For most of us the reason we choose to join a gym is to help maintain a healthy lifestyle, loose weight or tone up in what some of us refer to as “problem areas”. When choosing which gym we join, we may look at which is the cheapest, which has the most to offer us, or the one we live closest to.

I believe that joining a gym has more benefits than working out at home. Not only do they have a variety of professional equipment that allows us to train different parts of our body, they also have trained fitness instructors to assist us in our fitness goals. Fitness instructors are there to ensure we know how to use all of the equipment safely and to write up fitness plans to cater for our needs.

When we first join a gym it is important that we are shown how to use all of the equipment properly; this usually involves us been given an initial induction by one of the fitness staff. After the induction, staff at most places will usually fill out some paperwork with us as proof that they showed us how to use the equipment. This acts as a legal document if we do become involved in an accident whilst using the gym.
Read More

There has been a lot of discussion in the media about the state of some of the roads in Britain. Due to bad weather at the start of the year some roads have developed potholes. Potholes can be extremely dangerous to road users; not only can they cause damage to vehicles but they can also be responsible for road traffic accidents.

The government have spent millions of pounds repairing the roads in Britain, however some still have potholes in them. If you become involved in a road traffic accident and believe a pothole was to blame you should alert your local council. When doing so you should:
Read More

A repetitive strain injury (RSI) is caused when a person overuses a part of their body and their muscles in that area. A lot of RSI’s are caused at work, for example if someone is sat at a computer all day they may suffer an injury in their hand or wrist area. This is because typing can cause stress in the muscles around that area and the tissue may become damaged. If they do become damaged a chemical is released in the body to attempt to repair any damage. However, if repetitive movement continues, the body’s efforts to heal or repair itself may result to stress in the muscle tissue causing the RSI.

Anyone suffering from an RSI may get a disabling pain in the affected area, and feel tingling and swelling. For example, if you’re suffering from an RSI due to spending too much time typing then you will feel a tingling in your thumb and first two fingers; this is a key symptom of an RSI.

There are a number of RSI’s and they can be caused through a number of different activities. Any activity that requires a person to perform repetitive tasks puts them at risk of suffering from such an injury.
Read More

A lot of us take part in sporting activities to help us maintain a healthy lifestyle. We are all aware that taking part in such activities can help prevent heart disease, obesity and depression. Taking part in any sporting activity releases endorphins; a hormone that makes us feel happier in ourselves.

Anyone who attends the gym regularly or takes part in sporting activities on a regular basis knows the impact they can have on our bodies. It may be that the day after exercising, our legs or arms ache more than normal, which we see as a sign that our training session went well.

Those who follow sport on TV or attend sporting events will be aware of how frequently accidents and injuries take place with such activities. In football matches you often see the players been rushed off the pitch due to injuries, or some players sitting games out due to injuries they have sustained.
Read More

OK, so not so much of an original topic given my last blog about road accident madness. But the “madness” theme spreads across all walks of life, and all forms of claims for personal injury. As a specialist firm of personal injury experts, we take on all sorts of claims, given the sheer volume of cases we take on daily; and sometimes we genuinely have to ask ourselves – “how was this allowed to happen?”

Health and safety laws, rules, and regulations are there for very good and very sensible reasons – to prevent people from coming to harm. Never mind what the ConDems say about “elf and safety gawn mad”, if you follow the practices and procedures in place, no one should come to harm. So when people and companies break rules and regulations to such extents that their actions can be classed as “mad”, you do have to ask yourself how on earth they managed to break the rules so tremendously bad.

Personally, I tend to class some of the more simple rules broken as madness. For example, councils failing to inspect and maintain their jurisdiction of highway on a regular basis. It only needs to be done every 3 – 12 months or so, dependant on the use of the road or pathway. A simple inspection can identify defects, and workman can be contracted to repair them. It seems basic enough to me. But there are still highways authorities that fail to follow the rules – meaning claims can be brought against them.
Read More

Road accidents are a daily occurrence. We at The Injury Lawyers take on countless claims for victims of negligent drivers in their search for justice and the compensation they are legally entitled to receive. With the winter months setting in and the weather worsening, I expect a noticeable increase in the volume of road accident claims we take on; which is a common trend.

