MORE ACTUAL CASES INVOLVING READERS’ SUCCESSFUL ACCIDENT CLAIMS

December 4th, 2009 admin

Published in Truckstop News December 2009.

In this month’s issue Steven Hinchliffe of the specialist Personal Injury Compensation firm Hinchliffes Solicitors will consider more “READERS’ SUCCESSFUL ACCIDENT CLAIMS”.

Continuing his review of successfully completed accident injury claims, Steven Hinchliffe looks at more situations experienced by readers of Truckstop News that resulted in an award of personal injury compensation.

All of the accident victims mentioned 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 2 very different types of accident that resulted in significant injuries and as with the other articles in this series the common trend remains the effect on each individual’s life. However, in both cases there were modest claims for financial losses and the sums recovered for the physical injuries formed the bulk of the accident compensation. 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.

CASE STUDY 1 – WORK ACCIDENT CLAIM

On 3 November 2006 Mr M (name withheld at client’s request) of Grays, Essex arrived at Shell UK’s Haven Refinery in Stanford-Le-Hope with a tanker to collect a load of bitumen. However, before leaving the site the tanker was weighed and found to be significantly overweight, and therefore some of the load needed to be removed. In the unloading process it became apparent that there was a problem with the valves and as Mr M removed the pipe from the tanker a quantity of bitumen was sprayed beneath his protective visor onto his face, neck and forearm.

He suffered burns due to the heat of the bitumen, but fortunately these healed during the course of the following few weeks, but he was left with scars, which the medical expert felt would take a couple of years to reduce.

Mr M contacted my firm at the end of January 2007 and in early February a letter of claim was sent to Shell UK. Their insurers quickly acknowledged receipt, but after investigating the matter denied responsibility for the accident on the basis that there was an indemnity arrangement with an associated company, Nynas UK, for this type of situation. They argued that the claim should therefore be made against Nynas, however as Mr M had no actual relationship with that company his only option was to make the claim against Shell and leave it for them to counter-claim against Nynas for their losses. Shell’s insurers refused to accept this position and it proved necessary to issue formal Court proceedings. This step was taken in August 2007 and the matter was then put in the hands of Shell’s solicitors. Because the Court sets a timetable of steps that must be taken leading up to a trial, Shell’s solicitors were persuaded to involve Nynas in the negotiations and in November 2007 it was possible to reach a settlement on the basis that Mr M would receive the sum of £1,350, together with his legal costs.

Clearly Shell’s insurers did not want to face the prospect of a contested trial and by involving the Court in the claim it was possible to bring matters to a satisfactory conclusion.

CASE STUDY 2 – ROAD ACCIDENT CLAIM

This claim arose from an accident suffered by Mr R E Iddon of Chorley, Lancs on 30 October 2007. While driving along the A47 between Peterborough and Wisbech, the vehicle in front of him performed an emergency stop. Mr Iddon managed to break in time, but was struck from behind by another vehicle being driven by an employee of Armoric Freight International Ltd.

About a week later Mr Iddon got in touch with my firm as he was suffering whiplash symptoms to his neck and shoulders. On 6 December 2007 a letter of claim was sent to the company rather than the driver, as they are held responsible for the actions of their employees during the normal course of their work. Within a few weeks the company’s insurers confirmed they would settle the claim and offered to pay for physiotherapy treatment to aid Mr Iddon’s recovery.

It took a while to find an appropriate medical expert to examine my client, but when a report was prepared in May 2008 it was noted that the neck injury initially affected both his shoulders, but it was only his left shoulder that was now causing him pain and discomfort. However, the accident had made him nervous of driving, and he had decided to change his work from long distance driving to less demanding short haul journeys. It was felt that with a course of physiotherapy his physical symptoms would resolve within a few months, and his nervousness should ease over the course of the year.

The medical report was sent to the company’s insurers and just over a week later terms for settlement of the claim were agreed. Mr Iddon received £3,100 for his injuries and the effects of the accident, together with £401.22 for his financial losses (including the costs associated with the physiotherapy treatment).

Once the insurers had accepted the company’s responsibilities, they worked with my firm to resolve the claim as quickly as possible.

PERSONAL INJURY CLAIM SOLICITORS:-

If you have suffered any form of accident or contracted an industrial disease contact personal injury claims specialists Hinchliffes Solicitors for immediate legal advice, to find out if you are entitled to make a claim for personal injury compensation. All cases are conducted on a Free No Win No Fee claims basis, where you keep 100% of the compensation recovered.

Call now on 0800 138 1348 to speak direct to one of our specialist claims solicitors or go to our Start Your Claim Now page to submit details of your accident compensation claim online.