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 CV Driver September 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 CV Driver July 2011.

This is the seventh in a series of articles written by solicitor Steven Hinchliffe, who is the owner and Principal of the specialist Personal Injury firm HINCHLIFFES SOLICITORS.

In these articles he will consider various issues relating to the accidents commonly suffered by professional drivers and the sometimes devastating injuries they sustain.  The firm has many years of experience in handling accident claims on behalf of injured victims – not only recovering millions of pounds in compensation, but also securing medical and other rehabilitation treatment to aid their recovery and return to normal life. 

This article outlines the main procedures that your solicitor should comply with to protect your position and achieve the right result when dealing with your accident compensation claim.

Published in CV Driver June 2011.

This is the sixth in a series of articles by the specialist Personal Injury firm HINCHLIFFES SOLICITORS.  The firm has years of experience in handling accident claims on behalf of injured victims (many of them professional drivers) – not only recovering millions of pounds in compensation, but also securing medical and other rehabilitation treatment to aid their recovery and return to normal life. 

Unlike the previous articles (written by solicitor Steven Hinchliffe, the owner and Principal of the firm), this month’s article has been written by the firm’s Business Manager, Nicky Hodges and if you were at the Shropshire Truck Show at the Oswestry Showground on 14 & 15 May you will have seen both Steven and Nicky on the firm’s stand.

This was our first experience of exhibiting at this type of event and we were not sure what to expect.  In all honesty, we were a little nervous of the reaction we might get, bearing in mind the popular (and totally misconceived) perception of Personal Injury Solicitors as being fat cats, only interested in lining their own pockets.  Our worries were not helped by having to set up our stand in a howling gale during the late afternoon of Friday 13!

Published in Motorcycle Monthly March 2011. 

It’s happened.  You’ve had a road accident.  But what do you do now?  MCM has the answers …

In the first of a two part feature, solicitor and biker Steven Hinchliffe outlines some of the issues that should be considered following the unfortunate event of a road accident, plus offers guidance on the initial steps to take.

WHAT TO DO IMMEDIATELY AFTER THE ACCIDENT

Before you think of anything else, switch off your bike and get away from any fuel spill.  Then take a note of relevant details: it’s useful to keep a pen and paper under your bike seat, together with a copy of your insurance certificate, for this type of situation.

If you are injured or in shock you may not be able to obtain all the information you need, or maybe overlook things in the immediate aftermath, but it is important to record as much of the following as possible:-