Accidents abroad – so how do they work? You may or may not know that most of us specialist personal injury solicitors can only really deal with claims in the UK – but we can in the majority of instances deal with accidents abroad on holidays! So how does it work?

Well, if you have an accident abroad on holiday, which was booked through a package holiday, and the accident occurred on premises inclusive on the package, or perhaps during an activity included or related to the package, then you can in most cases actually claim against the package holiday provider!

Its covered under (see if you can guess the name!) The Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992 (www.opsi.gov.uk), and it’s a key pieces of legislation us lawyers need when it comes to pursuing this type of claim on behalf of the client.
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Wilfried Fesselmann is an extremely hurt and angry man, and after you hear his story, you can’t fault the man for feeling this way. Mr Fesselmann claims he was abused by Rev. Peter Hullermann when he was just 11 years old. The then young Fesselmann confided in a friend about his nightmare, who inturn told Fesselmann’s parents. They acted accordingly and after the complaint was made, the Catholic Church, relocated the Rev. Peter Hullermann and ordered him to take therapy.

It’s just another awful story, one of thousands that has surfaced recently about the failings of the Catholic Church in their accountability to properly deal with the scores of twisted pedophile priests.

Wilfried Fesselmann is demanding an apology from Pope Benedict XVI but furthermore he is looking to be compensated for his turmoil “even if the church goes bankrupt.”
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Well roads certainly seem to be a hot topic for us at The Injury Lawyers at the moment; or at least when it comes to the topics of my articles of late. Pot holes are plenty, and in the midst of a major economical crisis we may set to be raged at our roads for the coming months! And according to sources from Sky News, we motorists are angry at the conditions of Britain’s roads at the moment, and its having one heck of a knock on effect… (Sky News Source).

In the midst of the upcoming election, motorists have reportedly set the stage for politicians to take the condition of our roads more seriously; and it could affect the way we place our votes! Up to 77% or motorists are “particularly angered” at the current damage on UK roads, namely potholes littering our highways! This has apparently completely overshadowed other transport concerns such as petrol prices, and is therefore leading politicians to look closer at what the voters are looking for when it comes to improving our transit systems!
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Another story of a rather unusual road traffic accident type incident; and perhaps a lesson to be learned on making sure that not just your driving needs to be up to standards, but your towing needs to be safe as well…

According to sources from the BBC (BBC news source), a man has been fined after a teacher suffered severe injuries when a runaway trailer collided with his bicycle as he was training for a triathlon. It was at one stage feared that Kevin Hamilton would lose his leg after suffering damage to the leg, pelvis and hip area following the incident. Thankfully, following surgery, several weeks in hospital, and reportedly Mr Hamilton’s courage, he was informed he will make a recovery.

The court that Mr Hamilton was cycling on the A489, Abergwyddol, when the trailer detached from contractor Michael Byrne’s oncoming van. The trailer consequently collided with Mr Hamilton with force, throwing him in to the air. He landed back on the road and reportedly ‘bounced’ in to a nearby hedge causing him his severe injuries.
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Certainly not one for the Ghostbusters! But when you’ve had an accident and you want to claim for the compensation you are legally entitled to recover, or you want advice on claiming, it’s an important question to ask. Who should you call? Well that’s completely up to you…

So you want to claim or you need advice – decisions decisions! There’s so many companies out there offering you so much; it’s a hard decision to make – probably as hard as deciding who I’m going to vote for in the election this year! So here’s a list of things you should tick off as part of the decision making process!
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You may have seen my recent post on the pot hole that resulted in the tragic death of a British serviceman – and you may yourself be aware that the increase in pot holes in the last few months is causing a nightmare on our roads! Well, it appears one man in his quest to avert such tragedy occurring again has been shunned aside by pedantic police, claiming the sign he erected to warn drivers of pot holes was instead a dangerous distraction… (source).

Fifty-nine year old Kent plumber Ted Relf has since criticised authorities for requesting that he remove the home-made sign following an alleged complaint that it was a distraction to drivers rather than a well placed warning of the dangers the road was hiding. Mr Relf has stated that he erected the sign in frustration at the lack of adequate maintenance for the road, stating “Making people aware of the potholes is a serious issue. It’s just stupid to think that someone would complain about a sign.” Local police have agreed with his contention that potholes themselves are a distraction.
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Now I’ve written a few blogs before on compensation for our brave war heroes injured in the line of duty; I myself have the maximum of respect for our armed forces. And I have previously covered claims against the council; with the most recent one being my cover of the Scams, Claims and Compensation Games program that took an in depth look in to the subject. But I never thought I’d ever cover both subjects in one blog… but according to sources form the Daily Mail, this next story falls in to both categories.

Daily Mail has covered the story of the war hero who survived Taliban attacks abroad, only to tragically killed due to a pot hole in the road (source). Its certainly a sad story to hear; Twenty nine year old Captain Jonathan Allen reportedly suffered major head injuries as he swerved to avoid a puddle filled pot hole at the side of the road whilst riding his bicycle, unfortunately in to the path of an articulated lorry. It is assumed that he allegedly did not see the pot hole until last minute, and the hole has been since filled in by the council just days after this tragic accident.
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We all put our trust in the services of the NHS – when our lives depend on it, they’re the experts we count on to save our souls. So it’s disturbing to hear that, according to sources from the BBC, a leading expert has stated an investigation should take place into 25 hospitals for higher than normal death rates (source).

Leading health expert Professor Brian Jarman has questioned the reasons that a total of 4,600 more patients died in the trusts in question in 2007-08 (with each of the trusts in question having at least 150 more deaths than expected in the year!) than would normally be expected. He also advised that a higher than normal death rate does not necessarily mean the hospital was doing anything wrong, but it could help to identify “wider problems” .
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OK – so its another article on a few road traffic stories again – but as I have said before, they are the most common type of accident we specialist Injury Lawyers represent injured claimants for. And as a little warning for you, we are expecting the weather to worsen this week (and there was me thinking it was getting better), according to sources from the Mirror (source).

The Met Office has issued a severe weather warning, with the worse hit areas expected to be in the North East and the Scottish Borders. Just this morning I myself was caught up in traffic with the M1 at a standstill; assumable due to an accident, or in some way relating to the weather. So take extra care on the roads I the coming days!

So, a couple of high profile instances in the news recently. According to sources from the BBC, football legend Paul Gasgoine has been formally charged with driving under the influence of alcohol; an act which I am sure you are all aware is a serious offence carrying hefty penalties. He has also been charged with driving without insurance and without a license (source).
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I’ve done a few articles over the last few months on the topic of product recalls. The big one I am sure you all know about is the ongoing Toyota recalls. But its difficult to hear of a product recall that has become existent following the deaths of product users; and even more so that the cases involve young children…

According to sources from Sky News, two popular baby slings are being recalled in the UK following links to the deaths of three youngsters in the US (source).
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