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ACCIDENT CLAIMS

The UK's Top 5 Ethical Accident Claim Solicitors


BAR BRAWL IMMINENT AS LEGAL AID CUTS DEEPEN DIVISIONS

The second round of cuts to Legal Aid was never going to win many fans. Both the
solicitors fighting claims cases and the victims bringing them will suffer. Of
that, there seems no contestable doubt.

Perhaps what the government didn’t expect was for such strong resistance, to
both the cuts and dual contracts, from established chambers. But that’s what
they face over the coming days and weeks.

Earlier this week, the Criminal Bar Association decided that action in protest
to the cuts was not the way forward. The decision surprised many as 96% of the
CBA‘s members had previously voted to take action.

The Law Gazette’s article reports that when it came to the crunch, the executive
committee called time on possible ‘strike’ action. Instead, they voted 34-to-11
against ‘forego[ing] work in opposition’ to either the legal aid reforms or the
continuation of dual contracts.


CAN THE MOULD NOW BE BROKEN?

Now that the CBA has failed to stand up to government at all, the fear is that
legal welfare will be decimated. At least that’s the view of Michael Mansfield
QC, whose Mansfield Chambers has ‘broken rank’. The Chambers has called for an
emergency meeting amongst the CBA’s membership, for which there’s already
support.

The CBA has voiced empathy, acknowledging ‘the difficulty solicitors face’. Yet
that they won’t actually do anything to resist the government will leave many
members puzzled, if not isolated and vulnerable.

Mansfield Chambers is now questioning whether those who voted in favour of
action had their hearts in it. Maybe the 96% hoped that the threat of action was
enough to force the CBA’s hand, but the U-Turn stands for now.

If Mansfield Chambers gets the support of 50 members, the number it needs to
call the emergency meeting they’re touting as ‘imperative’, the original threat
of action may yet to turn to deed.


IS STRIKE ACTION A CASE OF THE LAW INDUSTRY CRYING WOOLF?

Mansfield’s mob is not only the breakaway bunch calling for a time-out to assess
the depth of Legal Aid cuts, either.

Labour’s Dianne Abbott also warned of her fears of the Reforms’ impact in
relation to availing access to aid for those who need it most. During her Fiona
Woolf lecture, few were safe from criticism, including her own political party.

Dame Woolf herself addressed the need for diversity in the legal profession at
the Chancery Lane venue. The former lord mayor and president of the Law Society
made her business case for a broader representation in law from across society.

And this was precisely Abbott’s point. She stated that many High Street lawyers
in Hackney and London, where she has her own aspirations to be mayor, are of the
diverse ethnicity courts need to mirror society.

The cuts to Legal Aid not only threaten access to those solicitors for those
with justifiable claims. But without those clients, lawyers’ very practices and
livelihoods are also under threat.


HMCTS TO SHED 2½% OF ITS WORKFORCE IN ONE FELL SWOOP (OKAY, MAYBE TWO)

And to round off today’s summary of cuts, perhaps the Courts’ Service has
aspirations of leading by example, itself. With the Ministry of Justice under
pressure to further trim the fat (by almost £250M), HM Courts and Tribunal
Service has announced it’s shedding 400 jobs.

200 of those positions will go as a natural consequence of employees leaving or
retiring. They won’t be replaced.

There’ll also be a voluntary exit scheme, which the MoJ hopes entices the other
200 excess staff to take ‘voluntary early departure’.

Earlier this week, Sir Leveson paved the way for a more efficient British
criminal justice system. His keynote at the Modernising Justice Through
Technology conference called for less paperwork, more digital case files.

This, unsurprisingly, was the exact reason a HMCTS spokesman gave for the job
cuts. Smart move. Deflect the blow of job cuts to the Queen’s Bench and show
lawyers that you’re practising what you preach? Now that’s fighting talk.

Posted byAccident ClaimsJune 26, 2015June 26, 2015Posted inIndustry RoundupLeave
a comment on Bar Brawl Imminent as Legal Aid Cuts Deepen Divisions


SMILER BLAME COULD TAKE YEARS; IN INDIA, 5K+ CLAIMS RESOLVED IN A DAY

World’s apart. In the UK, an eminent fellow opines over the future of Alton
Towers’ fated rollercoaster. Yes, the ride could reopen. But blame would have to
be found, proved and corrected. The moral dilemma of reopening the ride would be
in the hands of Merlin Entertainment.

In India, a judge calls for drastic measures to shake up the process of motor
accident compensation payouts. Two years is the average. On Saturday, the Lok
Adalat, the People’s Court, resolved 5,075 cases in one sitting, some stretching
back five or six years.


STAFFORDSHIRE, ENGLAND: COULD SMILER ROLLERCOASTER REOPEN IN TIME?

