Personal Injury Law Blogs

How To Make A Work Accident Claim

Every year in the UK a significant amount of people experience accidents at work and many of these sustain injuries as a result. By law, it is the employer’s duty to provide a safe working environment and  take necessary measures and precautions to prevent any potential accidents. However, no matter how many preventive methods are put in place, accidents are still likely to occur.

If you have suffered an injury at work and feel you are entitled to compensation, have a glance at this guide and find out how to make a work accident claim.

Who’s to blame?

First things first, you need to identify who is to blame for the accident. If your employer’s negligence was the reason for the accident then you will be able to file for an accident claim. Most cases often stem from employer’s failing to provide adequate safety methods in the workplace. It is important that you clearly record the accident in an accident book and file a claim within three years of the incident.

Act fast

Even though you have three years to make a claim, it is important that you do it as soon as possible. Failure to do so could cause your claim to fail or reduce your chance of winning. The longer the period you leave before taking action, the less the chance of the success of your claim. This is due to the evidence required to connect the chain of events to prove that your injury was caused by the accident in question.

Find a solicitor

To move forward with your claim you need to contact a personal injury solicitor as soon as possible. Solicitors are efficient and confident in their specialist areas of law and will provide a friendly and helpful service. Their job is to reassure you and help you win your claim. Your solicitor will be able to start your claim for compensation on a no win no fee basis too.

Gather your evidence

You will need to present your solicitor with relevant evidence to back up your claim. Acceptable evidence you need to present:

  • Date of the accident (if  possible the time too)
  • Photographs of the scene and your injuries
  • Statements from witnesses
  • Your medical reports concerning the injury

Be Patient

Once you have found the right solicitor to help you process your claim, all you have to do is be patient. Some cases are settled within weeks; however the occasional case can take a longer period of time to reach a settlement. Solicitors need to be thorough and precise and this will take time. Solicitors will do all they can to help you win your claim; therefore it is important to be patient.

If you need more advice on how to make a work accident claim, visit loyaltylaw.com

Claiming Compensation for an Accident in a Public Place

Every year in the UK, thousands of people are injured due to an accident in a public place. The owners and maintainers of public spaces have a responsibility to keep these places safe. This is known as a ‘duty of care’ to keep the public space safe and maintained.

Icy sidewalks, broken railings, tripping hazards and other dangers can cause serious injury at public areas such as shopping centres, car parks, play areas, schools and more. These injuries might be small, but they can also be very severe and can cause on-going pain and long term disability.

If you have injured yourself in a public place and you are able to prove that it was due to a hazard created by someone else’s neglect, you could be eligible for compensation. The person responsible for the property will likely have public liability insurance to cover such incidents.

Gather All of the Information You Can

One of the first steps to making an injury claim is to gather as much information as possible about the incident and how it occurred. Visit the spot where you hurt yourself and take photos to illustrate the danger. For example, if you fell down a set of stairs because one stair was broken, take a photo of the broken stair as well as the entire staircase and its surroundings.

If the accident occurred within a building, such as a restaurant, shopping mall or supermarket, make sure that you notify the staff and that the incident is recorded in their accident book.

Also, if anyone was nearby to you and saw your accident, have them write down their account of how it happened in as much detail as possible and sign it. After getting medical treatment for your injuries you should keep any documents and details about your treatment and any receipts for expenses related to your injury. When you make a claim, you may be able to be compensated for these costs.

Making a Claim

Once you have all of the evidence that you need to make a personal injury claim for your accident in a public place, you will need to contact a lawyer who has experience in this area of law. Make sure that you choose a legal professional who has a good reputation, positive references and a proven track record of success.

Your lawyer will help you make the case that the person responsible for maintaining the public place breached their duty of care and was negligent. They will also have to prove that your injuries were a direct result of that negligence. For example, if you slipped and broke your wrist due to a spill on the floor of a supermarket which should have been cleaned up, you might be able to hold them responsible for your injuries as well as the time you spent off work recovering.

