What should you do now? If you have been injured in an accident, particularly a road traffic accident, you may just be about to be hailed with offers left right and centre from companies who want to deal with your claim! And with so many lawyers out there, what should you do!!??

Well, we here at The Injury Lawyers like to do one thing for people out there who are thinking of claiming; give you free, honest, no obligation advice! So here’s some now:

No Win No Fee and 100% Compensation – How it Works….
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Councils have been left with huge bills of up to £100 million for repairs to roads following the extreme cold snap Britain has suffered.

The weather conditions have left more than one million potholes, with some craters up to a metre wide. Estimates state that there is a now one pot hole every 100 yards.

According to The Mirror, in the worst hit areas these potholes are equivalent to craters, with huge drops befalling cars that try and negotiate through them. This has already led to damaged exhausts and suspensions, and numerous punctures.
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Sky News heard that thousands of holiday makers will be stranded as the low budget airline formally known as globspan group PLC has gone bust!

The Edinburgh based airline has gone into administration and their administrators PriceWaterhousCoopers (PWC) confirmed they have failed to secure a new investor.

Not only will passengers be stranded, but over 800 employers will lose their jobs.

It is estimated that 4,5000 passengers alone are in Egypt and the Mediterranean and there are no flights home with the Airline.
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The government has issued a formal apology to the victims of the thalidomide scandal in respite efforts following the harrowing affects the drug has had on the victims, according to the BBC (source).

Health minister Mike O’Brien on behalf of the government expressed “sincere regret” and “deep sympathy” to the hundreds of victims of the German developed drug which was used in the 1950’s and 60’s to help pregnant women with insomnia and morning sickness.

It was quite a big story in the last contrary so I am sure many of you are aware of the devastating effects the drug’s use had on the children born from mothers using the drug. Hundreds of children were born with severe limb deformities and internal damage, and the government has promised more money to be made available to the remaining 466 survivors.  Mr O’Brien went on to say that the government acknowledges “physical hardship and the emotional difficulties that have faced both the children affected and their families as a result of this drug, and the challenges that many continue to endure often on a daily basis.”
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A man died in Derbyshire after he was prescribed a drug which he was known to be allergic to, an inquest heard yesterday.

According to the BBC, Mr Dennis Aucote, 57, died in March 2008 after suffering an allergic reaction to the drug ibuprofen. Mr Aucote’s doctor’s surgery apparently mixed up his medical notes with those of another patient, a Mr Dennis Allcote. However, Mr Aucote’s medical notes were not entirely clear as to his allergies in any case.

However, before prescribing the drug, Mr Aucote’s GP Dr Andrew Hignett failed to ask him about any allergies.

The court was told that Mr Aucote hurt his shoulder and made an appointment to see his doctor regarding his injuries.  Dr Hignett is alleged to have been looking at Mr Allcote’s medical notes, not Mr Aucote’s, and prescribed ibuprofen for the injury. Mr Aucote went to a chemist, collected the drugs and took one tablet in his home before suffering a violent reaction. He died shortly afterwards.
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As I am sure you are aware, we have authored a few articles over the last few weeks on the weather and discussed some useful driving advice in these times of perilous motor conditions! But not all drivers out there appear to be taking heed of the safety warnings and advice that have been plastered all over the news in recent weeks!

According to sources form the Daily Mail (source) police were gobsmacked as they witnessed an elderly motorist driving through the snow with only a small peephole to look out from! Her vehicle was so covered in snow it resembled a frosted topped desert!

The motorist was spotted and pulled over by police driving in hazardous icy conditions with a thick layer of snow and ice covering the majority of the windscreen of her blue Nissan; attending traffic officers kindly provided the elderly lady, whom had nipped out to purchase some food, with an ice scraper! Nearby pedestrians were stunned as they watched her struggle to see out of the small peephole in the windscreen, and the images taken by Devon Police are now being used to remind drivers to use common sense and clear their vehicles of snow and ice before travelling.
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Statistics show that young drivers, particularly men, are more likely to be involved in car accidents right through their 20’s. Younger drivers are thought to have faster reaction times and the ability to handle their vehicles and so it is thought that other factors pose the risk to the ‘youngsters’:

• Younger men have developed a name for themselves as boy races.
• They are more likely to drink drive / drive after taking drugs
• Younger drivers and their passengers are less likely to wear seatbelts
• Younger drivers tend to buy older cars or new cars that are small and not as safe in an accident
• They have a sense of indestructibility and drive like’ bat out of hell’ down familiar roads.
• Confidence and cockiness get the better of them when they take unnecessary risks overtaking though impatience.

Although statistics show the number of people dying on the road has seriously reduced, the number of younger drivers dying from car accidents is still worryingly high.
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A campaign by a Welsh MP to ban the use of tanning salon sunbeds by under-18s is receiving backing from the government and has been lent support by Nicola Roberts, a member of pop group Girls Aloud.

According to the BBC, the singer plans to make a documentary highlighting the dangers of the tanning industry.

Health secretary Andy Burnham said the scientific evidence of harm to skin and a link to skin cancer was clear and the a bill has been put forward by Cardiff North MP Julie Morgan to get the use of salons by under-18s banned.
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We all like a good drink every now and then – and we all know the increasing safety concerns over Britain’s drinking habits that have hit the news over the last few years. And alcohol can often play a major part of a claim for compensation.

In fact, the BBC has authored a few articles recently on the issue. According to one report (source), the Conservative Party has called for a complete revamp on alcohol labelling. The centre-right party have stated that confusion is evident from the use of the term “units” on labelling; they are calling for more specific descriptions in line with most of Europe in an effort to encourage safer drinking.

The Tories (Conservatives) have suggested labelling should detail “centilitres of pure alcohol” and perhaps have a more specific breakdown of the contents, including calorie intake information. Reportedly research has shown only just over half of alcoholic beverages labels adopt the voluntary code of units contained within the drink; despite industry moves to improve compliance. The proposals come as part of the Conservatives new public health strategy, amid claims that the rising levels of alcohol abuse now include the figure that 1 in 10 people are classed as hazardous drinkers; a startling statistic!
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A gentleman from Pontefract left paralysed from the neck down following a car crash has been awarded £8.35 million in compensation.

According to the BBC, Mr Lukasz Borowski was a passenger in a work colleague’s car when the driver crashed in to a ditch in Cambridgeshire.

The sum, awarded at Newcastle High court, will pay for Mr Borowski’s long term care. He suffered damage to his spinal cord, a fractured spine and also suffered from brain damage as a result of the road traffic accident. According to Mr Borowski’s lawyer the settlement value was in fact nearly £10.5 million, however, Mr Borowski accepted a 20% reduction in damages because he was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident.
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