Saturday, 11 October 2008

Claiming Compensation For Accidents At Work

Accidents often occur at the workplace. In fact, the Health and Safety Executive estimates the annual loss caused by accidents occurring at workplaces at around six million working days.
The onus for ensuring the safety of employees lies with the employers. Laws in the UK stipulate strict rules and regulations for employers to ensure adequate safety standards in workplaces.
In spite of this, accidents can and do occur. In such cases, employees are entitled to receive compensation for the injuries they have sustained. If you have suffered an injury at work, these are some important points that will determine whether you will win workplace injury compensation from your employers.
• You should have been injured at work. For you to receive workplace injury compensation, it is important that you should have suffered the injury during the course of your employment. This means that the injury should have been caused while you were on professional duty. An injury caused due to an accident while travelling to or from work, for instance, will not typically be compensated.
• You should not have been at fault. This means that you should not have suffered the accident because of a lapse on your part. If it can be proved that the accident occurred because of your mistake, you would not be eligible for compensation. On the other hand, accidents occurring due to failure on your employer's part, such as inadequate safety precautions, faulty or unsuitable machinery or lack of training, will entitle you to receive compensation.
• You should prove your loss. The amount of compensation depends on the extent of loss sustained. Apart from the full cost of treatment, this would include incidental costs, such as travelling to and from the hospital, homecare and loss of earnings due to inability to work. However, you will have to submit documentary evidence in the form of medical reports and bills as proof of your loss. This injury claim calculator can tell you how much your claim may be worth.

Your Injury Experts have an in-depth knowledge in dealing with injury claims. They has written numerous articles on injury claims issues, particularly those involving car accident and other topics of claims. Please contact them to apply for your claim compensation.

Thursday, 25 September 2008

Huge Settlements In Personal Injury Cases Actually Small Compared To What Is Lost

What is your ability to think worth? What is the use of your arms and legs worth? How about your life?
Insurance companies attempt to assign a pound amount to your health, freedom and life after an accident. They use impersonal statistical tables to assign value to something which to you is invaluable. On the other hand, your injury experts fight for your right to receive fair compensation for your injuries and your ordeal.


Lifelong pain and living assistance


When million-pound settlements or judgments hit the news, it may sound like a lot for a victim to receive. But when your life stops after an accident, you begin to understand how difficult the aftermath of a severe injury can be. A large sum of money cannot erase the physical and emotional pain a person goes through. While a settlement can ease the financial strain, it can’t console a family who is dealing with a loved one’s severe brain or spinal cord injury. For many accident victims, recovery is a lifelong process. Years of therapy and a lifetime of challenges may result. Even seemingly huge settlements may still seem minor compared to the day-to-day difficulties a victim and their family face.


A personal injury solicitor can help

After an accident, you want a solicitor who will fight for justice and get you a dollar amount you deserve. With medical bills, lost income, and other expenses, you can’t afford to accept an insurance company’s lowball offer. Money can’t erase the pain of an accident, but it can help you get the best medical care available and help families cope with financial challenges after the death of a loved one.

If you would like to learn more about personal injury, your rights and the claims process, please visit the web site of Your Injury Experts, London-based personal injury firm Balinda & Co Solicitors

Tuesday, 2 September 2008

Accident At Work - How To Claim?

According to the Health and Safety Executive, around 6 million working days are lost due to workplace injury each year.
In the year 2006-2007, there were 274,000 reported injuries, according to the Labour Force Survey. This corresponds to 1 injury for every 100 workers. There were 28,000 major injuries and 241 fatalities.
The most common cause of major injury at work are slips and trips, in total nearly 11,000 incidents. These account for nearly 40% of the cases.
It is believed that 70% of injuries at work could be prevented if employers put proper safety controls in place.
To be able to make a claim your injury must involve these 3 reasons:


1. You have suffered an injury.


2. Another person's actions caused that injury.


3. The other person was at least partly to blame.


Don't take it that another person has to literally hurt you by pushing you to the floor, it can be that they spilt something and left the floor wet and you slipped.
In order to make a claim, you will need to undergo medical examinations to determine the prognosis for your injuries.
So when you get injured seek medical advice straight away when your injuries are at its worst. Always try and seek advice if you feel you have a claim. Don't let the time go bye and then you start thinking i wish i made an effort to see if i have a claim.
Accident Claims explained.
All employers owe their employees a duty of care to provide them with a safe place and system of work and equipment.

