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Personal Injury Articles
29/3/2011
Accident Claim – Why Make One and How?
An Accident Claim is made to obtain Personal Injury Compensation and also to recover consequential losses such as Loss of Earnings and other out of pocket expenses. Making an Accident Claim is very simple and your accident claim will be made on a no win no fee basis. This means that you will not pay anything for making your accident claim whether you win or lose your accident claim.
Ouraccident claim Solicitors are specialists in Personal Injury Law and will
ensure that they undertake your accident claim in a professional and efficient
manner. Making a no win no fee aaccident claim may be very daunting and many people will be worried about hidden charges
and deductions from their accident claim compensation.
Here at Injury Lawyers UK Ltd you are guaranteed 100% of your Accident Claim compensation and we make no deductions at all! Also your accident claim will be made on a No Win No Fee basis which means that when successful with your accident claim our no win no fee accident claim solicitors will recover ALL of their fees from your opponents insurers.
Making a no win no fee accident claim with our accident claim solicitors will provide you with the ability not only to obtain the accident claim compensation that you are entitled to but also will give you the benefit of Private Medical care to assist with your rehabilitation.
An Accident claim is not solely for compensation, a number of people do not realise that as a course of making the accident claim you are entitled to private medical care to ensure that you recover as quickly as possible as a result of the injuries resulting in the accident claim being made.
Using a No win no fee accident claim solicitor will also give you the voice you need to bring about changes in your workplace if your accident claim is being made due to an accident at work. Most people do not only make an accident claim for the compensation, they also use it as a way of bringing about change to dangerous practices which caused their accident and the reason for them having to make the accident claim in the first instance.
Our Accident Claim Solicitors are national and therefore where ever you are we will be able to assist you in making your accident claim.
If you wish to make an accident claim please do contact us by either completing the quick claim form to the left of this page or by calling 0800 1123 156
19/3/2011
HSE Takes a Robust Stance on Safety Devices to Prevent Work Injury
A Kent
Print firm has recently been fined for intentionally removing safety guards
from its printing machines, potentially putting staff at risk of work accidents
and injury. The firm was prosecuted for
not ensuring machinery guards were in place when employees of the company used
the machines despite being provided two previous warnings.
The HSE
Inspectors found that the machine guards, known as safety interlocks, were deactivated
exposing their employees to potential injury through the moving parts of the
machine.
Regulation
11(1) of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulation 1998 states that “every
employer shall ensure that measures are taken which are effective to prevent
access to any dangerous part of machinery or to any rotating stock-bar”. Clearly disabling the safety guard of any
machine breaches this regulation.
Many work
injury claims are as a result of faulty or defective safety guards and often
are in relation to hand and arm injuries. If you have been involved in any accident at work relating to defective
safety guards or defective machinery in any way contact us to see how our
specialist no win no fee solicitors can help you with a claim for personal
injury.
Your work
injury claim will be dealt with on a no win no fee basis by specialist work
injury claim solicitors. They will
ensure that they obtain the maximum compensation for the injuries you sustained
as a result of your work accident. Things that can be included in a work injury claim are loss of earnings,
future disadvantage on the labour market, future loss of earnings along with
any other out of pocket expenses.
Our Specialist work injury claim solicitors will not charge you a penny for dealing with your work injury claim under their no win no fee agreement. When you are successful with your claim your employer’s insurers pay your solicitors costs and in addition you receive 100% of your Work Injury Compensation. If for any reason you are not successful our solicitors will have taken out an After the Event insurance policy to cover your claim and the costs of pursuing the same. Given this you can claim with confidence with Injury Lawyers UK Ltd.
18/3/2011
Construction
Site Accident Claim - 1 in 5 Construction Sites Unsafe in North West!
Construction site accidents cause significant injuries potentially more so than any other industry mainly due to the number of contractors involved in work on a construction site and the very nature of the work being undertaken.
Recent Health and Saftey Executive visits of 219 construction sites in
Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Merseyside as part of an initiative aimed at
reducing deaths and construction site injuries showed that a fifth of all construction
sites were unsafe. 41 sites were found
to be so far below the required standards that inspectors had to issue formal
enforcement notices.
The
latest figures show that over 1000 workers were injured in construction site
accidents in the North West last year with a total of 8 deaths. The national figures show that nearly three quarters
of all construction site accidents resulting in fatalities occurred during
refurbishment, repair or maintenance activities.
Making
a construction site injury claim requires specialist solicitors with expertise
in the field of work accident claims and construction site regulations. All of our solicitors on our Panel are most
certainly very experienced in this field and pride themselves with a very high
success rate in these complex type claims.
