PERSONAL INJURY COMPENSATION NEWS

Published in Truckstop News January 2012.

This month Steven Hinchliffe of the specialist Personal Injury Compensation firm Hinchliffes Solicitors considers TRAILER ACCIDENT COMPENSATION CLAIMS.

Continuing his review of successfully completed accident claims, Steven Hinchliffe looks at more situations experienced by readers of Truckstop News that ultimately lead to awards of personal injury compensation.  On this occasion the common feature is that both accidents happened while working on trailers.

All of the accident victims mentioned in these articles are clients of my firm, Hinchliffes Solicitors.  They have kindly given their permission for the disclosure of their details, and in particular of their real life experiences of incidents resulting in personal injury claims, and the steps taken to make a successful accident compensation claim.  All of these clients contacted my firm after seeing our details in Truckstop News.

In this article I highlight common place situations to which many professional drivers are exposed every day when carrying out their normal duties.  When working with trailers dangerous situations often arise, many of which are reasonably foreseeable by employers, yet inadequate steps are taken to try and prevent injury to their workers.  As with the previous articles in this series, the common trend remains the significant effect on each person’s life and here both of my clients suffered painful injuries that required medical attention.

Although using the established legal processes for making personal injury claims as a means of redress cannot truly compensate for the trauma and inconvenience suffered, in appropriate cases it can assist in requiring the guilty party to provide medical treatment and rehabilitation, in addition to financial relief by way of awards of compensation.  As previously stressed, the fundamental aim of all accident claims is to try and return the injured person to the position that he or she would otherwise have been in had the accident not happened.

Below is an article which appeared recently in the Worcester Evening News but frankly it could have been in any local or national newspaper.  It is another example of an ill informed MP jumping on the anti claims bandwagon by attacking people who make personal injury compensation claims.  It must not be forgotten that they did not ask to be injured and compensation is only awarded where the other party can be shown to be at fault.  Fraud must be stamped out and only proper claims proceed but anyone who is persuaded that insurance companies will lower their premiums if claims are curtailed is extremely naive.  To be fair to the Worcester Evening News they asked for my comments and they faithfully reproduced them.  Here is the article as printed:-

BEGINS

As increased whiplash claims are blamed for spiralling costs in car insurance, Worcester’s MP is calling for a crackdown on the compensation payouts that are proving a real pain in the neck for motorists.

Although the number of casualties in road accidents has fallen by almost 25 per cent since 2005, the number of insurance injury claims has doubled, the Government’s transport committee announced this week.

Published in CV Driver Winter 2011/12.

In this series of articles written by solicitor Steven Hinchliffe (owner of the specialist Personal Injury firm HINCHLIFFES SOLICITORS) he highlights the types of accidents suffered by professional drivers, where his firm has been successful in securing compensationfor the injured victim.

His firm has many years of experience in handling accident claims, particularly following accidents at work and while on the road- and has recovered millions of pounds in compensation.

Published in Truckstop News December 2011.

This month Steven Hinchliffe of the specialist Personal Injury Compensation firm Hinchliffes Solicitors considers HOW TO KEEP TRUCK DRIVERS SAFE ON THE ROADS.

Highways Agency statistics indicate that HGVs are involved in about a quarter of all road accidents, even though when looking at the overall makeup of the traffic on the UK’s roads, this vehicle type equates to a much lower proportion than 25%.

Employers have a duty towards their drivers to ensure, as far as reasonably practical, the health and safety of the employee and also that neither they nor anyone else affected by their presence on the road will come to harm.

To assist with this, employers must have in place a health and safety policy that can be accessed by their drivers.  Indeed the drivers should be consulted when the policy is formulated, and once in place they should be provided with appropriate training so that the risk of an accident occurring is minimised.  This is in addition to the usual steps that should be taken to ensure vehicles are roadworthy.

Published in Truckstop News December 2011.

This month Steven Hinchliffe of the specialist Personal Injury Compensation firm Hinchliffes Solicitors considers another SUCCESSFUL ACCIDENT AT WORK CLAIM.

Continuing his review of successfully completed accident claims, Steven Hinchliffe looks at just one situation experienced by a reader of Truckstop News that resulted in an award of personal injury compensation.