The Two Parts of Your Compensation

When you claim compensation for your injury in a public place, your lawyer will be fighting for two different types of compensation. The first is general damages and it refers to the pain and suffering you went through as well as your inability to do things after the accident as you did them before.

The second part of compensation is for all of the expenses occurred by your medical treatment and any other costs that were a result of the accident. You should be compensated so that your financial position is where it would have been if the accident had never occurred.

If you have injured yourself in a public place and you think that you are eligible for a compensation claim, don’t suffer in silence! Talk to a lawyer to find out what you are entitled to.

Have you sustained an injury for an accident in a public place? Here are some things you need to know before speaking to Solicitors Woking and making a claim.

Schoolboy Wins Unlikely Car Accident Compensation Claim

A young boy, who is just 16 years of age, has initiated a car accident compensation claim against the insurance company of a driver after sustaining a serious head injury on the way to school. The identities of those involved in the case must remain concealed at this stage due to legal reasons. The car accident occurred when the boy took up an offer of a lift to school by 24 year old driver and he went on to share the front seat of the vehicle with a young girl. Neither of the youngsters were wearing seat belts for the journey. In spite of these circumstances, the 24-year-old man drove the car at 60 mph in a 30 mph zone, a decision which resulted in him losing control of the vehicle, veering onto the wrong side of the road and crashing headlong into an oncoming car. The force of the car crash was sufficient to send a small Vauxhall vehicle into a spin before rolling onto its roof, sadly claiming the life of the driver.

The schoolboy launched the car accident compensation claim against the motor insurance company of the deceased driver, a move which saw the insurers accept liability for the car accident having taken place, meaning they would pay compensation. However, the insurance company argued that contributory negligence on the boy’s part meant that less compensation should be awarded. The reasoning was that had the front seat been used correctly, with just one person and a seat belt in place, a less severe head injury would have been the result.

Engineering experts were called in to assess the circumstances of the car accident. After a considerable investigation carried out on the evidence left both at the scene and by the broken vehicle, the engineers concluded that it was highly likely that the boy would have sustained a serious head injury even if a seatbelt had been worn. The medical consultant who had prepared the medical reports for the compensation claim did not comment on this issue in the documents.

The judge overruling the proceedings concluded that the car accident compensation claim provided no evidence that, had the seat belt have been used, the degree of the personal injury would have been lessened. The judge went on to state that it would, therefore, be unjust to reduce the amount of compensation on the grounds of contributory negligence. The insurance company of the deceased driver took the case to the Court of Appeal only to be met with the decision being upheld. The amount of car accident compensation won remains undisclosed at this stage.

Whiplash and Additional Health Complications

Whiplash is a common neck injury regularly sustained during a road traffic accident. Some will recover within weeks without any treatment, while others will suffer further health complications that continue in the long-term. In this article we explore these possible complaints in more detail, explaining what you can do if this has happened to you.

Injuries caused by whiplash

Whiplash occurs when a sudden impact causes the head to snap back and forth quickly. This whipping action forces the neck to reach beyond its normal limits, stretching the muscles, tendons and ligaments. The damage to the soft-tissue will subsequently result in symptoms such as neck and shoulder pain, as well as reduced mobility. Other complaints can also include dizziness, nausea, headaches, poor concentration and fatigue.

Ordinarily, these symptoms will last several weeks or months. Applying ice to the affected area and performing gentle exercises can help speed up the recovery time. However, medical intervention is not usually considered necessary, as whiplash is classified as a ‘self-limiting condition’, meaning it should heal of its own accord. Nevertheless, if you have suffered a whiplash injury you should seek advice from a medical professional. This is because you may have sustained an additional injury of which you are unaware. These can include:-

  • Ligament tears;
  • Disc rupture;
  • Fracture and disruption of facet joints;
  • Temporomandibular Joint (TMJ) disease;
  • Spinal cord damage;
  • Spinal fracture.