More
often than not construction site injury claims involve a lot of investigation
so as to establish who was at fault for the accident. With a large number of different trades
working on the site often including a number of separately contracted companies
this is where experience counts. There
is no point in pursuing your own employer if it was another contractor who was
working unsafely and caused your construction site injuries. This is even more so the case if you were
self-employed at the time of the accident.
As a result of construction site injuries a number of losses can occur over and above the injuries sustained such as loss of earnings, loss of tools, damaged safety clothing to name a few. No matter whether you were self-employed or employed at the time of the accident our no win no fee solicitors will make sure that you receive the maximum compensation possible and any claim for loss of earnings or other possible out of pocket expenses.
All construction site accident claims are dealt with on a no win no fee basis and you pay nothing whether you win or lose you construction site accident claim. You will receive 100% Compensation so please do contact us immediately to start your claim.
18/3/2011
Making
a Work Injury Claim – Answering some most commonly asked questions!
Making
a Personal Injury Claim as a result of a work accident is often a rather
daunting issue as there are many fears that people have in relation to doing
so. A work injury claim is no different
to any other type of personal injury claim in that it will be dealt with on a
No Win No Fee Basis and you will receive 100% of your Work Injury Compensation.
However there are differences in the fears of people who wish to make a work injury claim over those wishing to make a car accident claim for instance. The main being that generally the person driving the car at fault is not your employer and does not hold your livelihood in their hands. However many of the fears that people have who have been injured at work are simply unfounded. Here are the most common questions:
1. Will I lose my job if I make a claim?
The answer is no. It is unlawful for your employers to terminate your employment due to the fact that you have made a claim for personal injury against them due to a work accident. This is a violation of Employment Laws and you would have a much greater claim against them for doing so. Employers must by law be insured for incidents such as work accidents and therefore your work injury claim will be dealt with by your employers insurers and generally you will not hear much from your employer at all. If this is not the case then our solicitors can easily sort this matter out by advising the insurers who will ensure that you are treated normally after making your claim.
2. I have been told by my employers the accident
was my fault can I still claim?
Absolutely
yes. Provided our no win no fee
solicitors believe that you have a good chance of succeeding with your work
injury claim you are entitled to claim whether you have been told by your
employers the accident was your fault or not. Don’t forget your employers are insured in relation to work injury
claims and they will obviously have given their view of blame for the accident
having their insurance premiums in mind.
More
often than not no matter what your employers say our expert no win no fee work
injury solicitors will be able to advise you accordingly. There are many different regulations your
employer has to abide by when undertaking their operation to ensure that you
are kept safe at work, having an accident generally means they are in breach of
one if not more of the most basic regulations.
3. Fighting my employer in court will be costly wont it?
First
of all most work injury claims settle way before they get anywhere near a court
or a court room. Insurers are fully
aware that the cost of proceeding with a claim to a full trial at court is
indeed very costly and generally seek to settle the matter relatively quickly.
However
if you are pursuing a work injury claim you have nothing to worry about when it
comes to costs and who pays them. Your
claim will be dealt with on a no win no fee basis which means you will pay
nothing whether you win or lose. You pay
nothing upfront or at the conclusion of your claim and you will receive 100% of
your work injury compensation if you are successful with your claim. If for any reason you lose your claim your
costs will be covered by the solicitors and a After the Event Insurance policy
that they pay for on your behalf.
4.
How will the solicitors know whether I have a good work injury claim or not?
All of our solicitors and operators are highly trained in the field of personal injury and indeed have a very strong experience base when it comes to work accident claims. Given this from the moment you start discussing your claim with us right upto the conclusion of your work injury claim we will give you the appropriate advice in simple plain English with no legal jargon.
When assessing your claim at the outset, during our initial discussions, we will be listening carefully to the circumstances of the work accident and the injury you have sustained. At the same time considering the appropriate Health and Safety Regulations surrounding your field of work and will be marking each one which they feel applies and was breached resulting in your work injury. From here they will advise you accordingly on the merits of your claim.
So don’t worry even if your employers say that you were to blame this is normally certainly not the case.
5. Will I receive all of my work injury compensation?
Yes
absolutely neither Injury Lawyers UK Ltd nor our panel solicitors keep any of
your work injury compensation. So you
will receive 100% of your work injury compensation.
6. I have suffered loss of earnings, can I
recover them?
Yes indeed provided we can demonstrate this loss it will be included within your work injury claim. Also it is felt that you will go onto suffer future loss of earnings this will also be included within your work injury claim.
