Published in CV Driver May 2011.

This is the fifth 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 current rules about who pays the legal costs in an accident claim, but warns that the clock is now ticking as the rules are soon to be changed.

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:-

Solicitor Steven Hinchliffe, the Principal of Malvern based specialist personal injury firm Hinchliffes Solicitors, looks at who pays the legal costs associated with personal injury claims and seeks to calm some of the fears which deter injured people from making valid claims for compensation for their injuries and financial losses.

Hinchliffes Solicitors handles accident at work, road accident and many other types of cases for clients throughout England and Wales.  However a significant proportion of the firm’s clients are local to Malvern and the surrounding towns of Ledbury, Upton upon Severn, Tewkesbury, Pershore, Evesham, Droitwich, Redditch, Tenbury, Bromyard and the cities of Hereford and Worcester.

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.

Malvern solicitor Steven Hinchliffe outlines some of the issues that should be considered following a road accident, and which can easily be overlooked in the immediate aftermath.  This note offers guidance on the initial steps to be taken.

Steven Hinchliffe is the Principal of Hinchliffes Solicitors which firm specialises in personal injury compensation claims and handles accident at work, road accident and many other types of cases throughout England and Wales.  Even so, many clients of the firm are local to Malvern and the surrounding towns of Ledbury, Upton upon Severn, Tewkesbury, Pershore, Evesham, Droitwich, Redditch, Tenbury, Bromyard and the cities of Hereford and Worcester.

WHAT SHOULD I RECORD AFTER AN ACCIDENT?

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

Published in Truckstop News February 2011.

In this month’s issue Steven Hinchliffe of the specialist Personal Injury Compensation firm Hinchliffes Solicitors will consider “WHEN A SLIP OR TRIP AT WORK CAN LEAD TO A SUCCESSFUL COMPENSATION CLAIM”  

“If you have been injured in a Slip, Trip or Fall Accident within the last 3 years that was not your fault, you may be entitled to claim Personal Injury Compensation.”  How often have you come across this statement in the press or in adverts on the TV or radio?  In reality claims following this type of accident are often difficult to succeed with, particularly when the party at fault is a local council or highway authority.  However, if the injured person was at work when the accident occurred and the party at fault is either their employer or a business related to their job, then the potential for success is greatly enhanced by virtue of Health and Safety legislation.  These provide employees with significantly more protection than ordinary members of the public.

So long as the accident happened during the course of your work and was caused by the negligence of someone related to your job, it is always worth taking advice from a personal injury specialist on the merits of your potential claim.  It does not really matter where you were when you fell, for example while in a warehouse, an office, a car park, when on the back of a trailer or standing on a ladder or platform, but what caused you to fall is an important factor.

Published in Truckstop News January 2011.

In this month’s issue Steven Hinchliffe of the specialist Personal Injury Compensation firm Hinchliffes Solicitors will consider more “READERS’ SUCCESSFUL ACCIDENT CLAIMS”, on this occasion dealing with falling objects.  

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 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 2 accidents where my clients were injured by a falling object, over which they had very little control.  As with previous articles, the common trend remains the effect on each individual’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 Truckstop News December 2010.

In this month’s issue Steven Hinchliffe of the specialist Personal Injury Compensation firm Hinchliffes Solicitors will consider “WHETHER CLAIMS CAN BE MADE AGAINST COMPANIES IN LIQUIDATION OR NO LONGER TRADING”

There are likely to be a considerable number of valid personal injury compensation claims that have not been pursued, simply because the person either injured in an accident at work or suffering from an Industrial Disease believes that the insolvency or liquidation of the company at fault will prevent them from making a claim.  This is not the case.

Although in some situations it may take a considerable amount of time to piece together the history of a company and trace the relevant insurance cover, in many instances the time required to bring the claim to a successful conclusion is little different from that taken when the defendant company is a solvent business.  The same applies no matter whether the potential defendant is a limited company, a PLC, a sole trader or a partnership that has ceased trading.  The important factor is whether the insurance company that provided the relevant cover to that business can be identified.  If there was a valid insurance policy in force at the time the accident occurred, or the Industrial Disease was suffered, then generally speaking a claim for compensation will be possible.

The number of people killed in work related accidents has fallen to the lowest on record.  An official report published in October 2010 by the Health and Safety Executive indicated that between April 2009 and March 2010 there were 152 fatalities, down from 179 the previous year.  This corresponds to a rate of 0.5 deaths per 100,000 employees.

There were 26,061 major injuries, such as amputations and significant burns, to workers compared with 27,894 in 2008/09.  There were 95,369 injuries severe enough to keep employees away from work for three or more days, down from 105,261 in the previous year.

An estimated 1.3 million people said they were suffering from an illness caused or made worse by the nature of their work, which was an increase from 1.2 million in 2008/09.

Published in Truckstop News November 2010.

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

Continuing his review of successfully completed accident injury claims, Steven Hinchliffe looks at 2 accidents involving trailers that were experienced by readers of Truckstop News, which ultimately lead to each man being awarded 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.

A Lincolnshire global frozen vegetable merchant has recently received a £10,000 Court fine after an employee had his finger amputated following an accident at work.

The employee was attempting to make straight some boxes on an automatic palletising device at the Pinguin Food plant in Boston, Lincolnshire.  The mechanism he was working with had a Perspex guard but this allowed the employee access to the guarded enclosure while the machine was running.  In fact, when the accident occurred the employee was standing behind the guard but was still able to get his fingers caught between a pallet and the conveying platform.

The employee lost his middle finger from the tip to the first knuckle and was away from work for six months.