Avoiding Common Accidents

Archive for the ‘Common Accidents’ Category

There are many forms of industrial disease and illness, which can include skin complaints, deafness or breathing difficulties. However, no employee today should have their health damaged, or get an injury from their place of work. If you have an industrial illness or disease, then you deserve compensation for your pain and suffering.

The most commonly seen diseases are cancer and other serious conditions, which are normally caused by exposure to toxic substances. We also see problems with breathing caused by exposure to dust or asbestos, or through years of working underground in mines. Hearing difficulties are another condition that often occurs as a result of continually working near noisy machinery. Employees should never have been exposed to these hazards in the first place and should therefore never have been able to contract these illnesses.

Fortunately for modern workers, employers regularly receive top advice on all health and safety problems. Unfortunately, some irresponsible employers still prefer not to adhere to these rules, so accidents, injuries and illness in the workplace still unfortunately happen. Any organisation ignoring rules set in place by the government, which are there for your protection, must certainly compensate you in the event of an accident.

If you feel that you have been injured or have an Industrial Illness caused by your employer neglecting the duties of care, then call a no win no fee solicitor who will be able to give you expert advice.

One of the commonest personal injuries as a result of a road traffic accident is whiplash. This is a very painful soft issue injury of the neck that is caused by the head jolting forward and immediately back, when a vehicle impacts with another car or object. Depending on the force of an impact, whiplash can be slight or very severe. It can in more serious cases lead to disability – even paralysis, so it is something that should be taken very seriously.  Medical advice should be sought straight away even if the injury appears to be slight. Long-term health problems and complications such as arthritis are possible.

The onset of whiplash symptoms may take a few hours or even a day or two. It doesn’t always become apparent immediately after an accident; it could take a while to fully manifest itself.

It is therefore important to obtain a medical opinion and treatment as soon after the accident as possible. Obviously if the accident is serious you will almost certainly end up in an A & E department where X-rays will be taken and treatment commenced.  Full records will then exist that will greatly assist you in any personal injury claim that you may pursue. An insurance company will require a medical report about any injuries sustained when you are submitting a car or other vehicle accident claim.

Whiplash does not of course affect just car drivers. Passengers in a vehicle are equally at risk and are also able to pursue a personal injury claim even though they are not the insured person.

Depending on the severity of the accident, symptoms of whiplash can include headaches, a severe pain in the neck, shoulders and or arms, and dizziness. In more serious cases, memory loss, depression, concentration problems and a permanent ringing in the ears, known as tinnitus may occur.

A whiplash compensation claim can be pursued through the use of a no win no fee lawyer.

Some people may make personal injury claims after hurting themselves using a product. These products can range from faulty exercise equipment to contaminated food. If the fault lies firmly with the supplier or the manufacturer then the user may have grounds for a claim.

A supplier or manufacturer has a legal obligation to provide a product that is safe for members of the public to use. Anyone who uses a product and becomes injured may have grounds to claim, particularly if the injury has a long term effect or has caused financial hardship in some way.

A product is considered to be defective if it is not fit for the purpose for which it was bought. The item itself may also cause injury if the instructions are inadequate or if there is a lack of warnings about potential dangers based on history. Going ahead with a liability claim on a product can be time consuming, as it often requires analysing the technical information in some depth. 

The issue of liability can also be complicated, as the manufacturer may not be the only person liable. Importers, suppliers and firms that may have carried out modifications to the product could also be considered to be liable. Shops where the items have been bought are not usually liable even though they have their own duty of care to the customer. 

If you have sustained an injury caused by use of a product, but you are unsure if you can make a personal injury claim, then it is a good idea to consult a no win no fee lawyer to clarify your position. 

People who have been involved in accidents while they have been on holiday in another country may be wondering if it is possible to pursue personal injuries claims for these incidents. The process may take longer, due to the differences in regulations between the UK and other countries, but there is no reason you should not make a claim if your case is genuine.
 