The real cause of the Alton Towers Smiler tragedy may not be known for several
years. That’s according to Dr Tony Cox, who’s not discounting the ride opening
again in the future.

Whether it does will depend on the evidence the HSE uncovers. The problem is,
the scope is so wide.

Dr Cox, a fellow of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, offered a pragmatic
view of the job the investigators face. At this stage, the design of the ride,
its mechanical function or, as is looking more likely, human error could have
been the major contributory factor.

How the ride came to be life-threatening remains unclear for now. But the fellow
said that, from his experience, if there’s a technical fault, the source
normally surfaces in the end.


GETTING INTO THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF THE ISSUE

Unlike human error, from a mechanical perspective there is a finite number of
things that can go wrong. What Dr Cox wouldn’t be drawn on is how long it would
take to check all of the conceivable failures.

Even then, unless the combination of factors points to a single cause, blame
will be difficult to prove.

Once the fault is detected, and subsequently corrected, he said that physically
there’s nothing stopping the rollercoaster operating in the future. The moral
standpoint of reopening Smiler, he countered, was another question entirely.

With compensation claims from the four seriously injured passengers on the front
row alone expected to run into millions, the financial cost of the ride may also
impact Alton Towers’ decision to run “Smiler” again.


BENGALURU, INDIA: SWEEPING DECISION CLEAR 10% OF OUTSTANDING MOTOR ACCIDENT
CLAIMS

And speaking of taking an eternity to process accident claims, there’s been an
astonishing development in India, Bengaluru to be precise.

Last week, Judge Ch K Durga Rao spoke to The Hindu newspaper about the serious
backlog of motoring accident claims rife in their region.

Contravening the Motor Vehicles Act (1988), many compensation claims were
taking, on average, two years to get through the civil courts.

Part of the problem is the claims forms process. Not the actual original
reports. But because there are ‘several agencies’ involved in getting a claim
from the insurer to court, the time lapse has caused the Supreme Court to
intervene.

Judge Rao, who’s the chair of the DLSA, wants the process expedited much
quicker. That may come in the future, but the Lok Adalat, the People’s Court,
were in no mood to wait that long on Saturday morning.

The Lok Adalat is a justice-carrying system developed in India. It offers
mediation and resolution as an alternative to the courts. Every now and again,
when such a bottleneck occurs in the court system, India will hold a national
Lok Adalat.

On Saturday, they did just that. In all, over 5,700 claims were settled, roughly
10% of all of the state’s claims. The total payout was in the region of £8.5M.

So successful was this last court, different types of disputes will be handled
in this manner every month.

So, if you’re in Bengaluru on July 11th and have a dispute with the Public
Utility providers, make your way to the National Lok Adalat. You may get your
dispute settled en masse, rather than wait for your claim to go to the official
court.

Posted byAccident ClaimsJune 19, 2015June 19, 2015Posted inCompensation Payouts,
Industry RoundupLeave a comment on Smiler blame could take years; in India, 5k+
claims resolved in a day


ALTON TOWERS: PROSECUTIONS EXPECTED OVER SMILER CALAMITY

Instead of spending her 20th birthday in Tenerife as planned, rollercoaster
crash victim Vicky Balch was in hospital. After having her legs crushed, but
saved by NHS staff after being air-lifted to Royal Stoke Hospital, Vicky remains
in a critical condition. Her injuries, whilst substantial, are not thought to be
life-threatening.

Vicky was one of four people seriously injured in last Tuesday’s rollercoaster
collision. Her boyfriend, Daniel Thorpe and first-time-daters Joe Pugh and Leah
Washington (18 and 17, respectively) were the others on the front row of the
ill-fated carriage.


I THOUGHT I WAS A GONER

After 2½ suspended in mid-air awaiting rescue, Daniel also had to have emergency
surgery. He was taken to University Hospital in Coventry, where staff operated
on his broken leg and punctured lung.

Daniel is now stable. But he’s recounted that upon the approach to the ‘stuck’
carriage into which theirs piled, he thought he was a “goner”.

Joe Pugh, who suffered two broken legs, is also out of danger. He’s taken to
twitter to thank everyone for their kind wishes and support.


17-YEAR OLD HAS LEG AMPUTATED

The youngest victim, Leah Washington, also went through the mill whilst waiting
to be freed from crumpled carriage.

According to one witness, during her four-hour ordeal she fainted, had to have
morphine and a blood transfusion whilst the emergency services did what they
could for the stranded passengers.

The same witness told The Sun how “doctors and firemen were covered” in blood
during the rescue attempt.

Unfortunately, their attempts weren’t enough to save one of Miss Washington’s
legs, which has since had to be amputated.

She, like the Vicky Balch, now faces a tough rehabilitation battle ahead.


