Personal Injury Solicitors | Car Accident Injury Claim | Personal Injury at Work

It happens. In fact in the UK, they happen nearly 40,000 times a year – thats the equivalent of a jet plane crashing every month.

In 2002, 3,500 people were killed on Britain’s roads, and 36,000 were seriously injured. So what should you do if you are one of the 36,000?

Here are a few pointers to do after a car accident:

1. Check you are OK.

Don’t worry too much about the state of the car, and don’t just jump out of your seat to go and vent your frustration! INjuries, like whiplash, may not be obvious immediately so take your time to check you and your passengers are ok.

2. Gather evidence

Make sure you get the names and numbers of people who witnessed the accident, and take any business cards with you. Remember to also take pictures on the damage as this will help with the insurance dispute.

3. Call your insurance company

Report the accident as soon as possible even if you caused the accident. Make sure you keep a track of the time and costs involved with this process.

4. Relax!

Its over – and there is nothing you can do to change the past events. Remember a car can be replaced and if you follow these steps hopefully the situation will go away as fast at it came.

New data has recently been released which demonstrates how severe the number of work-related injuries is in Great Britain. The Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations of 1995 ensure that work-related injuries do not go unreported; it is a legal requirement for employers to report all instances of such injuries. The statistics gathered, therefore, can be used to minimise risks in the workplace. Current statistics, however, demonstrate that the number of injuries and illnesses occurring is still very high.

Between 2007 and 2008, a reported 2.1 million workers suffered illnesses which came from the result of their work, the new report, released by the Health & Safety Executive, suggests. A further 229,000 workers suffered injuries that were deemed reportable under the regulations, while an additional 136, 771 injuries were also reported.

However, these statistics may not give a complete picture of how large a problem workplace accidents and injuries are; it is, of course, unknown how many of these cases are going unreported.

These kinds of work accidents are typically associated with jobs involving manual labour; most people picture work accidents as involving dangerous power tools or heavy machinery. This is not always the case, though. The statistics show that those in white-collar jobs are just as likely to suffer work accidents; of these, almost 50% are of the slip and trip variety, while around 25% involve heavy lifting. This does not, however, mean that these are minor injuries: more than 30% of the work accidents reported required their victims to take at least 3 days’ absence for recovery.

Employers, of course, have a responsibility to reduce the risk of work accidents at all times. In light of this, there are legal measures in place which require employers to take reasonable measures to reduce risk; they must, for instance, provide their employees with proper safety training, and, where necessary, employees must have the correct safety equipment for the job in hand. It is always important in cases of accident or injury to make a proper report.

Unfortunately, some employees are often reticent to take action in this regard, worrying that, by filing an accident report or even launching court action against their employers, they could be dismissed, or find it difficult to find future employment. However, not only does the injured party have a responsibility to make a complaint in this case, an employer should positively welcome it; unreported dangers in the workplace which cause future accidents will only end up costing an employer even more money in the future.

If you have ever been the victim of a work accident, therefore, and you believe that your employer was liable for the accident because they failed in some way to ensure that proper safety measures were taken in the workplace, it is strongly advised that you seek help from a legal professional. Many solicitors specialise in work accidents, and so will be able to provide you with all the guidance you will need in your case, and, ultimately, will be able to ensure that you receive all of the compensation to which you are entitled.

Source: Accidents Direct

A kitchen worker has been awarded thousands of pounds, after she fractured her head when she slipped at work. The woman who is now unlikely to work again, fell in a work accident as the floor was wet.

On hearing the prosecution case against the retailer in a store restaurant, the District Judge said. “This was a very serious accident, one which was wholly preventable.”

He added: “Every employer has a duty under law to protect its employees from physical harm – something that [the company] blatantly failed to do. There had been four similar accidents in their kitchen during the previous 12 months, yet they still failed to act.”

A Local Authority Health and Safety Inspector went to visit the restaurant to investigate the circumstances surrounding the serious personal injury that the employee had sustained. He quickly became concerned that the floor surface in the kitchen was very slippery, even with the slightest amounts of water or grease on it.

Slippery when dry

The inspector found that the tiled floor appeared to be in good condition but it still felt slippery even when the tiles looked to be clean and dry. When just small amounts of water got onto the floor it became hazardous.