Balinda & Co Solicitors are experts in all kinds of Personal Injury Compensation.

Wednesday, 4 June 2008

Personal Injury Compensation Accident Claims

It has been estimated that more than three million people are injured every year due to personal injury accidents that should have been avoided. These accidents could occur on the road, at work, in a public place, a slip trip or fall or due to medical negligence. All of these are known as personal injury and if they occurred through no fault of your own then you could be entitled to compensation. In more cases then none of these accidents do occur due to the negligence of another person.

More and more people are now realising their civil and legal right to claim for compensation after an accident that was caused through no fault of their own. This is thanks to the introduction of the no win no fee claims, which mean you can claim for compensation with no cost to you. Every year a good number of people are left hurt and injured due to the fact that someone else put their welfare in jeopardy.
Personal injury is a term that refers to the specific injury that is caused to you as a result of an accident that has occurred to you due to the carelessness of another person.


Examples of personal injury are:

Whiplash Injury
• Back Injury
• Repetitive Strain Injury
• Cervical Spine Injury
• Leg injury
• Wrist/arm injury
• Industrial diseases
• Loss of sight/hearing
• Broken/fractured bones
• Torn ligaments
• Dislocations

These names are merely just a few of the physical personal injuries that you could suffer after becoming involved in an accident; however what many people don't realise is that personal injury doesn't just refer to the physical injury that you may be suffering, it also refers to psychological injuries, which could include post traumatic stress disorder, depression, anxiety/panic attacks, abuse and anger. These are just a few examples of both the physical and psychological injuries that you may be suffering from as the direct result of an accident that should have been avoided.
By claiming for compensation after suffering harm due to aspects such as the ones named above you will be able to cover expenses such as medical expenses, any loss of earnings that you will encounter as well as compensation for your initial injuries. Personal injury law was put in place to compensation victims of personal injury accidents and it is there to protect you after suffering accidents.
If you do decide that you wish to pursue a compensation claim it is essential that you speak to a personal injury solicitor. By doing this it allows an expert to assess your claim and to inform you as to whether you have a claim. A personal injury solicitor will be able to inform you about how to put in a claim as well as giving you an estimate on the amount of compensation that you may be entitled to. Once your case has been evaluated you will be left with an idea of whether it is worth pursuing a claim. If you do pursue a compensation claim your solicitor will more than likely work with you on a “no win no fee” basis. This means that in a successful case you will keep 100% of the compensation that you are awarded with your solicitor's fees being paid by the losing party's insurance company and if your case is unsuccessful you will have nothing to pay.

Balinda & Co Solicitors are experts in all aspects of Personal Injury Compensation Accident Claims.