ALTON TOWERS: NOT USUALLY FAWLTY

A spokesman for Alton Towers was quick to call upon Alton Towers’ “strong safety
record”. However, their statement read that the accident was deeply regrettable.

Their priority now is to ensure that failsafes are tightened to ensure this
never happens again.

Three other rides across the country have been closed until new measures are put
into place. Saw (Thorpe Park), Dragon’s Fury and the Rattlesnake (both at
Chessington World of Adventures) are closed until further notice.


HUMAN ERROR AS MUCH TO DO WITH CRASH AS MECHANICS

Since then, an ex-employee has come forward stating that human error is to
blame, rather than mechanical.

Before a carriage is allowed n the track, its wheels have to be warmed up. In
order to garner the traction needed, the carriages should contain water-filled
dummies.

Three recent tests using empty carriages have seen them stuck in a similar
manner to that which caused the Alton Towers tragedy.

In any event, the ex-employee related that there are 15 CCTV cameras that
monitor the Smiler ride. Even if the test carriage did get stuck, staff should
have spotted it.

Lawyers are due to meet with Merlin Entertainment, who own Alton Towers. As well
as compensation, there is a strong possibility of criminal prosecution,
according to one of the lawyers acting for one of the victims.

The investigation has been passed to the HSE for the time being.

Alton Towers reopened today for the first time since the tragedy. It has been
reported that the park lost around £2.5M during its closure. That figure may
well pale into significance once the clients’ compensation is decided in court.

Posted byAccident ClaimsJune 8, 2015Posted inCompensation Payouts, Industry
RoundupLeave a comment on Alton Towers: prosecutions expected over Smiler
calamity


WHY HOLIDAY COVER IS ABOUT MORE THAN FACTOR 30

Recent Thomas Cook headlines surrounding the death of two young children in
Corfu nine years ago have made grim reading. That image of the dilapidated
boiler that leaked the carbon monoxide that overcame Christi and Bobby Shepherd
in 2006 accompanying the media coverage? It’s a stark reminder that what we
class as acceptable in the UK often misses the mark abroad.

As a result of such evidence, the Coroner’s Court in Wakefield ruled that the
seven and six-year old children were unlawfully killed. Moreover, that the
holiday firm had breached their duty of care.


CPS TO RE-EXAMINE THE EVIDENCE

Although a Greek court acquitted Thomas Cook of any responsibility for the
deaths in 2010, the Crown Prosecution Service is going to re-examine the
evidence. Thomas Cook has stated that, with this verdict, a cross-examination
was expected and that the firm will support any new examination.

Given the revelations on Watchdog last week, detailing the continued lack of
care and attention Thomas Cook showed the grieving family after the event, that
support may smack of shutting the gate after the horse has bolted.

The Greek court did make a conviction in this case. The manager of the Louis
Corcyra Beach Hotel and two of the staff were convicted of manslaughter (via
negligence).

However, it does beg the question:


WHO IS RESPONSIBLE FOR YOUR SAFETY ON A PACKAGE HOLIDAY?

Providing you book through an accredited travel agent, the airline will cover
you for all international flights. It’s not something they offer as a courtesy.
There’s a statute in place that covers all international air travel: The
Montreal Convention (1999).

For the vast majority of conceivable injuries, whether you’re actually in the
air or grounded, The Convention covers passengers’ safety.

There’s a reason we say “provided you’ve booked through an accredited travel
agent”. That’s because it’s they who have a Duty of Care for your travelling
party, including luggage. Should mishaps occur, they’ll set about organising any
compensation due, for which they themselves will be covered.

The travel operator’s Duty of Care doesn’t end when you disembark your flight.
They accept responsibility for your welfare for the duration of your vacation.


SELF-BOOKING/EXTREME SPORTS VACATIONS

Many people nowadays book their own flights and hotel accommodation. As such,
you’re appointing yourself as your own tour operator, to a certain extent.
Therefore it’s imperative you take out appropriate insurance to cover you for
your time abroad.

For those who like whitewater rafting, snowboarding, ski-jumping – anything
active that may incur greater risk – you should take out specialist insurance.
As there’s greater risk of personal injury, so the cost of cover rises.

For now, we’ve got the NHS just a phone call away should anything go wrong at
home. Most countries do not have such a health service, nor are they obliged to
speak English.

Yes, the travel operator is ultimately responsible for your safety. But that
doesn’t mean you should take everything for granted. Most of us only get one
vacation a year. Don’t let an accident abroad ruin it for you.

Posted byAccident ClaimsJune 2, 2015Posted inNewsLeave a comment on Why holiday
cover is about more than Factor 30


CLINICAL NEGLIGENCE CLAIMS COULD BE FIRST CASUALTY OF HIGHER FEES

Since Spring, there’s been a change to the way fees are calculated in civil
court cases. Any claims brought in excess of £10,000 are subject to issue fees
of 5% of the claim amount. This amount can in itself rise to £10,000, at which
point it’s capped regardless of the size of claim thereafter.

