Published in Truckstop News August 2010.

In this month’s issue Steven Hinchliffe of the specialist Personal Injury Compensation firm Hinchliffes Solicitors will consider “HOW COMPENSATION FOR ACCIDENT RELATED INJURIES IS CALCULATED”

In this article I set out the basic procedures for working out how much money an injured person should receive to compensate them for the injuries they have suffered in an accident caused by the negligence of another person or company.  Awards of compensation made by the Courts in England and Wales are some of the lowest in Western Europe; therefore it is essential that every avenue is explored to ensure that the injured person is as fully compensated as the law permits.

Sometimes the injured person is found to be partly responsible for the accident, and in that case the amount of compensation they receive is reduced by a certain percentage to reflect their share of the blame.  For example, in a head on car accident both drivers may be held equally responsible and therefore once the full value of the injuries and the full extent of the injured person’s financial losses are established, only 50% of this would be due.  Also, if someone involved in a car accident was not wearing their seatbelt and this resulted in their injuries being more severe than would otherwise have been the case, they would lose between 15% and 25% of the full compensation, depending upon the individual circumstances.

Published in Truckstop News July 2010.

In this month’s issue Steven Hinchliffe of the specialist Personal Injury Compensation firm Hinchliffes Solicitors will consider “THE IMPORTANCE OF STRONG MEDICAL EVIDENCE IN SUCCESSFUL PERSONAL INJURY CLAIMS”

What is the role of medical evidence in personal injury claims and why is it so important?  To make a successful claim for personal injury compensation, you need to prove three things.  Firstly, that someone else had a legal responsibility for your safety and welfare; secondly that they failed in their responsibilities towards you; and finally that you suffered an injury as a direct result.  No matter how serious your injuries are, you will only be able to recover accident compensation if the first and second criteria are satisfied.

Published in Truckstop News November 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 various situations experienced by readers of Truckstop News that ultimately lead to an award of personal injury compensation.

All of the accident victims mentioned in this series of articles are 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 some of the names referred to may be familiar to you.

Published in Truckstop News October 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.

How do you select the right person to handle your accident compensation claim, particularly in respect of a work accident claim?  Personal Injury compensation claims solicitors, Hinchliffes Solicitors, give some advice.

Solicitor Steven Hinchliffe, the Principal and owner of the firm, says “Always find out if a solicitor will handle the claim and how much experience the proposed file handler has, particularly in dealing with more complicated cases such as accident at work claims.  Also consider how long the firm of solicitors or the claims company has existed, and question whether the proposed file handler is a true specialist in accident compensation claims.  Many companies and solicitors offering personal injury claims services have a mixed caseload of work in various areas of law, which can result in the client not achieving the best possible outcome.”  When making your choice, the length of time that a solicitor has been qualified is often less important than their level of expertise.

The Motor Insurers’ Bureau (”MIB”) was established in 1946 as an organisation to deal with road accident compensation claims by innocent victims who have suffered personal injury or damage to their property because of a negligent uninsured or untraced driver.

Every insurance company underwriting compulsory road accident claim motor insurance is obliged to be a member of the MIB and to contribute to its funding.  One out of every 20 drivers is uninsured!

The MIB must pay compensation where the negligent driver is found to be responsible for personal injury or damage to property arising from a road accident.  The MIB stands in place of the guilty party’s insurers and investigates issues of liability and valuation in the same way as in any other road accident compensation claim.

If you have accidents on holiday (either in the UK or abroad) and want to pursue personal injury claims, as long as the “holiday package” was booked through a tour operator in the UK and what you were doing at the time of the accident was part of that package, then you may be able to make an injury compensation claim against the tour operator for your injuries and any related financial losses.  In this situation the personal injury compensation claim would fall under the jurisdiction of the Courts of England and Wales and can therefore be handled by any UK solicitors experienced in personal injury claims

Under the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992 a tour operator can be held responsible for all of the services provided as part of a package holiday.  This can include:-

Published in Truckstop News September 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 compleed accident claims, Steven Hinchliffe looks at various situations experienced by readers of Truckstop News that ultimately lead to an award of personal injury compensation.

All of the accident victims mentioned are 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, 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 some of the names referred to may be familiar to you.

Hinchliffes Solicitors, a leading firm of personal injury compensation claims solicitors, issue a warning to everyone involved with Fork Lift Trucks (”FLTs”) highlighting the dangers associated with this type of equipment, particularly during the month of September.

According to statistics gathered by the Fork Lift Truck Association, September is the “deadliest” month of the year for accidents involving FLTs.  Accidents frequently occur when FLT drivers or pedestrians in warehouses are distracted, or simply assume that they have been seen by the other party.  Most of these accidents are entirely avoidable.  In respect of those that happen because of the failure of an employer to have a safe system of work in place, or because of the negligence of a colleague, the injured person may well have a strong claim for personal injury compensation against the employer (who will also be responsible for the actions of their workforce).

Hinchliffes Solicitors, a leading firm of personal injury compensation claims solicitors, say that recent research shows the number of children and young people injured in road traffic accidents in the morning rush hour has reduced considerably.  Between January and June 2008 there were 344 road accidents involving children, but for the same period in 2009 this number dropped to 228.  Some commentators suggest the recession may be linked to the reduction in this type of accident, occurring at the time of the morning “school run”.

Solicitor Steven Hinchliffe, who is the Principal and owner of Hinchliffes Solicitors, said:  “Fuel prices and the other overhead costs involved in running a car have become a great burden on many families during the current economic downturn.  Many parents are now walking their children to school rather than travelling in the family car.  Fewer car journeys have resulted in a reduction in accidents, and which is a good thing.”