Underlying injuries such as this are often of a serious nature and will most certainly require medical treatment and further monitoring. Many will take a number of months to heal completely, which can in turn cause psychological problems such as depression, irritability and a fear that a similar injury will happen again.

Claiming for injuries caused by whiplash

If you have suffered health suffered additional health complications as a result of a whiplash incident, you might want to consider making a claim for the damages you have experienced. To be able to do so, you must be able to establish that another party was at fault. This may be, for example, another driver who drove into the back of your vehicle. As long as you can prove that someone else is at fault, and that this caused you to suffer an injury, you will be entitled to make a claim. If successful, you will be awarded compensation, not only to recover your financial expense but also to recompense for the pain and suffering you have been caused. This could also help you pay for private medical treatment, should you need it.

If you would like to claim for the injuries you have wrongfully endured in a road traffic accident, you must contact a solicitor without delay. They will be happy to help you with your whiplash claim.

The Rehabilitation Code- Key facts

This post was written by John T. Hughes  for Making A Personal Injury Claim.co.uk. John has written extensively on topics relating to personal injury and the process of making a claim.

Sustaining a personal injury can have far-reaching effects on your life, there’s no doubt about it. Whatever type of injury you have suffered it’s important that you receive a level of care and treatment that will help you make as full and as speedy recovery as is possible.

Your health is priceless, but if you have suffered an injury that was not your fault you may want to consider making a personal injury claim to receive compensation for your financial losses. Injury can be expensive, from taking time off work to paying for treatment, rehabilitation, equipment or travel costs so you may find that it will be worthwhile to seek financial recompense.

Nevertheless simply receiving a lump sum at the end of a successful claim case may not be the most convenient or useful way to receive financial assistance. What happens, for example, if you need help with the financial costs of injury in the meantime?

The rehabilitation code

Personal injury claims can take anywhere up to years to complete. For the claimant years waiting for financial assistance with the costs of recovery or rehabilitation may be too long and could potentially have a further impact on their health and well-being.

The primary aim of the Rehabilitation Code is to encourage an emphasis on early intervention,  the well-being and recovery of the claimant.

The Rehabilitation Code was first introduced to UK law in 1999, with the latest version published in 2007, the result of a collaboration between insurers and claimant solicitors. The Code provides a framework that is supported by all major insurers and claimant lawyers across the UK putting the recovery and rehabilitation needs of the claimant first.

The Code encourages the claimant’s solicitor and compensators alike to consider whether early intervention, treatment and rehabilitation would help with the recovery process whatever the severity or type of injury sustained.

Operating according to the code, the claimants solicitor should initiate a consultation with the claimant to discuss whether financial assistance during the claims process would be of benefit at the earliest possible stage in the claims process and to communicate any pressing need with the compensator as soon as is practicable.

Compensators too should also consider whether early action could benefit the long term well being of the claimant. It is, after all, in the interests of both parties concerned to secure the recovery of the claimant.

Even if the need for intervention hasn’t been established, the Rehabilitation Code  encourages a full medical assessment by a suitably qualified medical professional, agreed on by all parties involved, to ensure that the needs of the claimant are being met.

The compensator is expected to meet the costs, consider recommendations resulting from the assessment of the claimant as well as meeting reasonable recommendation for early intervention to promote the well-being of the claimant.

Neither the compensator nor the claimant is under obligation to meet unreasonable treatment, intervention, cost or demands.

If the compensator does agree to make any financial contributions under the terms of the Code they will not be able to dispute the reasonableness of such costs in any subsequent court proceedings.

It’s important to remember that the code is not compulsory, but can work to the benefit of both the claimant and the potential compensator.

A better recovery and rehabilitation can mean that the overall compensation amount is reduced, but could also mean a reduction of the trauma and suffering after a personal injury has been sustained.