In addition to this, some areas of the kitchen floor sloped, which caused an increased risk of slipping. Kitchen staff could be seen walking with a ‘very peculiar gait’ so they could try to avoid slipping. Floor ‘safety’ mats had been put down in some parts of the kitchen, such as in the dish wash area, but these were slippery to walk on too, especially when wet.

Cleaning staff had removed these mats at the time of the employee’s work accident, leaving her to walk on the wet tiled floor that quickly became contaminated with food waste, water and oily residues.
The worker experienced an uncontrollable slip and hit her head on the hard tiled floor. She was rushed to hospital where she drifted in and out of consciousness, suffered seizures and spent a lengthy period in the hospital’s high dependency unit.

Source: Accidents Direct

A spinal cord injury is devastating physically, but it also takes a huge toll both emotionally and financially. In many cases, the injury is due to a car or work related accident that is not your fault. Learning to live with the consequences is hard enough. You deserve the monetary  personal injury compensation needed to pay for ongoing medical bills and care providers. There are four things you need to know about personal Injury claims. (more…)

On a cool autumn evening, Anna Thompson was riding her Harley Davidson motorcycle at night down the dark streets by the University of Hertfordshire. She’d been riding bikes for years and never had a fall. She also never wore a helmet at night. But this night she thumped over a fallen branch and skidded her Harley hard against a brick wall. (more…)

Employment is one of the most important things in an individual’s life. And employers are often held responsive to very few employment laws. But there are some basic employment laws in statute. And anyone who is a member of a worker’s union is covered by a contract which establishes certain employment criteria that standard legislation does not cover. There are some general rules that one should follow when choosing an employment law solicitor following a personal injury at work.
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There are a myriad of workplace injury claims. The following provides some examples of ways employees in one warehouse have had a personal injury at work which can result in making a claim for compensation. (more…)

People who suffer damages from accidents that occur in the workplace can sometimes be eligible to receive compensation for these damages. However, many people who suffer a personal injury at work incident are unsure of whether of not they might even qualify to receive any compensation. In fact, some are scared that if they try to get compensation and it does not work out, the whole experience could have a terrible affect on their work environments and careers. So, how does an individual know whether she or he might qualify to receive some compensation for injuries or damages that they have suffered due to an accident in the workplace? What are a few of the reasons to file such a claim?

One reason that an individual should file a claim for compensation is if he or she spent any time in the hospital because of an injury that occurred in a workplace accident. Another reason is if the individual had to change her lifestyle or miss special social or family events. Also, losing earnings is a reason to file for compensation. Serious injuries can take people away from their work for long periods of time, while they are recuperating. Many times, injuries will make it all but impossible for people to do their work.

Damges can occur to personal possessions, such as cellular phones or watches. When these things are badly damaged, people may have cause to file claims for compensation to replace these valuable items. Sometimes, work injury compensation can compensate people for scars that are not physical. Sometimes, these accidents can leave the victims with serious psychological problems. Post-traumatic stress can stem from life threatening issues and plague people for years. These problems are serious and deserve compensation.

Another reason to file a claim is to get the workplace to institute better safety procedures. If people are being pit in danger, something must be done. Filing a claim can alert employers measures must be taken to keep people safe. However, people who try to affect change are sure to meet resistance. They should keep that in mind before they make a claim to get better safety measures instituted.

A personal injury at work claim can really help people who have been put into terrible positions by misfortune. If a person is suffering from a workplace accident, she should seriously consider filing for compensation. No matter what anyone might say, there is no shame in receiving compensation for an injury or damage that happened in the workplace.

Whiplash from a car accident injury claim is a debilitating, and often painful injury that involves a person’s neck. Whiplash injuries typically result from automobile accidents in which the vehicle that an individual is driving in is suddenly rear-ended with great force.

The sudden acceleration and deceleration that results from such an impact can cause a person’s head to snap backward and then forward in a violent whip-like action that causes damage to tissue and bone in the neck region. In medical jargon, a rear impact is thought to force an individual’s neck into ‘hyperextension’ as it falls back violently, and then into a ‘hyperflexed’ position when it falls forward suddenly. (more…)