The Law Society sees the increase in fees, imposed by the government on March
15th, as a barrier to justice for many. Not just for law firms. Many civilians
with bona fide claims could see their case rejected because of how much capital
a law firm already has tied up in its ongoing cases.


LEGAL AID TRUNCATION + INCREASED FEES = LESS ACCESS FOR ALL

Two years ago, changes to Legal Aid meant that access to representation for
those who’d suffered at the hands of medicine became limited. The new changes
may add further barriers to justice, as the increased issue fees put more duress
on law firms’ finances.

Large clinical cases may now mean law firms having to lay out up to £10,000 to
bring them to court. As medical claims can stretch back years and take an age to
get through court, many fall into this high-value bracket.

If negligence is in doubt, or the defendant denies blame in order to test a
claimant’s mettle (or pockets), law firms may be put off from taking cases on.

Even if they did take all cases on without question, there’s still a problem.
Because of the new rules, lawyers could see swathes of capital tied up in
existing court cases for indefinite periods. This will affect their cash flow
and willingness to take on certain cases.

For smaller firms, the new legislation could take them beyond their business
model. Possessing only the capacity to fund smaller claims, they may decide the
claim business is simply not worth the hassle.


FUNDING YOUR OWN CLAIM JUST GOT HARDER, TOO

It’s not all about the injustice to solicitors. Under the previous rules, a
percentage of claimants were able to fund their own fees.

As an example, a fee of 5% for a £200,000 claim is the maximum £10,000 cap.
Before March of this year, associated fees for that size claim would have been a
little over £1,500.

If a firm was unwilling to pay the fees for whatever reason, but the claimant
could fund their case, £1,500 was not such a stretch. But to expect a member of
the public to find £10,000 against this economy?

Perhaps only 5% of the populace could lay their hands on that type of cash to
fight for justice without suffering financially if the result didn’t go their
way. If ATE insurance was unattainable, that’s 95% of the UK left unable to fund
a large medical negligence case if their criteria didn’t overcome the stringent
Legal Aid hurdles.


IF YOU FIRE ENOUGH SHOTS, YOU’RE BOUND TO HIT YOUR TARGET

Perhaps the move by the government, which applies to the whole legal section, is
intended to make law firms think twice about the cases take on. Maybe it is
intended to clamp down on the spurious soft tissue and whiplash accident claims.

But is strafing the field and destroying the crop just because there’s a weevil
in there somewhere the right way to go? The government must acknowledge that the
higher fees rule is barring access to justice for those who deserve it and must
seek to correct it.

Is it worth jeopardising the lives of people who’ve already suffered at the
hands of people who were supposed to make them well just to catch out charlatans
who’d otherwise think twice about making a claim?

Posted byAccident ClaimsMay 25, 2015Posted inCompensation Payouts, NewsLeave a
comment on Clinical Negligence Claims could be first Casualty of Higher Fees


SOCIAL MEDIA EVIDENCE: SLIPSHOD IRREVERENCE OR IRRELEVANT SNAPSHOTS?

The concept of insurers defending injury claims using social media evidence is
not new. After all, the online public domain is like any other recorded medium
for stalking monitoring, well, the public. It’s getting social ‘evidence’ to
stick that’s always been the sticking point.

The lines blur between what’s considered private and public, thus what’s
admissible as evidence. Also, questions arise about what we share via our public
profile(s).

Do our facebook status updates reflect what’s going on in our offline life? Or
is what we share a sham, keeping up a misguided pretence for those we would
impress?


VANITY IS BECOMING A NUISANCE, I CAN SEE WHY WOMEN GIVE IT UP…

It could well be that our vanity is our own undoing. Not only in court, but IRL,
too.

For instance, when we share that shot from the racecourse when we were
supposedly ‘ill’. To our friends and family, even some tolerant bosses, these
instances are mere faux pas. Yes, you looked so ill as you collected on that
33/1 outsider that came in for you at Cheltenham. Mm, or not.

But what about when a judge or jury has to preside over such evidence? Should
they take what they see literally? If someone’s smiling in a recent shot, then
all must be good in their world, right?


THE CAMERA NEVER LIES – OR DOES IT?

In the past, social media evidence hasn’t held much sway with judges. First,
council has to prove potential relevance to a judge before they’ll order its use
if it’s not in the public domain. Then the court has to prove that the content
extracted is a true reflection of the plaintiff/defendant’s lifestyle for the
qualifying period.

In countless cases, judges have dismissed the use of social media. Yes,
individual shots may be posted to ‘[keep] up appearances’. But like the age old
swan, the grace on the surface may not reflect any submerged turmoil.

