Archive for the 'General claims issues' Category

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.

Employers’ misconceptions and general lack of knowledge about rehabilitation for injuries resulting from an accident at work or absence due to ill health could be costing them up to £610 million each year.

EEF (employers’ organisation) and Unum (disability insurer) have published “The Sickness Absence Report 2008″, which indicates that businesses actively providing rehabilitation for injured or sick employees have enjoyed a 0.7% lower absence rate as a result.

This equates to an extra 1.5 days’ work per employee each year, and in the manufacturing industry this means something in the region of 4.5 million working days.

Published in Truckstop News - October 2007.

This article deals with the basic elements that need to exist for a claim for personal injury compensation to be made following an accident.

The accident must have happened because of the negligence or fault of another party, by whom you were owed a “duty of care”.  This means that there must be a sufficiently close relationship between you and the other party for them to be aware that their actions (or lack of action) may have an impact upon you.  This is normally the case when the other party is your employer, a company to whom you are delivering or another road user.

A review commissioned by the Government could spell the end for GP sick notes. National Director for Health and Work, Dame Carol Black, has advised that the current system of sick notes should be replaced by a “fit for work service” so that GPs do not have to give out multiple paper sick notes.

Her report stated that “GPs sign sick notes because they feel they have no alternative available.”

The scheme would not just apply to absence from work following an accident, for example the time taken to recover from a work accident or a road accident, but also absence due to everyday illnesses and diseases.

The recommendations have been welcomed by Dr Hamish Meldrum, Chairman of the British Medical Association, who said: