something high up, that is also classed as working at height. Whatever job it is you do it is important that it is done safely.
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With the festive season officially over a lot of us will be returning to work today, which can only mean one thing…endless traffic jams on the roads and the stress of January kicking in. Most of us out there will be more than familiar with the morning rush and, will well and truly despise it. However it’s something that isn’t going to go away anytime soon, and therefore we should handle it in the sincerest way possible. That means not letting road rage get the better of you as other drivers irritate you in the early morning rush.  

To make returning to work that little more daunting for those of us doing so, some of us woke to find a thin blanket of snow on the ground. Thankfully on most roads across South Yorkshire the snow had only managed to settle on the footpaths and side roads so the main roads stayed clear. However according to the weather forecast it is just a mild taster of the weather that we are expected to witness over the next month as the big freeze returns. In order to combat that hopefully our councils will be more than prepared and take to the roads early with grit to make sure that we don’t suffer the same effects as we did in early December.

Drivers using the roads over this next month should be prepared for the worst of the weather and take precautions just in case their vehicle breaks down. Drivers should make sure that they travel on a full tank of petrol, in the unlikely event that they become stranded or stuck in a traffic jam they will need the heater on their vehicle to keep warm. They should also carry a winter emergency kit with them at all times,  the kit should include a blanket to keep them warm if they do become stranded, a number of food and water supplies and a small first aid kit. Along with warm clothing and suitable winter boots just in case they have to walk a long distance in the cold. Hopefully the snow won’t have the impact that it did in December but it’s always best to be prepared.
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There are many public facilities across Britain that allow us to take part in a variety of activities. Some of the activities available to us include swimming, athletics or open sports events such as netball, basketball and football. Whatever sport it is that we choose to take part in those responsible for the activity should make sure that all of the necessary health and safety precautions are put in order.

In order to do this those in charge of the event will need to carry out a number of risk assessments, along with moving any equipment that they think could be a hazard. Any sport that people take part in should have a qualified instructor or coach to assist those taking part. In the unlikely event that someone did become injured they could be the first person made of aware of this.

If you or your child has took part in such an activity and suffered an injury whilst doing so they may be able to make an injury compensation claim. In order for that claim to be successful the accident must have been caused by the negligence of somebody else, leading to the injuries they have suffered. After such an accident the first thing to do would be to report the incident to a member of staff on site. They would then be able to assess any injuries suffered and carry out the necessary actions in attending to them.
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Most of us enjoy eating out every now and again – not only is it nice for someone else to cook for us, but it gives us the chance to try different types of food that we probably wouldn’t cook for ourselves. Hopefully, the food we have eaten will have been of a high standard and made for an enjoyable night out. However, in some of the more unfortunate situations, eating out has caused us to suffer from food poisoning.

In some cases, food poisoning is of course unpleasant and the symptoms can be mild. In these types of cases, the bug usually lasts no more than 24 hours and we feel much better when it is out of our system – with the lesson learned never to eat there again! However, there are more extreme cases of food poisoning that can often cause the person suffering the disease to become extremely; ill and in some cases place them in hospital.

Food poisoning is caused by bacteria, toxins, or viruses that have contaminated food or drink. All food should be prepared in conditions that abide by stringent health and safety regulations.
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A supermarket is something we are all familiar with – in fact, it’s a store that we probably visit at least a couple of times a month to get the necessary food and supplies we need for our household. Hopefully when we visit our supermarket we will be able to get in and get out with the goods we need and with as little stress as possible. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case.

Believe it or not – supermarket accidents are actually quite common. In fact, they are one of the most common types of claims that we deal with at the Injury Lawyers. With dozens of trolleys rushing around in a small space, along with shelves stacked with goods, a spillage is always possible – it really isn’t much of a surprise that accidents happen.

In order to combat such hazards, supermarkets employers have to carry out regular checks around the store to keep the possibility of an accident occurring to a minimum. Staff will need to check for any spillages and make sure that shelves are stacked safely to avoid the risk of any products falling over. In order for the supermarket to keep up to date with such checks, staff will be required to sign a sheet every time they carry out their checks. Read More

A repetitive strain injury (RSI) is a type of injury that is caused when a muscle in the body becomes damaged due to over-using it. The most common cause of such an injury is using a computer in the work place. Working in an office is what some of us probably think of as the safest place to work – but it can in fact cause an RSI injury.

Some of us may think that a repetitive strain injury is actually quite rare; they are more popular than you’d think, and definitely more popular than the economy would like. Such injuries cost the economy an average of £300million a year because of lost working hours. Like a lot of other injuries, there are procedures both you and your employer can carry out to prevent you and other staff suffering from an RSI.

Your employer can buy equipment such as wrist supports that you can use when sat at the computer – this takes some of the pressure away from the muscles. Your employer can also reduce the risk of you suffering such an injury by ensuring that you take regular breaks. This will give the muscles time to rest, and decreases the chances of an injury being caused.
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With Christmas just gone and the sales underway, it is certain that a lot of us will have bought ourselves or someone else something new this year. It may be that our partner bought us that much anticipated pair of shoes we have been dreaming about, or that we bought our child that toy they had been obsessing over for months! Either way, whatever product we have given or received, it will have needed to pass a number of health and safety checks before it reached us.

Hopefully the gift you sent or received will have been what they wanted and brought them happiness around this wonderful time of year. Unfortunately, (here’s the depressing bit) not all products will have brought happiness – in fact, in some cases, some of them may have actually being defective. A defective product comes in many forms and often causes the person using the product to suffer an injury.

In some cases the company that supplied the product will realise that it is unsafe before anyone becomes injured, and will conduct what is called a “product recall”. This is where all the products that are seen to be harmful are collected back in by the supplier to prevent anyone from suffering such an injury.
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