Thursday, 29 May 2008

Whiplash - No Win No Fee Compensation

Whiplash is a medical condition that occurs most frequently after a road traffic accident. The onset of whiplash arises when the soft tissue in the spine is stretched and strained after the body is thrown in a sudden and forceful jerk.
Whiplash is an example of a condition that is hard to diagnose. This is because there are no tests that can be done to confirm that you are suffering; you can't have a blood test or an x-ray that will show that the soft tissue has been stretched; so how is whiplash diagnosed? Whiplash is identified by a doctor assessing the background of the injury and by you describing the symptoms that you are suffering from; however a doctor or hospital should be altered if a patient experiences memory loss or has periods of unconsciousness after being involved in an accident that has left them suffering from whiplash. Also if a person starts to experience pains in the back of the head, pins and needles in the shoulders and arms or notices a sensation of heaviness in the arms. If you are suffering from whiplash and start to experience any of these things it is highly important that you go and see your doctor or go to the hospital.
The most common complaints that occur surrounding headaches and stiffness in the neck as well as the back of the head. The symptoms that occur usually appear within the first couple of days after the accidents and they usually pass after a few days or weeks. To aid your recovery and to prevent your injury getting worse you should try and apply an ice pack to your neck within the first 24 hours of the accident happening. This will help to reduce the inflammation. It is also advised that you try and keep active as movement will help to stop your neck from becoming stiff and it will help you return to your normal routine quicker; however you are advised to avoid certain physical activities that may aggravate the injury. People who stay active and exercise their necks, despite the pain, usually recover more quickly.
When you are in a line of a slow moving traffic and you are hit from behind you can't possibly get whiplash, yes? No, it doesn't matter how fast or slow you were travelling when an accident occurred. Whiplash can occur even if your car was only travelling a few miles per hour. Many people only associate whiplash with vehicles that were travelling at high speed when in fact whiplash injuries are caused quite frequently by vehicles that are travelling at low speeds.
If you have suffered whiplash after a road traffic accident that was caused through no fault of yours then you could put in a claim for compensation. You should be warned however that whiplash cases are sometimes hard to win, which is why it is important that you speak to a personal injury solicitor who will asses your case to see if you are entitled to put in a claim for compensation.


Balinda & Co Solicitors are experts in all aspects of Whiplash Compensation Claims.

Monday, 26 May 2008

Hit-and-Run Victim's Compensation Right Upheld

A Greater Manchester teenager badly injured by a hit-and-run driver as a toddler has won the right to compensation after the Court of Appeal turned down a challenge by the Government.
Ben Byrne, 18, set a legal precedent last year when a High Court judge ruled that the three-year time limit on making claims to the Motor Insurers' Bureau did not comply with EU law.Mr Justice Flaux's ruling meant Mr Byrne could claim damages.

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The MIB and Government appealed against the decision and on Friday three appeal judges agreed that victims of hit-and-run drivers should have the same rights as those of victims of insured drivers whose claims can be made from the age of 18.Mr Byrne, of Cottesmore Way, Golborne, was just three in 1993 when he was knocked down outside his nursery school near his home but the motorist has never been traced.It was only in October 2001 after taking legal advice that his parents lodged their application with the Motor Insurers' Bureau - the industry body that compensates victims of uninsured drivers - but it was refused on the grounds it was out of time.Insurance industry sources deny the appeal court's ruling would lead to thousands of other applications for compensation.They say it will affect only half a dozen claims.The Untraced Drivers Agreement 1972 between the Department of Transport and the MIB contains no provision to suspend the three-year time limit until Mr Byrne reached the age of 18.Mr Justice Flaux's ruling that under EU law the MIB procedure should be subject to a limitation period no less favourable than those governing other minors for personal injury against a traced driver was upheld and the appeals dismissed.

Thursday, 22 May 2008

How to Be Successful With Your Medical Negligence Claim

4 Crucial Steps to Follow

When you visit a doctor, you are seeking some form of medical care, and you trust the doctor to provide it adequately. However, sometimes doctors do not provide you the service you paid for or make mistakes such as wrong diagnosis, not referring you to a specialist in time, mistakes during surgery, etc. Such mistakes are referred to as medical negligence.
If you feel you are a victim of medical negligence, it is your legal right to seek restitution in the form of compensation. The key part of a successful medical negligence claim is proving the doctor did not follow correct medical procedures. Because this is a complicated area for a layperson to enter into you definitely need to engage an experienced medical negligence lawyer. Here are the four essential steps for a successful claim:

Step 1: Contact a lawyer

The first step is to contact a lawyer who specializes in medical negligence claims. The lawyer will usually give you a free initial consultation, where your case is reviewed, after which the lawyer will tell you if your case is strong enough to claim compensation for medical negligence.

