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Published in Truckstop News - December 2008.

In this month’s issue Steven Hinchliffe of the specialist Personal Injury firm Hinchliffes Solicitors will consider “COMPENSATION CLAIMS FOR PSYCHOLOGICAL INJURIES”.

Statistics indicate that approximately 25% of those exposed to a traumatic event will develop a psychological illness, for example depression, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or grief, and which can lead to anxiety and personality changes.  Some people have also been known to become dependent on drugs or alcohol.

The Health and Safety Executive’s recent statistics show that for 2007/2008 there has been a reduction in the number of people who have been killed, injured or made ill by accidents at work.

Figures suggest that the incidents of work accident injury have fallen by approximately 9% since 2000, and that this trend is continuing.  Fatal workplace accidents have also reduced by around 5%.  The number of reported work related diseases appears to have also fallen, however there has been an increase in asbestos related diseases, such as Mesothelioma.

Companies are failing to invest in inexpensive and simple measures that would prevent their workforce having work accidents while working at height.  Many accident work claims for personal injury compensation are as a result of poor management, broken or inadequate equipment, or structural failures.  Records indicate that incidents involving a fall from a height currently result in more workplace deaths than from any other type of work accident.

Some employers appear to believe that workplace height regulations apply only to sizeable heights.  This is wrong, as anything above one metre is classed as “working at height”.  Many work accidents result in injuries when there is a fall at “low height”, such as when truck drivers unload goods from HGVs.

A warning has been issued by the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) concerning 3 unregulated claims management companies who are involved in accident injury claims.  It is believed that the companies are trying to avoid being subject to regulation by being based outside the UK.

The warning came from the MoJ’s Claims Management Regulation Unit, and suggests that the following 3 companies may be providing accident claims management services without having the required authorisation:

• - National Compensation Consumer Line

• - Compensation Consumer Survey Line

• - Personal Injury Hotline

Published in Truckstop News - November 2008.

In this month’s issue Steven Hinchliffe of the specialist Personal Injury firm Hinchliffes Solicitors answers the question “WHO PAYS THE LEGAL COSTS IN MAKING A PERSONAL INJURY CLAIM?”.

Legal costs can be a major concern when considering whether to make an accident compensation claim.  Contacting solicitors can appear daunting and potentially expensive.  However, most specialist accident lawyers are very approachable, and able to set people’s minds at rest about the claims process and costs implications.

In 2005 mechanic Robert Earl died of the asbestos related disease Mesothelioma.  In 1969 he had spent approximately 8 months working at a local garage, where he was exposed to asbestos in the brake linings of the commercial vehicles that he was repairing.  A claim was made against the garage by Mr Earl’s Executors, who were successful in recovering injury compensation for his family.

Although the exposure to asbestos in this case was relatively minor, the success of the Mesothelioma claim could set a precedent for others seeking personal injury compensation as a result of limited exposure to asbestos.

A rambler who suffered injuries when walking on a rickety footbridge has won £3,000 in her accident compensation claim.  Mrs B Green was walking along a public footpath at Combe Haven Valley Nature Reserve, and as she went over a wooden bridge a section of the planking collapsed.

As a result of the accident Mrs Green suffered factures to her 2^nd and 3^rd metatarsals, cuts to her shin and bruising to her groin.

The local council defended the accident claim, stating that she should have seen the defect and stepped over it.  However, they admitted having no formal inspection regime for the bridge as it was in a rural location.

A manufacturer of industrial catering equipment, Lincat Ltd, has been fined £19,400 and ordered to pay substantial legal costs after being found in breach of health and safety regulations following an employee suffering an accident at work.

The employee, Rolf Cinavas, worked as an oven assembler and suffered a groin injury when he was required to move a pizza oven weighing 96kg without the use of any mechanical lifting gear.  He and his supervisor had to move 5 ovens from a waist high assembly bench and put them on pallets that were on the floor.  As a result of the accident he was unable to return to work for 9 weeks.

The company admitted being in breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 as they did not have a clear health and safety policy statement.  They were also in breach of the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992.

Published in Truckstop News - October 2008.

In this month’s issue Steven Hinchliffe of the specialist Personal Injury firm Hinchliffes Solicitors considers “LIFTING AND MANUAL HANDLING TASKS”.

Many truckers suffer with back pain caused by various factors, including the requirement to lift objects and perform general manual handling tasks.  The term “manual handling” is used to describe a wide variety of jobs, including lifting, lowering, pushing, pulling, carrying, moving and holding or restraining an object, animal or person.  It also covers activities that require the use of force, for example pulling a lever or operating power tools.

HSE records suggest that over 30% of all work accidents involve manual handling issues, with an estimated 300,000 people each year suffering the agonies of back pain.

Published in Truckstop News - September 2008.

In this month’s issue Steven Hinchliffe of the specialist Personal Injury firm Hinchliffes Solicitors provides details of “FINANCIAL LOSSES THAT CAN BE CLAIMED, INCLUDING PAST AND FUTURE LOSS OF INCOME”.

If you have been injured in an accident that was not your fault, or you have contracted a qualifying industrial disease, you may well be in a position to make a personal injury claim, to include compensation not only for your injuries or medical condition (known as General Damages), but also for any financial losses or expenditure directly related to the accident or disease (known as Special Damages).