Compensation can be claimed for injuries including:
- Accidents at work
- Whiplash injuries
- Slips, trips & falls
- Back injuries
- Industrial disease
- Road traffic accidents
- Fatal accidents
- Construction accidents
- Asbestos & mesothelioma
- Medical negligence.
Accidents, whatever the cause, can have a devastating effect on the lives of the victim and their family. The trauma of a serious debilitating injury should not be compounded by needless financial suffering. If you are less able to work as a result of an injury, then you should be recuperating with access to medical care and support.
You should not have to return to work before you are fully recovered, even if you are not going to receive sick pay from your employer. Indeed, doing so can aggravate and prolong an injury.
The financial compensation to which you are entitled will not give you back your health, but it will make it easier to get back on your feet and obtain the best possible treatment for your condition without loss of earnings.
We offer representation on a no-win-no-fee basis in strong claims
Personal injury law is complex, but by entrusting your case to us you can ensure that you obtain the optimum result in a reasonable period of time.
We are fully independent professionals, only interested in obtaining the compensation that you deserve.
There are 2 types of compensation potentially available for your injury claim, known as special and general damages. General damages compensate you for the injury itself (for example, pain and suffering) and the amount is set by the court. Special damages compensate you for actual financial losses that you have incurred as a result of the injury up to the date of the court hearing.
This would include damage to clothing and personal belongings, the costs of private medical care and the costs of repairing a car or hiring a replacement. There are different time limits that apply to claims for personal injury. It is important to get in touch with a solicitor as soon as possible so that you can stay on top of these. The courts may extend time limits when the circumstances of the case require it, so if even if it has been some time since your injury occurred, please get in touch and we can advise you as to your options.
Clients prefer our independent approach & our sensitive, personal case handling helps bring effective results.
Workplace accidents ‘unreported’ says TUC
Some recent personal injury cases:
The Claimant had been standing by his open car door, reaching in to retrieve his mobile phone, when he was hit by an articulated lorry, causing severe injuries. He remained unconscious for two months and had both legs amputated.
The Defendant had argued that the Claimant had only opened his car door in the seconds before the collision, making it unavoidable. He also argued that oncoming traffic meant that he was forced into the path of the Claimant. There were several witnesses suggesting the contrary, and both of these claims were rejected.
A further argument raised was that the Claimant was at least partly to blame because his car had been illegally parked at the time, adjacent to a pelican crossing. The Court rejected this. The car was just as obvious to a reasonable driver in its illegal position as it would have been parked legally a few metres away. The Court found that the main issue regarding fault was whether the Claimant should have seen the oncoming lorry and taken steps to avoid it. It was further found that when he checked behind before reaching in for the mobile phone, he could not have anticipated that the lorry would shortly collide with him and the car door. The accident was therefore entirely due to the negligence of the Defendant.
3 train drivers sought compensation from their employer for carpal tunnel syndrome and chronic compartment syndrome, which they claimed had been caused by driving. The Defendant was required to put itself in a position to eradicate any bad or potentially harmful driving styles among its employees. It was also obligated to carry out risk assessments in respect of every aspect of its staff’s work. Risk assessments were not carried out by appropriately trained individuals to identify the risk entailed in the act of driving the trains. The Defendant was also in breach of its obligation to provide adequate health and safety information and training. Had the risk assessment been carried out, the Court found that a risk of upper limb disorders would have been identified. The carpal tunnel syndrome developed by the Claimants could have been avoided by the installation of appropriate seating and arm rests. This injury claim therefore succeeded.
The aspect of the claim relating to chronic compartment syndrome was unsuccessful. This was due to a lack of medical evidence supporting the argument that it is a work-related condition.
The Claimant had suffered from curvature of the spine when she was 11, due to scoliosis. She underwent surgery to correct this. The operation involved the use of screws, hooks and rods to improve the angle of her spine. Sadly, as a result of the operation, the Claimant became paraplegic.
The Defendant argued that the paraplegia was caused by manipulation of the spine which took place after the metalwork had been put in place. Had this been the cause, the Defendant would not have been found to be negligent. However, the Claimant disputed that explanation and claimed that the surgeon had negligently inserted the screws, causing one of them to compress her spinal cord. The Court accepted that it was more likely than not that the paraplegia had been caused in this way.
The Court found that the NHS Trust had been negligent for two reasons. Firstly, the surgeon had failed to make use of bi-planar imaging when carrying out the operation, despite only carrying out 5 or 6 such operations a year. Further, the NHS Trust had failed to make Spinal Cord Monitoring available. This was despite requests from the surgeon to make the facility available, and despite the fact that the facility is available at the vast majority of treatment centres.