Step 2: Submit the necessary documents

When you meet the lawyer, you need to bring your medical records to be reviewed. In fact, detailed medical records are vital to any successful medical negligence claim. You simply cannot bring too much information. Include everything: personal details of the claimant, name of the doctor or doctors who provided treatment, the clinic or hospital where the treatment was carried out, the dates of treatment, the kinds of treatment, the medications prescribed, the blood tests, etc.

Step 3: Discuss your claim thoroughly

In medical negligence cases, you have to be sincere and discuss everything with your lawyer. Don't hold back. Your lawyer will review what you say and study your documents and come to a determination about the strength of your claim. Then the lawyer will estimate how much compensation you should ask for and how long the claim process should take.

Step 4: Get testimony from medical experts

In a medical negligence claim case, it's likely a medical expert will be hired to examine your records to determine if there is negligence and how you have been affected. The medical expert is typically a doctor with many years of experience in that specialty. The expert will prepare a report detailing the extent of the negligence and the injuries suffered. The expert may also testify in court.

Balinda & Co Solicitors are injury experts in accident claims issues. Please visit their site http://www.injury-experts.co.uk for more information regarding accident compensation process.

Tuesday, 20 May 2008

You Can Claim Different Types of Road Traffic Accident Compensation

Even though technology has advanced to the point that vehicles have been made safe for use by people, road traffic accidents still abound. This is because these accidents arise not from the vehicles, but from the neglect and lack of discipline of both motorists and pedestrians. In fact, statistics show that the majority of people will go through a serious accident at least once. If you are one of these people, then you might have experienced the long and inconvenient process of getting your claim for compensation for the damages you've received from the road traffic accident.
A road traffic accident compensation claim is made not only for financial loss but also for personal injury that arises from a mishap concerning pedestrians or cyclists and vehicles travelling on a public highway. In order that you become successful at getting your claim for compensation, it has to be proven that the other party is the one who caused your injury and is at fault. The authorities will draft a police report regarding the whole incident. The report will factor in your statement as well as that of the other party and witnesses, if there are any. From this, the police will determine who they think is at fault based on who broke traffic rules and regulations.
If it is found that the other party is responsible for the road traffic accident, you should make your compensation claim against him/her. The one who pays for your compensation is the insurance company of the one at fault. Even if the driver is not insured, you are still assured of a compensation claim. Motor Insurance Bureau will pay your compensation especially when the guilty driver is not insured or is unable to be traced such as in a hit and run case. Just make it a point to inform the authorities immediately regarding the incident so that you can prove to Motor Insurance Bureau that the accident really occurred the way you described it.

You can claim different types of road traffic accident compensation:

1. Financial loss
This involves losses and expenditures that have resulted from the accident such as hospitalization and medical expenses, lost income, and vehicle repairs.
2. Interest
You are also entitled to claim interest arising from the above financial expenses.
3. Personal injury
This includes physical injuries like sprains, fractures, and whiplash injury. It also includes psychological injury such as trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder.
4. Legal cost
You can also have your legal expenses reimbursed if your personal injuries and other damages exceed a certain amount.
The path to getting your compensation claim for a road traffic accident may be too complicated for you. There are several things that you need to do such as proving the guilt of the other party, assessing all the expenses caused by the accident, and so on. Thus, it is not suggested to you handle it all by yourself. It is recommended that you enlist the help of an injury expert in making your compensation claim.

Thursday, 15 May 2008

Try Making Workplace Safer

Some jobs are more dangerous than others, but all jobs have their hazards.
Sure, workers in plants and mills may have to focus more on workplace safety than people sitting behind a desk, but even a desk job comes with risks such as carpal tunnel syndrome or back problems.