In Canada, there has been a development, though. And it will serve as a warning
for anyone making a claim who continues to use social, in this case facebook,
whilst they’re ‘suffering’.


THE CASE OF SARAH TOMBASSO: CONSISTENTLY INCONSISTENT

Sarah Tambosso purported herself as a once happy-go-lucky individual. In 2008,
she was involved in the first of two car accidents that she used to build up her
case for damages. The undisclosed amount was said to be in the region of
‘hundreds of thousands of dollars’.

Her second car accident, in 2010, only served to aggravate the conditions from
her previous collision. The conditions cited were PTSD and depression.

The result, according to her council, was that she’d turned into a ‘homebody’.
Gone was the social butterfly she once was, the internet now the only engagement
she had with friends. Moreover, she related to her psychiatrist that,

> “I’m not a happy person. My life sucks.”


NOT WHAT THE DOCTOR ORDERED

The evidence gathered, however, portrayed a different lifestyle. As well as
almost 200 pages from Tambosso’s facebook account, video surveillance was also
submitted to the court to disprove her claim.

The defence gathered all manner of social activity as evidence. Partying, days
out with friends, having a pop at karaoke; her facebook page was a trail of
contradiction.

And that’s how the judge eventually ruled. There was so little consistency with
the conditions she claimed the car accidents had instigated that the judge only
awarded $36,000.

The case has gone to appeal. But as social becomes an ever greater part of our
lives, we must consider the image our public self portrays. The cost of not
doing so, as Tombasso discovered, could be very high.

Posted byAccident ClaimsMay 19, 2015May 19, 2015Posted inMotor Accident Claim,
NewsLeave a comment on Social media evidence: slipshod irreverence or irrelevant
snapshots?


ELDERLY AT RISK AS PPI AND ACCIDENT CLAIMS CALLS RISE

A new initiative is being launched in South Wales to help to the elderly protect
themselves against scam phone calls. The rise in the number of PPI claims has
made auto-generated calls commonplace. But with firms exercising similar tactics
in the accident claims market, the calls have become more than just a nuisance.
So, specialist in care, Home Instead are trying to do something about it.

Many of the calls claims firms make are genuine. Acting upon information
received, they are providing a public service. Letting victims know that they
may be entitled to compensation can ease their suffering.

But there are firms who take this ‘tactic’ to the extreme. They buy databases
that include the contact details of likely candidates, but have no real sense of
duty in mind.

Nor do they possess any real sense of any injury or accident that could
instigate a claim. They plug all the database info into a software program and
let auto-dial do the rest.


NON-PERSONALISATION IS BECOMING MORE THAN A NUISANCE

If it was simply a case of putting the phone down on the auto-generated message,
we could live with it. But Home Instead, a national chain of homes for the
elderly, have seen first hand where claims firms are going beyond
‘inconvenience’.

Some of the calls are placed by fraudsters with only one intention in mind: to
get people to part with their debit or credit card numbers.

Many of us who’ve been brought up in the connected age know never to give this
information out. Even banks and building societies forward messages saying that
they’ll never ask for this info over the phone.

But some elderly victims are proving to be less acute at spotting bogus PPI and
accident claims. They’re more trusting than millennials, making them prime prey
for unscrupulous crooks.

The message is: never give your card details out unless you are 100% certain of
the caller’s origin. If you’re in and around Swansea today, you’ll find the next
Home Instead course at Reynoldston Village Hall between 2-3pm this afternoon.


WHAT CHANCE WHEN THE ELDERLY ARE VICTIMS IN THEIR OWN HOME?

It’s not just over the phone that the elderly need to take precautions. In
Sunderland last week, a care worker was found guilty of robbing a pensioner of
almost £2,000.

Kate Watson was responsible for the ongoing care of a 74-year pensioner. And
what she is guilty of just underlines how naive the elderly can be.

Kate would take the pensioner’s debit card and withdraw cash from the victim’s
account for her own personal. It wasn’t as if the pensioner had placed her
carer in a position of trust and asked Kate to withdraw money on their behalf.

The defendant told the court that the pensioner had left the PIN number ‘just
lying around’. Finding the card, then matching the two had represented no
barrier to the thief.

All told, Watson stole £1,911 from the elderly victim, and was ordered to repay
the money. But at a repayment rate of only £40/month (and interest free), in
this instance crime does seem to have paid.

Posted byAccident ClaimsMay 11, 2015Posted inIndustry RoundupLeave a comment on
Elderly at Risk as PPI and Accident Claims Calls Rise


CRASH-FOR-CASH SCAM BUSTED; DIRECT LINE CHASING £600K FRAUD CASE

One of the most elaborate ‘crash for cash’ scams uncovered by insurers has been
derailed this week. In total, claims could have risen to £1.3M had all been paid
out.