We hope that the above has outlined the process a little when we come to deal with your work injury claim and that you have had all of your questions answered. If you still have further questions or wish to proceed with your claim please do contact us on 0800 1123 156 or by completing our online claim form.
16/2/2011
Health & Safety Regulations at Work – There to Protect You!
Over the last number of months many articles
and press stories have revolved around the issue of the “Red Tape” Society and
how our Health and Safety Laws have gone too far. The main regulations that are set to protect
everyday workers are known as the “Six Pack” and set out a structure in which
activities at work take place so as to protect employees such as yourself, your
friends, colleagues and family. These
regulations can be found here on our website or by going to our Links page
where you can see the official copy of them.
Accidents at work, despite the regulations, are
unfortunately a very common place often causing significant injuries. Statistics show that only a small percentage
of accidents at work result in a claim for personal injury, a far cry from the
“compensation culture” being publicised in recent times. Official statistics published by the Health
and Safety Executive 2009/2010 also tells a different story. 152 workers were killed at work in this
period which is 1 person in every 200,000 employees nationwide. In addition 121,430 other
injuries to employees were reported under RIDDOR, a rate of 473 per 100,000
employees and 233,000 reportable injuries occurred, according to the
Labour Force Survey, a rate of 840 per 100,000 workers.
To demonstrate the importance of the Health and Safety Regulations and the “Red Tape” Society take a look at the figures below which show the headline trends for accidents at work from 1974 to 2010:
-
the number of fatal injuries to employees fell by 84%;
-
the rate of fatal injury (per 100 000 employees) fell by 83%;
-
the number of reported non-fatal injuries fell by 75%;
-
there have been reductions in injury rates and numbers in all main industry sectors
-
around 24% of the reduction in the rate of fatal injury in the last 10 years can be attributed to a shift in employment away from manufacturing and heavy industry to lower risk service industries;
-
recent research suggests that about 50% of the reduction in non-fatal injury rate since 1986 is due to changes in occupations of workers.
Compare this also to recent research confirmed by The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers who state that the number of Personal Injury Claims over the last 10 years have also fallen and there are less Personal Injury claims being made now than ever before.
This is a clear demonstration therefore that we do not live in a “compensation culture” as some may state. Indeed it would seem also that those who have suffered injuries at work or indeed have lost loved ones due to accidents at work would totally disagree stating that without the compensation they were able to obtain from insurers of the companies responsible for these accidents their lives would be very different than they would have been but for the Personal Injury Compensation they received as a result of the accident.
To understand how the regulations help we can have a look at the most relevant regulations to everyday working and see just how important they are despite being taken for granted. The “Six Pack” of regulations are the most relevant to everyday working activities and govern many aspects in relation to how employers undertake their processes whatever their industry, from the supply of a Kettle to the maintenance and training given in relation to the most complex of machinery.
The regulations cover everything from the supply of suitable work equipment right through to the provision of facilities and lighting.
It is very apparent by consideration of the HSE website, which can be seen here, that when these regulations are not abided by then serious and significant injuries can occur to employees. Given this it is inconceivable to think that these regulations and the “Red Tape” they create are unnecessary and or over the top when the safety of another human being and the prevention of accidents at work is their sole purpose. Indeed it can only be assumed that the people complaining are not the victims of such accidents, it is certain that if they were to fall victim to accidents at work their views regarding the regulations and “Red Tape” society would change. When they have lost significant earnings and potentially suffered life changing injuries it is also our view that their view on the so called “compensation culture” would also be thwarted.
13/2/2011
Can Cognative Behavioural Therapy Really Help Car Accident Victims?
Road Traffic Accidents occur on a day to day basis in
their thousands. Many people are lucky and they are just minor accidents
resulting in minor injuries such as whiplash. They very often proceed to make
very simple and quick no win no fee personal injury claims as a result of the
accident.
Notwithstanding the large number of minor accidents
and personal injury claims there are also major accidents, which cause
significant and sometimes catastrophic injuries. What about these accidents? They often produce associated psychological
injuries also related to both the impact of the accident on the accident victim’s
life and their emotions accordingly. The physical injuries are more easily
managed with the continuing advances in medical techniques. However the mental scars of the accident and
the resultant low moods and anxieties are harder to treat and live with.
There are however not many options for those
suffering psychologically in the aftermath of the accident and serious physical
injuries that can sometimes occur. The most recent development in psychological
treatments, that do not involve taking medication, is that of Cognitive
Behavioural Therapy. In the 1960’s Aaron
Temkin Beck described his new and revolutionary breakthrough in psychological treatments
as “turning on the intercom”. Having used the conventional methods of Freudian
Psychoanalysis, prior to developing his own theories and treatment methods,
Beck had become increasingly frustrated in the lack of progress made by his
patients. He became convinced that the
most underlying problems causing the psychological upset was more in the
patients mind set at the time as opposed to the issue that triggered the mind set
in the past.