On April 28, people in the West Kootenay joined with people all over the world to remember people who lost their lives trying to make a living. People who got more than they bargained for while trying to put food on the table.
Very few people leave for work wondering if they will walk through the door after the clock has been punched.

But the National Day of Mourning is about more than grieving those lost on duty. It is about focusing on our work environments and finding ways to make them safer.
So how does this apply to you? Most professions already have strict safety rules in place, aren’t they good enough?

In most cases, yes. But there are things you can do to make the workplace safer for yourself and your co-workers — and they don’t require a lot of effort. Acts as simple as emptying the recycling more often so they don’t get too heavy, to pushing in your seat when you’re away from your desk and tucking in the straps on your laptop cases/briefcases can greatly reduce the risk of injury in the workplace.

We hope you all took the time to remember and honour the memory of those killed at work and you will continue to find ways to make the office, where ever it may be, better for everyone.

Monday, 28 April 2008

Discover the Secret to Smooth and Higher Payout to Personal Injury Settlement.

Personal injury advice is often sought after getting injured from an accident. However, there is no exact and specific advice that covers all personal injury cases because every case is unique. To get specific advice, discuss a personal injury and how to get settlement for it with a reliable lawyer, health professional, and a therapist who can all guide you to the actions you have to take.
Below is some general and easy-to-follow advice that you should take when making a personal injury settlement.
- First and foremost, if you are injured, you have to get immediate medical care. You have to tell your GP what exactly happened so he can treat you accordingly. This can also help establish a detailed medical record that will be useful later.
- The next course of action you should take is to document the injury. Write down an account of the accident as soon as possible so that the details are still clear in your mind. Taking pictures of the scene of the accident is a good idea because the photos can also be used as evidence.
- If the personal injury is from a car accident, you will want to inform the police and your insurance company right away so appropriate actions will be taken.
- If your injury happens in the workplace, report what happened to your employer, boss or manager right away.
- Listen to all advice you receive from other people along the way, as some of them may be useful for you. However, do not make decisions impulsively. Think of the pros and cons of whatever action you wish to take.
The key to successful personal injury settlement, though it may seem counterintuitive at the time, is to record and document everything that has happened. Having detailed and tangible evidence is your best defense if your case goes to trial. And even if it doesn't, having a comprehensive and detailed paper trail at hand will enable better negotiating for you, and you will end up, hopefully, with a higher payout as well.
Balinda & Co Solicitors provides detailed information on Back Injury Settlements, Burn Injury Settlements, Medical Negligence Injury Settlements, Road Accidents Injury Settlements and more.

Monday, 21 April 2008

Government Called to Change Injury Compensation System

The Government has been urged to implement changes to the personal injury compensation system as soon as possible.
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) warned that the current compensation system was failing many claimants, as it was too slow, "riddled" with high legal costs and undervalued the rehabilitation of victims.
It said insurers wanted to pay compensation faster than the system allowed, with personal injury claims from motor accidents taking an average of two years to settle, while workplace ones took three years.
It has been joined by business group the CBI and Citizens Advice in its call for the Government to introduce the proposals it published last year for a faster and fairer system as soon as possible.
The ABI said during the past year 80% of the 250,000 motor accident personal injury claims received by insurers had been straight forward and non-contentious, but despite this it still took an average of 730 days to settle them.
It said if the Government proposals were introduced claims could be settled in just a quarter of this time.
It added that the spiralling legal costs arising from personal injury claims were impacting the cost of insurance, with 10% of every motor insurance premium taken in by the industry going to pay the legal profession.
Under the Government's proposals lawyers would have only five days to inform insurers about a claim after they have taken instructions.
Insurers would then have 15 days to decide if they were liable for a motor insurance claim and 30 days to decide for a employers' liability or public liability claim. They would also investigate claims themselves and negotiate a settlement if they decided they were liable, removing the need for lawyers to carry out their own investigation.
The Government also proposed setting out timescales within which both sides should try to agree a settlement, with the case referred to a district judge for a decision if they could not agree on time.