But Chester CID apprehended John Christopher Smith, MD of Swift Accident
Solutions, before all of the 218 referrals received compensation.

Smith, of North Wales, is now beginning a six-and-a-half year jail sentence as
the orchestrator of the scam. In all, Judge Andrew Blake convicted another 13
people for their part.


FIRST DIRECT SUSPICIOUS OF SIMILARITY

First Direct first noticed a pattern when investigating a series of incidents
involving First Group buses in and around Chester. The similarity was striking,
and it was this similarity that drew suspicion.

In all, there were seven staged ‘crashes’. Drivers of vans or cars would wait
for a scheduled bus to pull out then gently bump into it. The incidents happened
at low speed and the driver of the van or car would admit liability.

How did that work, then? The ingenious part of the scam was that people on the
bus itself were in on it. As soon as the collision took place, they would feign
their injuries.


WHIPLASH AND SOFT-TISSUE INJURY CITED AS THE CAUSE OF INJURY

Soft tissue and whiplash injuries were the modus operandi. These were the
obvious choice as such injuries are difficult to prove.

These scammers informed their GPs that they’d been in a collision and they’d
then issue a sick note. The fakers would then take along their doctor’s note
with the claim, Smith would refer them and collect the referral fee.

On average, Smith was pocketing around £900 per no-win, no-fee referral. 177
cases in all are adjudged to have been processed in this manner.

During the period that he was running the scam, a little over a year, it’s
estimated he grossed £159,000. He was jailed on fraud and conspiracy charges
that could have risen to over £1M if they’d gone unchecked.

Rachel Cooper, the last member of the gang to be tried for the scam, escaped a
custodial sentence. The 32-year old from Great Sutton escaped with an 18-month
suspended sentence.

She did, however, receive an order to undertake 250 hours unpaid work as a
repayment of her debt to society.


£600,000 FRAUD CASE BROUGHT BY DIRECT LINE

Elsewhere, Max Clifford is once again in the media for all the wrong reasons.
This time, however, it’s not the publicity guru in the dock.

Clifford was filmed in a coffee shop with Kevin Morgan, a former manager from
Weybridge, who was himself under surveillance.

Morgan was in a ‘low impact’ accident in 2005. But the injuries he sustained
have deteriorated to the extent that he can no longer live a normal life. Both
psychiatrist and the original doctor’s statements seem to support Mr Morgan’s
defence.

Direct Line, however, still became suspicious. Between 2009-2012, the insurers
placed Morgan under surveillance.

On ten of those occasions, he was seen to leave the house. Any signs of the
reported spasms in his neck didn’t materialise. Moreover, the prosecution
commented that his demeanour in court was completely different to that on film.

Mr Morgan said that he has both good and bad days. It was on one of the good
days that he was filmed in the coffee shop with Mr Clifford.


WHOLE LIVELIHOOD ON THE LINE

Direct Line have now taken Morgan to court to try to claim £600,000 fraud,
suggesting that the injuries the victim sustained have been exaggerated.

His defence is arguing that the evidence supports the ex-manager’s claim. Morgan
can now only live a ‘retired lifestyle’, a far cry from the handyman he was
before the accident occurred.

The limitations are such that Mr Morgan now exists within a 1,350ft radius from
around his once ‘immaculate’ home. The meeting in the coffee shop falls within
that territory.

Mr Morgan has also spoken out against Direct Line’s heavy-handed approach. He
likened his treatment to being ‘on a murder charge’.

Despite the fact that he could lose his home if he’s found guilty of fraud,
Morgan insists that he wants this opportunity to clear his name.

Posted byAccident ClaimsMay 5, 2015Posted inIndustry Roundup, NewsLeave a
comment on Crash-for-Cash scam busted; Direct Line chasing £600k fraud case


MOD AWARDS £709,000 PERSONAL INJURY COMPENSATION AWARD

INDUSTRY NEWS ROUNDUP: WEEK ENDED 6 APRIL 2015:

Here’s one that’s going to make you question your sanity: the Ministry of
Defence just paid out £709,000 in personal injury compensation for a case of
bullying.

Now calm down, it’s not ‘just’ bullying in this case. True, this award amount
dwarfs some payments made to Armed Forces members that were injured so badly in
the line of duty that they came back from Afghanistan or Iraq missing limbs, but
the circumstances surrounding the case are tragic.

It turns out that Cpl Anne Marie Ellement, aged 30, took her own life in
Wiltshire at Bulford Barracks in 2011 following prolonged and systemic
psychological abuse. The deceased corporal suffered from work-related despair
and the lingering effects of a rape she had allegedly been subject to, all of
which played a role in her suicide, according to a recent inquest. Kind of hard
to get all cross with the MoD after that comes to light, doesn’t it?