If you have sustained a personal injury through no fault of your own, receiving compensation could ease the path to a full recovery. A personal injury solicitor can guide you through the process of exactly how to make personal injury claim.

Writing an Effective Demand Letter for Your Injury Claim

This post was written by Dan Applegate, for Fisher & Talwar. Dan has written on multitude of legal subjects on popular injury attorney websites.

Traffic accidents are inevitable and virtually impossible to predict. Drivers who are involved in an accident have the option of contacting the insurance company of the driver who is at fault. However, there is a certain process that drivers must abide by when contacting an insurance company to receive compensation for an accident, or else risk being low-balled by their software.

Demand letters are specifically written to insurance companies of at-fault drivers to begin the process of negotiation a settlement. Sure, there are plenty websites that will show you how to write a good demand letter, however some cases call for professional representation where a simple guideline just won’t cut it.

Focus on the facts that provide supporting evidence

Proving that the other driver is negligent or liable for an accident is only accomplished by providing supporting evidence.

It’s important for the plaintiff to stick with the facts when providing evidence. For example, every driver has legal responsibilities they must follow while driving. If the other driver has broken any traffic laws that lead to an accident, then they are considered liable, even if they accidentally disobeyed the traffic laws. Hey, even if they feel sorry that doesn’t help you cover your medical bills.

Provide evidence of the injuries you’ve received from a traffic accident. Mention that you have medical records and medical bills and can prove the damages. If you have been involved in an accident your lawyer can help make sure you get the necessary acceptable proof of your injuries that you can include in your demand letter for compensation.

What should I include in my letter?

Before writing a demand letter to an insurance company it is important to make sure to include specific elements that are legally needed for proving one’s case. Don’t even think about starting a negotiating process unless you’ve written a well-versed letter!

Discussing liability issues in a demand letter involves explanations about how the accident happened and why the other driver is at fault. You can’t simply claim “that idiot was at fault.”

Provide evidence for any claim  by using statements from witnesses or even a police report. Medical expenses and statements by medical doctors who treat the accident victim are needed to prove a person’s injuries. These statements also prove the amount of financial loss experienced by the party sending the demand letter.

If in doubt, hire an attorney to avoid a ‘headache’ later on – pun intended.

Don’t get low-balled by the insurance company into accepting low offers. You don’t want to be greedy, but you also can’t underestimate your own costs. Simply having an attorney work on your behalf sets a serious tone with the insurance companies.

Lost income, medical expenses, personal pain and suffering as well liabilities, are all issues that need to be addressed in a demand letter. An injury attorney will a write demand letter properly and help you win your claim.

Many people are afraid to speak to lawyers for whatever reason. We’re all human and most of us care about you and the situation you’re in.

Be honest, if you were injured in an auto accident would you really hire an attorney?

Fill out the online enquiry form at the top right of this page if you want to speak to a lawyer.

How to Win Your Personal Injury Claim

Guest personal injury blog post contributed by Alison Mackenzie, for Henry Carus & Associates. Alison is a law student and freelance writer. She enjoys writing about various law topics and cases.

Accidents happen as an ordinary part of life; however, sometimes those accidents should have been prevented before someone got hurt. Whether the accident was due to negligence, lack of attention to safety rules or something else that should have been done by another party but was not, in some cases the best course of action that you as an injured party can take is to seek damages through a personal injury suit.

Ideally, your preparation for a personal injury case should begin as soon as the incident itself takes place. For example, if you were in a car wreck or you were injured by a store’s construction project, your first step should be to receive medical attention as soon as possible for your injuries. Even if you do not believe that your injuries are bad enough to require professional attention, you do need to create an official record of what happened as soon as you can in case you do decide to pursue an injury claim. This helps you to clearly and cleanly link the incident to your injuries, making it more difficult for opposing counsel to allege that actions you took after the incident in question were responsible for the damage to your person.

