TRUCKSTOP NEWS - YET MORE READERS’ SUCCESSFUL ACCIDENT CLAIMS

October 8th, 2009 Hinchliffes

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.

In this article I highlight 2 different types of accident, and as with the other articles in this series the common trend remains the effect on each individual’s life. Both of my clients suffered injuries, but fortunately these turned out to be relatively minor. However, they lost income and suffered other financial losses. 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 14 June 2006 Mr P (name withheld at client’s request) of Leeds was working as a truck driver. He arrived at the premises of Colgate-Palmolive (UK) Ltd in Salford and was told where to park. He got out of his cab and started to open the curtain sides of the trailer. In order to open them fully he had to walk round the back of the trailer, when he was struck by a fork lift truck, which knocked him to the ground.

He was taken to hospital by ambulance and was kept in overnight for observation, having sustained a blow to the left side of his head, resulting in concussion. He also had a cut to his ear, which left a small scar. He could not work for 10 days due to his symptoms, and when he returned he was put on light duties for 2 weeks. Luckily he was able to make a full recovery.

Mr P contacted my firm for advice in July 2006 and after the necessary terms of business formalities were completed a letter of claim was sent to Colgate-Palmolive in the middle of August. Their insurers then had 3 months to either admit or deny responsibility for the accident, but as often happens in cases like this, they would not confirm their decision. A medical report was obtained from a consultant and sent to them in November, and after constant chasing they finally admitted responsibility in January 2007. Based on the medical report we valued the claims for both his injuries and financial losses (the majority of which related to lost earnings and sick pay), and we were able to settle the case in early February. Fortunately his injuries did not turn out to be severe (bearing in mind the damage a heavy FLT could inflict) and his total compensation amounted to £2,350.

This was a fairly typical accident at work claim that settled within 6 months of commencement. However, the claim was not against Mr P’s employer but was directed to Colgate-Palmolive, being the occupiers of business premises where he was delivering. Most of the health and safety duties placed on an employer also protect authorised visitors to their premises, as in this case. Colgate-Palmolive had a duty to ensure that their staff were adequately trained and obeyed health and safety rules, including keeping pedestrian routes free of vehicles. On this occasion their FLT driver was negligently driving far too close to the trailer, rendering the company responsible for the accident. It is a clear example of a situation that could have been avoided if more care had been taken.

CASE STUDY 2 - ROAD ACCIDENT CLAIM

This claim resulted from an accident suffered by Mr S B Gibson of Great Yarmouth. On 18 September 2008 he was driving his truck on the inside lane of the M54 near Telford when he was struck several times by an LDV Maxus van, whose driver had lost control of the vehicle. Both vehicles eventually came to a halt, but the harrowing experience left Mr Gibson with injuries to his neck and back.

He contacted my firm about 3 weeks later, and on 5 November a letter of claim was sent to the van driver’s employers, Trinity Mirror Printing Ltd. By 21 November their insurers had admitted liability and on 3 March 2009 a medical report was sent to them, together with details of Mr Gibson’s claims for financial losses (including lost income for the time he had to take off work and the replacement of a damaged satellite navigation system). They then had sufficient information to make an offer to settle the accident compensation claim, but it was 3 weeks before they responded with an unrealistically low offer. We advised Mr Gibson to issue Court proceedings so that a Judge could assess the amount he was entitled to, but this step proved unnecessary, as the insurers were persuaded to revise their offer. The case was settled by the end of March for a total sum of £2,700.

In situations like this we ensure that clients have appropriate legal expenses insurance in place so that swift action can be taken as soon as it is necessary, such as issuing Court proceedings. This gives a tactical advantage, as the van driver’s insurers knew they would lose if the matter was assessed by a Judge. Their initial offer was made in the hope that Mr Gibson would not want to go to Court, but once they knew that this was not the case, sensible negotiations followed.

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.