If you are on a package holiday and the accident occurred as a result of negligence on the part of the holiday company, then you will be able to claim against the holiday company. All the details of the incident should be recorded carefully to ensure that the claim can be dealt with properly and to ensure that there is little chance of the case losing due to inadequate records. When an incident occurs abroad it is also useful to have witnesses who can corroborate your version of events.

Car accidents and similar incidents occurring abroad may take longer to finalise as the no win no fee personal injury law firms will have to deal with foreign insurance firms and solicitors in order to resolve the claim.  As with all personal injury claims, it is a good idea to consult with a specialist lawyer from a no win no fee legal firm to ensure that you have a strong case.

They will be able to advise you on each step that needs to be taken for your claim. Initial consultations are usually free of charge and the advisors will take you through all the details of the incident to assess the next steps that need to be taken.

The main benefits of making personal injury claims are financial. Those who have suffered injuries may need time off work, which can lead to financial hardship. Compensation can be calculated to cover the loss of any earnings as well as the inconvenience of making any claim.

If people experience financial difficulties when they are forced to take time away from work through no fault of their own, they may feel obliged to return to work early. This can slow down or even prevent a full recovery. Compensation can take this worry away and allow injured people to recover properly. 

However, there are also other benefits that should be taken into consideration. For example, if you have been injured at work as a result of a breach of health and safety regulations, making a claim can help to ensure that others will not suffer in a similar way, and encourage employers to deal with the cause of the problem. 

The same applies with road traffic accidents. If you are injured at an accident black spot, the authorities will be encouraged to put measures into place that can help to prevent accidents occurring, such as road traffic signs, speed cameras or even reducing the speed limit on that particular stretch of road. These measures can help prevent similar accidents occurring, which will help other people. Using a no win no fee legal firm means that initial consultations are free of charge and you can be clearly advised of the benefits that will apply in your particular case.

The use of no win no fee personal injury lawyers is rapidly increasing as those who wish to make a claim feel more confident about being able to afford to pursue their case. Initial consultations with the firms that specialise in personal injury claims are usually free of charge and you will be advised if your claim can be realistically pursued.

Claims can be made for injuries caused in the workplace, either by working with inadequate equipment or being placed in unnecessary danger by inadequate health and safety procedures. Workplace claims can also cover stress that has been caused by harassment, discrimination or unnecessary pressure. 

Personal injury claims can also be made by those who have suffered as a result of working with asbestos or in coalmines. These types of jobs can lead to long term illness and specialist funds have been set up by the government so that those affected can make claims. There are several law firms that specialise in dealing with these situations and they are the best companies to advise you if you have a valid claim. 

Road traffic accidents are an increasingly common source of personal injury claims and there are also no win no fee accident advisors who specialise in this type of claim. There are time limits placed on the claim, so that any claim attempted after the allotted period of time will not be allowed. If a claim has been made within the specified time then the court may allow the proceedings to go beyond that time frame.

Often, when someone has been injured, or even died, due to the actions of another, whether accidental or on purpose, compensation should be paid to the injured party. Unfortunately, in this day and age, rare is the case where compensation is automatically offered to the victim. Instead, most people will have to fight to get any compensation at all. Because obtaining compensation for a personal injury is a legal battle there are definite benefits to hiring a personal injury lawyer.

Personal injury lawyers specialise in these types of cases, so they have the expertise needed to turn a claim into a winning case. Due to their experience they will be able to advise you from the outset on whether the case has a chance of success and also what can be expected from pursuing the case. This experience also makes them more able to build your case and prepare you for what will be needed.

Many personal injury cases are settled before they ever reach court, but this doesn’t mean that you should go it alone. You will almost certainly be settling with an insurance company, not the person who caused the injury or death. Insurance companies go out of their way to pay the least amount possible, so by hiring a personal injury lawyer, it is likely that you will receive a much higher level of compensation than if you tried to negotiate on your own.

Finally, should your case need to go to court, personal injury lawyers have the knowledge of what this requires. Hiring a personal injury lawyer is not only a way to improve the odds of winning your case, but also a way to protect yourself and your rights as an individual.