To see how this treatment could be beneficial to
victims of Road Traffic Accidents who have suffered psychologically as a result
of the accident we need to establish the basics behind Beck’s then new therapy.
Beck discovered his theory during one of his sessions when it became very apparent to him that the patient’s presenting problems were not really the cause of the issue the patient came to see him about, but more the current mind set the patient was in. To use an example that is relevant, if we have a young man involved in a serious road traffic accident which has caused significant physical injury, we will see how a psychological injury could occur. However in most cases the victim goes onto suffer depression not due to the accident however, the circumstances around him and his emotions. He has not been able to work since the accident causing his wife to have to take on another job, it is this that then causes a negative emotion and thoughts like “I am inadequate to be her husband” or “look what I have made her have to do” thus creating a negative emotion of sadness and then deeper depression. In 1979, having developed his theories and tested them, Beck wrote a book “Therapy for Depression” which was a landmark text in its time and indeed field. It described both the hallmarks of depressive thinking styles as well as offering a new approach to treating the symptoms of depression.
So having established the basics it is then easier to see how his therapy can help victims of Road Traffic Accidents. The treatment runs through 5 major principles.
1 There is always another point of view!
The wife of the man above who thinks he is a bad husband does not think that at all, she is happy he is alive and is caring for him and helping him on his road to recovery. She has not once thought a bad thought of him since the accident.
2 Events Don’t Cause our Feelings!
It’s the way YOU deal with the events and your thought processes thereafter. Another person in the same accident could be absolutely fine and be concentrating more on getting physically fit than what his wife thought at the time.
3 We all evolve characteristic ways of seeing the
world!
People think automatically this is how our moods are regulated. Beck coined the term “Negative Automatic Thoughts” these are thoughts that are unwanted emotions and are often involuntary. However it does not mean it is not possible to train your mind to think differently and not allow the negative thoughts to affect our daily living styles.
4 It’s a Two Way Street!
It is clear that certain thoughts appear to be able
to create certain emotions. If the
person involved in the Road Traffic Accident feels he is incapable of lifting a
heavy shopping bag due to his personal injury as a result of the accident, this
will trigger the thought that “I am inadequate” then therefore there is a good
chance that he will feel guilt and shame along with the thought. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy points out that
the effect works BOTH WAYS. In other
words if I am already feeling sad or depressed I am also much more likely to
allow the thought associated with those emotions, in this case the thoughts of
guilt, shame and inadequacies.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy proposes that because our thoughts, behavior and feelings are interconnected that changes in one will inevitably change one of the others. A change in Behaviour will change your thought process which in turn will change your feelings and so on.
5 We are all Scientists at Heart!
People create and solve their own hypotheses on a
daily basis and are constantly doing so without even knowing it. Science has a very good practice and theory
or hypotheses. To make something work it
must have two criteria
i) It has to be consistent with all available data
ii) it can be tested so we can find out whether it
is trusted or not.
Cognitive Behavioural Therapy works in exactly this way by demonstrating to the same to the patient. The victim of the Road Traffic Accident has the theory that because he can’t lift that heavy bag for his wife he is inadequate due to the personal injury he sustained in the Road Traffic Accident and his wife agrees with you. This in turn then provokes Negative Automatic Thoughts and makes the person depressive.
If however he tested the hypothesis he has just put to himself which triggered the thoughts he would soon quickly come to find that in fact his wife has no such feelings and was thinking to herself “I’ll get this as I don’t want his back to get bad again which will make him unhappy and in pain”
So this is it. Yes CBT is a great breakthrough and unfortunately all too often people go untreated for their condition when with a small amount of simple treatment their suffering could be helped. Many Personal Injury Practitioners that deal with claims for personal injury now recognise the benefits more and more and are utilizing the available rehabilitation sources during the course of the claim available to them from insurers to aid their clients in the recovery process. Long may it continue and those suffering in silence can move on with their lives albeit physically injured but mentally happy.
At Freeinjuryclaim.com we always ensure that our clients are looked after and that any rehabilitation that is required is provided and this includes Cognative Behavioural Therapy.
Miss A from Southend received £3250.00 due to a Work Accident and says “I was very happy with the way you worked on my claim. I was worried I might lose my job but thank you for reassuring me. Work have even changed the way we all work now”