Archive for February, 2009

Mrs Margaretta Lewis of Worthing has received £20,000 in personal injury compensation following an accident claim when a badly installed heater fell and left her trapped beneath it for more than 24 hours. 

The 87 year old widow suffered such severe burns that she had to spend 6 weeks in hospital.  She also suffered a fractured hip and broken ankle. 

The injuries occurred when Mrs Lewis went to investigate a loud noise coming from a storage heater that a workman had fitted in her home 3 months earlier.  As she reached the heater it suddenly fell from its brackets, knocking her unconscious and pinning her to the floor.

A spanner used by a mechanic would be regarded as work equipment, and if it snapped and the mechanic was injured he would have a good claim for personal injury compensation against his employer for an accident at work.

 However, what would the position be if the wheel nut on the mechanic’s employers’ van sheered off and hit him in the face when he was undoing it with the spanner?  A previous Court decision found that in such a situation the van was not to be regarded as work equipment and therefore any accident claim would fail.  However, matters have now moved on.

Published in Truckstop News - February 2009.

In this month’s issue Steven Hinchliffe of the specialist Personal Injury firm Hinchliffes Solicitors will consider “WHEN AN ACCIDENT INCREASES THE PAIN OF THE CREDIT CRUNCH”.

People tell me they expect an increase in claims for personal injury compensation, as accident victims seek money to help with their financial difficulties, especially if their ability to earn is affected.  However, in my experience this is unlikely to be the case.  Most people are reluctant to make a claim and feel awkward about asserting their legal right to obtain compensation, even when their injuries are significant. 

This is particularly so following an accident at work, where understandably concerns arise about job security and the future.  It is true that occasionally an employer may see a claim as a personal attack and react badly, however employment law protects workers from victimisation and provides remedies if relations turn sour. 

The simple answer to this question is “yes”.  By way of example, a couple have recently received details of a personal injury compensation claim made against them by a midwife, after she tripped over a child’s buggy at the couple’s home when visiting their newborn twins.  She alleges that the buggy caused a tripping hazard and as a result she is claiming injury compensation for her injuries.

Occupiers of residential premises have for a long time owed a duty to ensure their home does not pose a danger to visitors.  This duty also extends to the occupiers of public and commercial buildings in respect of their visitors.

A 45 year old woman from Merseyside has been awarded £3,250 personal injury compensation following injuries to her back, hip and knee caused during an accident when she entered a lift.

She did not realise the floor of the lift was several inches lower than it should have been, and the misaligned entrance caused her to slip and severely jar her back.  This resulted in her suffering with pain in her leg and back for several months.

Recent RAC reports suggest drivers are being driven to distraction by gadgets within their vehicles.  46% of drivers believe gadgets severely divert their attention away from the road, with the figure rising to 55% for drivers aged between 17 and 24.  A likely result of this is an increase in car accident claims for personal injury compensation.

In another survey it was revealed that the biggest distraction was satellite navigation equipment, with nearly 30% of drivers confirming that it affected their driving.  The use of iPods and CDs was also found to be significantly distracting, although the RAC have found that the main problem in this regard is with control buttons on the steering wheel and complex dashboard layouts.

Deaths from diseases caused by the inhalation of asbestos are not solely the result of working in heavy industry, as had been the widely held belief.  Nurses, doctors and teachers are among the 4,000 people each year who are dying from these diseases.

Statistics show that 183 teachers and lecturers died from Mesothelioma in the 20 year period between 1980 and 2000, but the disease claimed 76 lives in the 4 year period between 2002 and 2005.  There has been a similar increase in the number of nurses dying from this disease - from 49 between 1980 and 2000, to 25 between 2002 and 2005.