Food poisoning affects millions of people in the UK every year, although in the vast majority of cases, the symptoms will be relatively minor and pass within a day or two. Like all kinds of no win no fee personal injury, the claimant needs to prove that another party can be held accountable for the fact they suffered from poisoning.

Restaurants, caterers and hotels might be found responsible for diners falling ill with food poisoning, particularly if it affected more than one person. Restaurants are subject to stringent health and hygiene regulations overseen by the Food Standards Agency, and if they are found to fall short of these high standards, there is a case to make a no win no fee compensation claim against the restaurant.

Other types of poisoning are caused by carbon monoxide (from faulty gas appliances or heating systems) and lead poisoning. Carbon monoxide is also known as ‘the silent killer’ due to the fact that it is odourless and colourless. As this name suggests, the effects of this gas can be extremely serious and even lead to death. The negligent party might be an employer or a landlord, both of whom are under a legal obligation to service and maintain any potentially dangerous equipment, in which case a no win no fee solicitor will be able to help the victim of the poisoning receive the compensation that is due to them, especially if they had to be hospitalised and have time off work.

Two of the common bacteria which lead to food poisoning are e-coli and salmonella, but they are destroyed if the food served is from a reliable source, is cooked thoroughly and the basic hygiene rules are followed (washing hands regularly with antibacterial soap and using clean utensils).

Every year, around 2.5 million people in the UK are injured as a result of an accident which wasn’t their fault, but less than a third of accident victims make a claim for damages. If you have suffered any kind of personal injury, it is crucial that you seek expert independent advice from someone who can assess your compensation claim and help you receive the full amount you are entitled to.

Claims assessors usually offer their services on a ‘contingency fee’ basis, meaning that they take a proportion of your won compensation in lieu of their fee (if you win nothing, they get nothing), whereas if you go direct to a specialist solicitor, they are more likely to offer a ‘no win, no fee’ service with a guarantee that you will receive 100% of the compensation. (They recover their fees on top of the claim from the insurance company of the negligent party, so the claim is risk-free.)

Another advantage is that all solicitors have insurance against negligence. Depending on the type of injury, the appointed solicitor should be a certified member of the Law Society’s personal injury or clinical negligence accreditation scheme. Most solicitors specialising in this arena will be members of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL). Most law professionals belonging to APIL are part of an accreditation scheme which guarantees its members have expertise in a particular aspect of personal injury.

The term ‘no win no fee’ can be a little misleading because the implication is that if you do not win the case, you will not need to pay anything. In most cases, however, losing the case means having to cover the legal costs of the other party. One way of getting around this is by taking out after-the-event (ATE) insurance. Anyone seeking compensation for a personal injury claim should seek legal aid or go to their local Citizens Advice Bureau in the first instance.

If you have been injured in an accident, automobile or otherwise, you have many decisions to make.  Especially if you were not at fault, you’ll want to consider your options regarding compensation for your injuries.  In many cases a solicitor will be required to help you with your case, and a no win no fee accident solicitor, someone who specialises in these cases, should be one option under consideration.

In the no win no fee claim, the solicitor is not paid his or her fee unless your case prevails.  Other fees, such as recording and copying fees, and fees to pay expert witnesses, however, may still need to be paid before the case is decided.  The solicitor’s fee is also much higher under a winning scenario than under a standard fee agreement. This is because the solicitor is assuming the risk of the case under this compensation package.  However, it can also encourage the solicitor to work harder on your case, since his or her compensation is at stake.

Some payment is usually required from you even under the no win no fee scheme, however.  Some fees need to be paid immediately, such as recording fees, copying and research fees, or fees for expert witnesses. Also, you will usually be asked to purchase an insurance policy called After The Event insurance.  This pays costs should you not prevail.

Your local Citizens Advice Bureau can often be a good first stop for information and assistance when considering a no win no fee injury claim.  There are, of course, advantages and disadvantages to the various schemes, and only you can decide which one is best in your particular situation.