But every now and then, a road accident is not just a road accident. Sometimes, it seems like shear madness is the cause of negligence – so here’s a couple of stories from Sky News and The Daily Mail of incidents that certainly have an air of craziness about them.

According to one report from Sky News (Melbourne Mum Crashes Car Crammed With Seven Kids), a 35 year old woman from Melbourne, Australia, is being investigated by police after she crashed an unregistered ’92 Mitsubishi Magna which was carrying seven children; including three in the boot! She was allegedly over the drink-drive limit (which is not surprising, and certainly explains, but does not excuse, her actions) when she drove the car off of the road and in to a parked vehicle.
Read More

When you become injured in an accident that wasn’t your fault, and are making a compensation claim, a court will look at all aspects of the accident to see exactly how you obtained your injuries. They may look at the speed of both vehicles to see if yours or the other drivers speed caused you further injury or other aspects such as whether or not you and any other passengers injured were wearing a seatbelt.
 
The reason they do this is because small implications such as not wearing a seatbelt or speeding can cause further damage to any injuries. So, for example, if you were involved in an accident and you suffered a whiplash injury however later on the court discovered that you failed to wear a seatbelt at the time the accident took place then your claim may be reduced due to your contributory negligence.
 
Contributory negligence may be used as a defence by the opposing party to decrease the amount of money you are allowed to claim. They may still be admitting responsibility for the road traffic accident, but are saying your failure to follow the law and wear a seatbelt caused you more injury than would have be sustained if you were wearing a seatbelt.
Read More

Like most drivers, if I ever drive through a city centre at night or any roads near local bars where it is clear people have been drinking I am extremely careful. I’ll drive below the speed limit and check to see whether any of them are likely to run out in front of my car. Becoming involved in an accident with a pedestrian is a driver’s worst nightmare.

Pedestrians are extremely vulnerable to motor vehicles and if they become involved in an accident with one, they can suffer from extreme injuries depending upon the speed of the vehicle.

If you’re on a night out or have been drinking and become involved in an accident that you believe wasn’t your fault there are a few ways a court would look at this. They would look at where the accident took place so would consider if on the road whether it was at a pedestrian crossing or not. If so they would look at whether the pedestrian just walked out or whether the vehicle failed to pay due care and attention.
Read More

The Highway Code describes children as extremely vulnerable when on the road. It states that drivers need to pay due care and attention when driving around places such as schools where children are expected to be. A lot of children don’t have a high understanding of danger and therefore it is extremely unlikely that a court will find contributory negligence against a child.

To make sure children are safe when going to and from school, local authorities employ lollipop men and women to make sure they cross the busier roads safely. However most schools only employ one lollipop man or women so it is up to the drivers to look out for children who may run out from behind parked vehicles.

From a young age, children are taught about road safety. For example: The Green Cross Code is taught to children in primary schools. This tells them to stop, look and listen before crossing a road. They are also reminded to look left and right a number of times before doing so. Some schools even watch videos on road safety with pupils to ensure they have a full understanding of the dangers of motor vehicles.
Read More

Most of us make a weekly visit to our local supermarket to carry out what we all refer to as the big shop or the weekly shop. Some of us spend what feels like a fortune on food. We all try to choose a time that we expect the supermarket won’t be so hectic…some of us tend to avoid Saturday and Sunday afternoons.

Supermarkets can get extremely busy at the worst of times, and the stress of trying to get everything you need in a busy environment and pushing a trolley around, can at times get to the best of us, especially if we’ve got the kids as well. Kids tend to hate anything to do with shopping; the only thing they like is putting a bag of sweets or a new toy in the trolley.

Unfortunately some supermarkets are the setting for a scene of an accident. It may be that there are tins or boxes piled up in a display at the end of aisle, and if someone accidentally nudges them with their trolley, they may fall over. Supermarkets also have cleaners on duty making sure that there are no hazards around such as spilt liquids on the aisles or broken glass.
Read More