Once you have created a record of your injuries and have decided that you want to pursue a personal injury case, you need to find a legal representative. Unless you are an attorney and have experience with these kinds of court cases, you should trust in the skills of a professional to see you and your case through until the end. And even if you have little or no income, you can find lawyers who work on a no-win, no-fee policy, meaning that if your case fails you have no legal costs to pay. This can be an ideal arrangement, especially if your injuries have left you with enough bills to pay as it is.

After you have selected a qualified legal representative, you need to work closely with him or her to be sure that you are doing everything you can to improve your odds of success. You should keep careful records of all of your bills and expenses, ensuring that you have solid evidence to show what your injuries have cost you over both the long and the short term. You should have copies of incident reports concerning the event, as well as copies of any reports on your initial injuries from the professionals that treated you at the scene or just after the incident happened.

Of course, even if you do take all necessary precautions, there is no guarantee of the results of this type of suit. If you bring a personal injury case, you have to be very careful to record evidence of all relevant details to give yourself the best possible chance of success. Generally speaking, however, the side that has prepared better and maintained the most impeccable records is most often the one that walks away from a personal injury case as the winner.

MS Treatment FDA Warning—Maryland MS Injury Attorneys on Alert

Written by Phil Balbo. For more information on personal injury cases, please contact the Maryland personal injury lawyers of Price Benowitz LLP for a free consultation. Please visit the Multiple Sclerosis Society website for more on possible MS treatments.

Multiple sclerosis is a progressive and debilitating disease, leading many who are afflicted to search and even undergo the latest treatment protocols that may offer any chance of success in thwarting the disease. The FDA has recently issued a stern warning against one such therapy known as ‘liberation therapy’: The controversial treatment has been highlighted by the drug safety agency as one with extreme risks; which means it has become a focus of personal injury attorneys. To date, deaths, strokes, damage to the treated vein, blood clots, cranial nerve damage, abdominal bleeding, and migration of stents in the body related to liberation therapy have been reported. As such, the FDA is recommending that these procedures be ceased pending further research and investigation.

Liberation therapy is used to treat chronic cerebrospinal venous insufficiency (CCSVI) — a narrowing of veins in the neck and chest — believed by some to cause multiple sclerosis (MS) or worsen the disease. Balloon angioplasty or stents are used to widen narrowed veins in the chest and neck. However, to date, no reliable evidence showing a benefit to MS patients rom CCSVI treatment exist, and the FDA has said that any future scientific trails must be under the umbrella of FDA regulations for investigational devices. Until then, physicians performing this uncertain procedure did so at dangerous risk to their patients.

Affecting the brain and spinal cord/central nervous system, MS is caused by damage to the myelin sheath, the protective covering that surrounds nerve cells. The respective nerve damage is caused by inflammation, which occurs when the body’s own immune cells attack the nervous system. Researchers still have not pinpointed the precise causes of MS, but believe that it may be tied to a virus, genetic defect, or environmental factors. Nerve signals slow down or stop when the nerve covering is damaged. The disease affects women more than men, with the disorder most commonly presenting and diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 40.

If you have lost a loved one to MS treatments, or have suffered yourself, you may have a right to monetary compensation for pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of income, related medical bills, and even rehabilitative therapy. An experienced Maryland medical injury attorney can evaluate your case and advise on possible claims.

Insurance Companies Try to Deny Claims Using “Pre-Existing Injuries” as an Excuse

Pre-Existing Injuries

“Pre-existing injuries” is an injury one has before an accident. The term is used for the excuse used by many insurance companies to avoid awarding compensation to people who make claims against them when they have sustained an injury in an accident. However, it is extremely rare for an individual to make a claim for an injury they had which existed before the accident took place. In fact, it’s difficult to use an injury that occurred in the past for a new case involving an accident injury because there is obviously a medical record that can be found that documents it. There are exceptions to the rule though, as there are some claims that are made that really do involve pre-existing injuries.

