Personal injury works on the law of tort (negligence); whereby if a person is injured as a result of another person accidentally causing them to come to harm, the injured party has a right to pursue the negligent party for compensation.

So what happens if you are injured as a result of a premeditated attack or assault from a third party?

You still have a right to claim for compensation through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (Aka CICA) – www.cica.gov.uk
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We all joke that the loud group of women at the end of the office will send us deaf but can your working environment really make you deaf?

Yes and it is often termed as occupational or industrial deafness.

So what is it? What causes it and what can be done to prevent it?
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It appears the number of news articles centred on dangerous motor vehicle incidents are on the rise at the moment. Of course these stories are never nice to read about, particularly with the onset of the winter weather and driving conditions worsening.

You may have heard in the news recently of the police officer’s joyride that resulted in the tragic death of a grandmother, BBC news reports (source).
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The UK’s biggest coal miner, UK Coal, has suspended production at one of its sites after the death of an employee. According to The Guardian, Mr Ian Cameron died after an equipment failure, the company said.

This comes hot on the heels of the Health and Safety Executive announcing that it intends to prosecute the company over three deaths which occurred at its Daw Mill site in Warwickshire and one at its Welbeck Colliery site in Mansfield.

This kind of safety record over the last three years highlights the importance of risk assessments in the workplace. Risk assessments are conducted with the intention of minimising the risks in the workplace, to protect workers from harm.
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Further to discussions in recent articles, the turn of the weather as the clocks go back, the skies go greyer, and the air gets colder sees an increase in accidents as a result of the winter weather.

And it’s not just the wetter roads and darker skies that lead to increases in all sorts of accidents.

According to a mirror.co.uk report, car owners have been warned that the autumn leaves, as pretty as they may be, are the cause of crashes due to the leaves affecting onboard computer systems that many modern cars are fitted with nowadays (source)
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Bad news for motorists! According to the AA, car insurance costs are rising faster than at any time over the past 15 years.  Average premiums have risen by 14% since last October 2008.

The increased cost of car insurance has been particularly brutal on young drivers, with premiums for third party, fire and theft policies rising by 17.6% over the year to an average quoted premium of £1,059 according to The Guardian.
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Unfortunately there are still people out there who take the wrong decision to jump behind the wheel of a motor vehicle whilst under the influence of alcohol or narcotics; and it’s no secret that it’s a major cause of road traffic accidents around the world.

So what are the rules and legislation regarding being under the influence and on the road? It depends on the circumstances of course, but the gist Section 5 of the Road Traffic Act 1972 details clearly that a person found to be under the influence or alcohol or narcotics is guilty of offence (source – opens as a pdf).
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Stairs and steps can be dangerous; and with skyscrapers and larger buildings springing up all over the world as populations grow and cities expand, we could be set to see more unfortunate accidents of this nature occurring…

But accidents do happen, and it appears that not even the United Nations building in Vienna can escape an unfortunate stairwell accident occurring.

According to Sky News reports an unnamed 47 year old British man has fallen 120 ft to his death in a stairwell in the Vienna complex, although the cause of the accident is still yet to be determined. (source).
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Many of you may have been as shocked, as I was, to read the story about Mohammed Patel, the guy who has been staging accidents on behalf of vehicle owners so that they may make bogus claims from insurers – all for the great price of £500 a time!

In the last 3 years he has caused 93 crashes in the Greater Manchester area and each claim averaged at approximately £17,000.00.

Patel was making enough money for himself and his unemployed girlfriend to live a fairly luxurious standard of living. The courts heard that their home was filled with expensive furniture and they had holidayed in France and Barcelona recently.
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A £240,000 payout has been awarded to the holidaymaker whose banquet meal left her fighting for her life and with a seven year legal battle with tour operator First Choice, the mirror.co.uk reports.

Beryl Rushton paid £700.00 for a five star Christmas break in December 2001 at the Tropical Beach resort in Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic. After a second mouthful of a snapper fish steak, the holidaymaker was stunned to discover a large bloodied black worm in the centre of her meal which left her feeling sick, leading to an early night.
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