Personal Injury Lawsuit

Thatcham, the car insurers research centre has released studies which place small city cars at the bottom of the pile for safety. Small models such as the Ford Ka and Fiat Panda which many drive in an effort to reduce emissions were both rated as poor for whiplash protection.

Smaller, lighter cars offer less protection from whiplash due to their light build and manufacturers need to compensate for this with better headrest protection. The study focused mainly on headrest protection and found that smaller cars were consistently lagging behind in their standards of headrest protection.

Drivers wishing to reduce emissions and fit into small spaces in the city environment are losing out when it comes to safety. No city cars included in the study were rated as good for whiplash protection.

Rear end shunts at low speed are common accidents in city centres and the most popular cars are not offering adequate protection from whiplash. Low speed collisions are a major cause of whiplash injuries and even minor accidents can result in painful long term damage.

The newly released Fiat 500, expected to achieve a good rating was deemed to only offer marginal protection from whiplash injuries. The highest scoring makes were Audi, Volvo and Saab. These makes of car scored good for seat design across all models.

Crash research manager Matthew Avery is concerned that safety should not become a luxury, with only the more expensive models offering high standards of safety. He hopes that the study can go some way towards prompting manufacturers to provide higher levels of headrest and seat protection as standard.

Mr Avery feels that manufacturers of these smaller models are not primarily concerned with safety. Although the knowledge is there to fit smaller cars with high levels of whiplash protection it is not being done.

The smaller models aimed at city types place more priority on keeping the price low and the weight of the car down. Larger cars aimed at families place much more emphasis on safety than these smaller cars driven mostly by younger, single people without families.

Mr Avery urges manufacturers to work harder at providing whiplash protection, especially as whiplash is one of the most common injuries and is particularly common in low speed city crashes, where the majority of these cars are being driven.

“’Although across the board we are seeing improved seat designs with around 75% of all new seats tested now achieving a “good” or “acceptable” rating, more can certainly still be done.”

“City cars are not equipped to protect their occupants’ necks when they have to absorb the crash energy from larger, heavier vehicles which, combined with poor seat design, makes whiplash far more likely.”

The study will hopefully cause manufactures to sit up and take notice. Failing to provide adequate protection from whiplash in the type of cars most likely to be involved in the type of accidents which cause whiplash injuries is surely a grave oversight.

Read more

Rear-end collisions and resulting whiplash are commonplace in the UK. A driver just has to be travelling too closely to the vehicle in front of them, and all that is needed is for the driver in front to make an emergency stop and a costly crash and claims for car accident compensation result.

Read more

New York has announced plans to tighten up on its safety on construction sites. Hours after this announcement was made a construction worker fell from a 25 foot scaffold. He was rushed to hospital.

At this moment in time his condition is said to be serious. The authorities are trying to piece together how the accident was caused. It appears that the man was working on a ledge 25 feet high on the scaffold. He was wearing the appropriate safety harness and had been trained and was qualified to carry out this type of work.

The sites safety managers had held a talk with all their construction workers the day previously to discuss safe practice when using scaffold.

Betsy Vorce, speaking on behalf of the Lincoln Center where the worker fell had this to say “Those of us at Lincoln Center are sending him our thoughts and prayers tonight.” She said that the injure worker was conscious when emergency services arrived to take him to hospital.

The accident came at a time when the city has been discussing the alarming number of accidents which have occurred within New York’s construction industry so far this year.

Thirteen people have died as a result of accidents at work in the construction industry in just under four months so far this year. That’s more than in the whole of 2007, when just 12 people died in 12 months. At this rate accidental deaths at work in the construction industry are up threefold.

There are plans for engineering experts to be hired to carry out checks on construction sites and ensure that safety regulations are being followed.

Read more

Read more

James Mcdonald, 60, from Stirling, was offering Pakistani nationals advice on their immigration. He claimed to be working on a no win, no fee basis, but took money for ‘expenses’ from his clients and also took £1000 from the Methodist Church of Britain who were providing financial support for one his victims.

He has been fined £5000 and ordered to pay £6000 in costs for illegally representing the 5 Pakistani nationals whose visas to remain in the UK had expired. The 5 men are currently being held in a detention centre.

He was investigated after it was noticed that he was not among those listed as in a position to provide advice on immigration. Mr Mcdonald is appealing, claiming that he was within the law by representing these immigrants, as they had parents who were alive and born before 1948 and are entitled to British citizenship under a 1948 act.

“I am appealing the ruling of the judge on the interpretation of the Immigration and Asylum Act and I am optimistic. There are millions of people entitled to come to this country: they are migrants, not immigrants. This case has nothing to do with immigration or asylum.”

Mr Mcdonald has previously served a seven year prison sentence concerning the handling of counterfeit money. It was the biggest money laundering scam ever discovered in Scotland.