Still, being injured in the line of duty and seeking compensation isn’t like
making a typical work accident claim. The ministry has very strict and perhaps
overly-complicated guidelines set down by Parliament. Meanwhile, there have been
more and more of these bullying cases as related to the Armed Forces, and the
Government announced late last year that there’s going to be an investigation
into the matter in order to suss out how allegations of abuse are handled by the
MoD.

The impetus for the new watchdog group? Cpl Ellement’s death. I’m hoping that at
least the fact that this new watchdog was inspired by this poor woman that found
herself driven to suicide could mean that other Armed Forces personnel might be
spared the same incredible emotional pain and suffering.

The worst part is that much of this bullying behaviour comes not from the enemy
but our own troops. It’s reprehensible, and makes me absolutely ashamed of being
British. I absolutely pray that things get better, and that Cpl Ellement’s
untimely death turns out to not have happened in vain.

As for the bastards that drove her into this nightmare, don’t even get me
started. I’m sure they’ll eventually get deployed somewhere even hotter and more
uncomfortable than the desert when they meet their maker and have to answer to
their crimes.

Posted byAccident ClaimsApril 6, 2015April 14, 2015Posted inIndustry Roundup,
NewsTags: personal injury compensation, work accident claimLeave a comment on
MoD awards £709,000 personal injury compensation award


CATHEDRAL SUES NHS AFTER £130,000 ACCIDENT CLAIM

INDUSTRY NEWS ROUNDUP: WEEK ENDED 30 MARCH 2015:

A £130,000 accident claim has prompted a cathedral to sue the NHS for not
properly treating the foot of a worshiper who was injured on church grounds.

So much for ‘turn the other cheek:’ Ripon Cathedral in North Yorkshire has
sought to recover some of the £130,000 it paid out to worshiper Christopher
Shepherd in a personal injury compensation claim after the man tripped and broke
his foot just a few days before Christmas 2008. What looked to be an
open-and-shut case of the cathedral being liable for the man’s injury soon
blossomed into a major issue after medical negligence caused his foot injury to
worsen to the point where Shepherd is now consigned to a wheelchair as he now
has the inability to walk more than 100 yards without difficulty.

Ripon Cathedral agreed to pay out on Shepherd’s personal injury claims in 2013,
but has since decided to try to recover its costs by bringing suit against the
NHS. According to court documents, apparently Shepherd consulted with doctors at
Harrogate and District NHS Foundation Trust twice – first on Christmas Eve 2008
and then again on January 13th of the New Year, but was only finally diagnosed
properly on March 18th of that year. The cathedral’s personal injury lawyers say
that the NHS doctors should be held responsible for not diagnosing Shepherd’s
injuries properly causing a delay so long that the injured man needed surgical
procedures to fuse the bones of his foot – an act that left him with severely
diminished mobility.

Now this, to me, represents a perfect example of medical negligence. The poor
bastard made two trips to see NHS doctors and both times he was simply brushed
off. Meanwhile his foot simply got worse and worse until he needed the painful,
mobility-limiting surgery.  For what it’s worth, the NHS had a serious role in
the extent of Shepherd’s injuries and should pay the price.

I’m not saying that the cathedral is off the hook; the initial injury took place
on cathedral grounds so there is at least a modicum of liability there. But if
Shepherd had gotten the treatment he needed immediately instead of months
afterwards, the results would have been much less painful for him – and that
would have led to a much smaller legal bill for Ripon Cathedral!

 

Posted byAccident ClaimsMarch 30, 2015April 1, 2015Posted inIndustry Roundup,
NewsTags: accident claims, medical negligence, personal injury claims, personal
injury lawyersLeave a comment on Cathedral sues NHS after £130,000 accident
claim


HERE WE GO AGAIN WITH THAT OLD COMPENSATION CULTURE ARGUMENT

INDUSTRY NEWS ROUNDUP: WEEK ENDED 16 MARCH 2015:

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water, that old chestnut of
‘compensation culture’ bankrupting insurers has gotten trotted out once more.

If there’s one thing that drives me absolutely barmy it’s listening to insurance
providers whinge on and on about how they’re being victimised by everyone. Every
once and a while when they don’t feel they’ve gotten enough attention as of late
they’ll begin crying about how ‘compensation culture’ is ruining their injury,
pointing to increased personal injury claims and greedy, ambulance chasing
personal injury lawyers just draining their coffers dry.

The refrain began again this week, with big-time insurer Aviva saying that even
though the number of road accidents has gone down by 30 per cent, personal
injury claims are up by 62 per cent. Not only that but the insurer said that a
full 96 per cent of road traffic accident claims were brought not directly by
injured parties but by personal injury lawyers or claims management companies.

Now I need to interrupt right here. Do these insurers really believe they’re
fooling anyone with the idea that people legitimately injured in car accidents
should be representing themselves? What man or woman in their wildest flights of
fancy would be able to sustain a personal injury case against a deep-pocketed
insurer like Aviva, especially if the case involves the kinds of injuries that
can leave you without the ability to work for weeks or even months?