Example of Pre-Existing Injury

Say you have a bad back, but later you’re involved in a car accident and sustain a whiplash. The accident made your pre existing back injury worse. The fact that you had a pre-existing back injury doesn’t mean that you should be denied compensation for your whiplash injury. In other words, people who are involved in an accident with who had a pre existing injury should contact a personal injury lawyer about filing a claim for any new physical damages they’ve sustained that makes the pre-existing one worse. Insurance companies recognize the rights of individuals filing personal injury claims, but many of these companies claim the injuries of a plaintiff existed before the accident so the claim is denied. Luckily, the “eggshell plaintiff doctrine” is used to prove a plaintiff’s case to avoid the common tricks played by insurance companies.

Eggshell Plaintiff Doctrine

The “eggshell plaintiff doctrine” simply states that injuries can happen easier if there is already an injury present before an accident. In other words, an individual is in a weakened state if they have an injury and accidents involving a mild impact could cause further damages to an existing injury. Regardless of an individual’s condition during the time of an accident, liabilities are still at play. Drivers who are personally responsible for a car accident are liable for any injuries that the victim experiences from that incident. The fact that a victim had existing injuries before an accident does not relieve the driver of liable and their insurance company responsible for financial compensation.

Insurance Companies Try to Deny Responsibility

Insurance companies will do anything to avoid paying for the negligence of their clients. However, the negligence of the person responsible for an automobile accident is still negligence, regardless of a victim’s pre-existing injuries. Determining who is liable and who is at fault for causing injury in an automobile accident should not be affected by the Eggshell Plaintiff principle. Avoiding common tricks played by insurance companies are best accomplished by letting your lawyer know your complete medical history. Preventing insurance companies from distorting the truth by claiming the injuries was pre-existing at the time of the accident is achieved by letting your lawyer know all the facts about your medical history.

This post was written by Dan Applegate – from  injury law firm in Los Angeles, CA Fisher & Talwar.

How to make a claim for a personal injury suffered abroad

Suffering from an accident can be distressing in the best of situations, but accident suffered abroad can cause even more anguish. When it comes to trying to get compensation for personal injuries abroad, it won’t necessarily be stressful, although there are a few things to bear in mind.

Laws for personal injury claims abroad

‘Abroad’ is quite a big area– hundreds of different countries each with their own legal nuances. Consulting a personal injury lawyer in the UK is often the best first step to take, as they’ll see things from your side. They’ll be able to advise you about what would be best to do next in your situation giving you the best chance of making a successful personal injury claim.

Straightforward personal injury claims

Some cases are more clear-cut than others. For example, if you were injured at work and the company you work for was based or had registered offices in the UK you would be able to make a personal injury claim – as long as the accident was caused by your employer’s negligence of course.

Similarly, if your injury was sustained while on a holiday organised by British travel agents you could be entitled to claim if the accident directly related to negligence on the part of the travel agents or their representatives. This would extend to things such as food poisoning from hotel food. However, injuries from accidents on activities such as third party excursions would not be covered in the same way.

When personal injury claims get tricky

That isn’t to say that you couldn’t claim compensation against the operators involved, just that it would more likely than not involve specialist local legal advice. This has the potential to be a timely and expensive process, but there’s nothing stopping you from making enquiries so you can decide to do when fully informed.

As usual, collecting any evidence of the injuries suffered is always useful. Photographs can help, but a doctor’s report is even better. Getting the details of someone who could give eye-witness testimony may also be beneficial, whether they’re locals or tourists.

Injury claims for travel accidents

There’s always the possibility that you might be injured while travelling to or from another country. There are special rules governing some aspects of being injured while travelling. For example, personal injury claims can usually be made 3 years from the date of an accident – this is reduced for 2 years in the case of aeroplane injuries. In all cases it’s better to get advice sooner rather than later – this puts you in the best position to decide what step to take next.

This post was written by Gavin Herriot from Workplace Claims in the UK.