Mr Mcdonald is currently awaiting the results of a tribunal to ascertain whether he can claim back VAT on petrol he was selling for 35p a litre, the cheapest price in Britain.

Read more

I have been representing persons in personal injury claims for 18 years. In that time I have come up with a list of Top Ten Tips to help you get fair compensation for your injuries.

Read more

Making an insurance claim for a personal injury can be a complicated legal process, one thing the consumer does not want is their personal details being sold instantly after making the claim. New industry evidence suggests this is exactly what is happening, with the details fetching up to £1,000.

It has been a common practice in the insurance industry for insurers and claims management companies to make a profit from selling personal injury claims to firms of solicitors who will then attempt to get the injured person compensation. The most alarming fact is that the sold prices do not make their way to the injured party in any shape or form. One law firm has decided to address the practice head on, and to that end, Simpson Millar LLP has introduced a new scheme where the firm will offer to buy the claim from the injured person directly- cutting out the intermediary.

Personal injury solicitors have been buying the victims’ claims details from claims management companies for an uncomfortably long time and Simpson Millar LLP are tipping the balance in the favor of the victim whose interests come first, as opposed to
providing a financial benefit as a result of their misfortune.

It is a real concern as personal injury solicitors are trying to outbid each other for the opportunity to run these claims and the ensuing price war has dramatically increased the cost of referral fees to benefit claims management companies. The end result being that the claimant loses out on good legal service as many law firms are forced to place less experienced lawyers in charge of handling personal injury claims to make financial ends meet.

Simpson Millar LLP’s scheme really does cut out the middle man and as an alternative to paying a company for a claimant’s accident claim; the solicitor will pay the injured person directly. In addition to addressing the current worrying trend, the firm acts on a “no win no fee” basis and guarantees that the injured party keeps the entire compensation awarded. Furthermore, it will not be deducted from any compensation received later on and individuals will not have to pay it back if they lose the case.

Ultimately it is the injured client who has to come first, the time spent outbidding other solicitors for referral fees could instead be spent settling a case and so make a better use of resources.

Read more

Read more

Working with an experienced brain injury attorney will lessen the burden and stress of brain injury right away. Your attorney can give you an idea of what to expect from your case financially, and what you need to do today to start getting the medical bills under control. More importantly, for most brain injury patients and their loved ones, an experienced brain injury attorney understands brain injury, is aware of the latest developments in diagnosis and treatment, and works with brain injury specialists and experts. Through your attorney you will gain access to knowledge, medical care, and support which your current doctor may not be able to provide. What makes a brain injury attorney different from other personal injury attorneys
Brain injury cases are more complex than most personal injury cases. An experienced brain injury attorney understands the elusive nature of brain injury symptoms and evidence, and has ample experience dealing with the types of cases which typically cause brain injuries, including auto accidents, slip and fall, and construction accidents. Evidence
The brain is still mysterious territory, and new discoveries are made every day. Brain injury does not always appear as structural damage in medical imaging tests, even when the consequences are severe. The standard terms that doctors use to describe brain injury are confusing and can easily mislead a jury. For instance, “mild” brain injury means that the victim suffered only a brief loss of consciousness, but the actual damage to the brain can still be extensive and cause permanent disability. The evidence needed in a brain injury lawsuit is a combination of the most advanced medical testing available and documents, records, and testimony which, when used together can paint a picture of the person you were before injury and the person you have become. Compensation and your future
The cost of brain injury goes beyond acute medical care. While you are recovering you may be unable to work, meaning that the bills are racking up. Even a good recovery may not mean that you are able to meet your pre-injury earning potential. People with brain injuries who recover well enough to live normal lives often have life-long problems with short term memory, concentration, and multitasking. Others have good days followed by days of extreme fatigue making it difficult or impossible to hold down a job. Because recovery is unpredictable, calculating damages, including loss of income, the cost of rehabilitation, and long term care is a difficult and complex process. Insurance companies will try to present your prognosis in the best possible light, meaning the least expensive outcome. Can your attorney afford to represent you?
Brain injury cases are very expensive to pursue. Brain injury specialists and experts must be hired to provide evidence and prove your case. Fortunately, most attorneys handle brain injury cases on a contingency basis, so you don’t have to front the costs. However, your attorney must have the funds to cover these expenses, which can be in excess of $50,000.00.

Read more

When an individual files a personal injury lawsuit against another person, company, or organization, they are usually seeking some sort of award or compensation for injuries they claim to have suffered as a result of the defendant’s negligent, reckless, malicious, or illegal behavior. These awards, collectively known as damages and generally consisting of some sort of monetary compensation, are the legal system’s way of addressing the wrongs done to a plaintiff.

Read more