All of the accident victims mentioned in these articles are actual clients of my firm, Hinchliffes Solicitors.  They have kindly given their permission for the disclosure of their details, and in particular of their real life experiences of incidents resulting in personal injury claims, and the steps taken to make a successful accident compensation claim.  All of these clients contacted my firm after seeing our details in Truckstop News – and readers may recognise some of the names referred to.

In this article I highlight the consequences of work related accidents occurring because of defects with the roller shutter doors on both trucks and trailers, which often come to light when the doors are being closed.  As with previous articles the common trend remains the effect on the injured person’s life, and although using the process of law to make personal injury claims as a means of redress cannot truly compensate for the trauma and inconvenience suffered, it can assist in requiring the guilty party to provide medical treatment and rehabilitation, in addition to financial relief by way of awards of compensation.  As previously indicated, the basic aim of an accident claim is to try and return the injured party to the position that he or she would otherwise have been in had the accident not happened.

Published in CV Driver November 2011.

This month we chat to CV Driver Magazine regular contributor Steven Hinchliffe of personal injury specialists Hinchliffes Solicitors.  So, over tea and toast we talk about the personal injury claims business and how important it is to seek proper and sound advice – and the process of actually making a claim.

Steven qualified as a solicitor in 1978 and formed Hinchliffes Solicitors as a specialist claimant personal injury firm in 1999 in Malvern, Worcestershire.

As Steven explains, the firm has an extremely good reputation in this specialist field, with a large proportion of the claims coming as referrals from other satisfied clients.

In relation to road transport, as a legal practice they fully understand how the industry operates and in particular how the wide variety of equipment works and how people can get injured in the work place – for example, a poorly loaded forklift truck causing injury or a depot littered with debris causing a trip when pulling a loaded pallet truck.

Published in CV Driver November 2011.

In this series of articles written by solicitor Steven Hinchliffe (owner of the specialist Personal Injury firm HINCHLIFFES SOLICITORS) he highlights the types of accidents suffered by professional drivers, where his firm has been successful in securing compensation for the injured victim.

His firm has many years of experience in handling accident claims, particularly following accidents at work and while on the road – and has recovered millions of pounds in compensation. 

Published in Truckstop News November 2011.

In this issue Steven Hinchliffe of the specialist Personal Injury Compensation firm Hinchliffes Solicitors considers THE CAUSES OF ACCIDENTS INVOLVING CURTAIN SIDED TRAILERS.

In this article, Steven Hinchliffe considers the accidents suffered by drivers and others who work with curtain sided trailers, and the factors that contribute to their injuries.  This is a popular type of trailer offering transport companies great opportunities for flexibility in the carriage of goods, but there is a downside to their use as it provides a relatively flimsy structure compared to a standard, rear loading trailer constructed of hard panels.

However, if a few standard safety issues are considered by all those involved, the chances of an accident occurring could be greatly reduced.

Published in CV Driver October 2011.

In this series of articles written by solicitor Steven Hinchliffe (owner of the specialist Personal Injury firm HINCHLIFFES SOLICITORS) he highlights the types of accidents suffered by professional drivers, where his firm has been successful in securing compensation for the injured victim.

His firm has many years of experience in handling accident claims, particularly following accidents at work and while on the road – and has recovered millions of pounds in compensation. 

CASE HISTORY

How the Accident Happened

In February 1999, while driving a concrete mixer up a steep hill for a contractor, it was necessary for the driver to select a lower gear.  In this particular vehicle the control levers operating the mixer drum were positioned at the back of the cab, directly behind the gear lever.  As the driver changed down, his elbow swung back and hit the solid metal control levers causing significant injury. 

Published in Truckstop News October 2011.

This month Steven Hinchliffe of the specialist Personal Injury Compensation firm Hinchliffes Solicitors considers A SUCCESSFUL OCCUPIER LIABILITY ACCIDENT CLAIM.

Continuing his review of successfully completed accident injury claims, Steven Hinchliffe looks at another situation experienced by a reader of Truckstop News that ultimately lead to an award of personal injury compensation.  On this occasion he considers the liability of occupiers of premises for accidents suffered by their visitors.

All of the accident victims mentioned in these articles are clients of my firm, Hinchliffes Solicitors.  They have kindly given their permission for the disclosure of their details, and in particular of their real life experiences of incidents resulting in personal injury claims, and the steps taken to make a successful accident compensation claim.  All of these clients contacted my firm after seeing our details in Truckstop News.