In a case like that, there’s only one type of person you should be turning to if
you’re injured, and it’s a personal injury solicitor. They’re not bloody
ambulance chasers simply because they represent people who can’t represent
themselevs; yes, they rely on no win no fee agreements to get paid, but that’s
because the majority of their claimants don’t have any damned money because
they’ve been unable to work for months and they’re just barely squeaking by on
savings – or on the largesse of their family members.

Yes, I suppose that insurance fraud is a problem. I’m sure it always will be.
But insurers like Aviva, who want to make it harder for the injured to bring
lawsuits against them with the aid of a lawyer, are only protecting their own
interests at the detriment of others.

Posted byAccident ClaimsMarch 16, 2015March 16, 2015Posted inIndustry Roundup,
NewsTags: accident claims, personal injury claims, personal injury lawyer,
personal injury solicitors, road accident claimsLeave a comment on Here we go
again with that old compensation culture argument


CUMBRIA COUNTY COUNCIL PAYS MASSIVE ACCIDENT CLAIMS BILL

INDUSTRY NEWS ROUNDUP: WEEK ENDED 9 MARCH 2015:

Cumbria County Council – already not exactly awash in funds – has had to pay a
painfully massive £1.5 million accident claims bill over the last three years.

To make matters worse, the lion’s share of the personal injury claims have been
on slips and trips where individuals fell on council roads or footpaths. An
eye-watering £1.3 million of the total went to these types of accident claims;
luckily some 77 per cent of claims lodged against the local authority didn’t
succeed. Can you imagine the total bill if more had?

Still, people are not exactly chuffed about the figure. In fact, James Airey,
the council’s Conservative leader, is up in arms about the issue, as he says
that the problems that caused all these personal injury compensation cases could
have been solved. Airey says that it’s a management issue, as it takes weeks to
get pavement problems mended after they’ve been reported – and while he wouldn’t
go so far as to call the council dreadful, he did say that the enormous payout
could have been used to fill in an awful lot of holes.

Now I really can’t argue with the man, especially when it comes to getting
potholes filled. That £1.5 million could have easily been spent on hiring more
workers and getting teams out to mend all these massive cracks and potholes that
can destroy car tyres and turn ankles. I can’t imagine that it would have taken
even a fraction of that payout amount to get everything done.

At the same time, Cumbria County Council isn’t exactly swimming in cash at the
moment. It’s not like the payouts come from the council itself – its insurance
company ends up footing the bill – but it does mean that the council’s premiums
are going to go up. And these fees are paid for out of taxpayer money, so it’s
essentially costing local residents even more as they have to pay for the poor
maintenance twice over. It’s a wicked, vicious cycle that shows no signs of
abating anytime soon – and I just find that a bit depressing, don’t you?

Posted byAccident ClaimsMarch 9, 2015March 11, 2015Posted inIndustry Roundup,
NewsTags: accident claims, personal injury claims, personal injury
compensationLeave a comment on Cumbria County Council pays massive accident
claims bill


14 YEARS OF SUFFERING, £3M IN PERSONAL INJURY COMPENSATION

INDUSTRY NEWS ROUNDUP: WEEK ENDED 23 FEB 2015:

Well it only took 14 years to get what she deserved, but a 24 year old who was
injured in a pool accident at the age of 10 finally received her compensation.

It’s stories like this that make me wonder what in the world is wrong with the
personal injury claims world. Poor Annie Woodland – she ended up suffering for
over a decade as the t’s were crossed and the i’s were dotted because she nearly
died during a school swim session. The long delay, apparently, was due to a
dispute between whether Essex Council should be held accountable for her
injuries even though she was under the cupervision of a contractor while she
attended Gloucester Park Pool in Basildon.

The pool lifeguard didn’t manage to see the 10-year-old Woodland quite in time,
managing to fish her out of the water but not before the young pupil suffering
life-changing injuries. Now the 24 year old has been awarded some £3 million for
her pain and suffering – and for the continuing care she will need since she
suffered nearly dying from drowning in the pool, all because both the swim
instructor and the lifeguard on duty couldn’t be arsed to keep track of the
pupils using the bloody pool.

Still, all’s well that ends well, though the poor woman would most likely give
up every last penny if it meant she didn’t have to spend the last 12 years of
her life falling behind because of brain injuries related to her nearly fatal
drowning. I can’t say that I wouldn’t make the same decision myself. I would
much rather be whole and healthy than anything else in the entire world, £3
million be damned!

Of course, now everyone is going to say that this new legal development is going
to have a so-called “chilling effect” on local authorities taking pupils on
trips if they’re afraid of being held responsible for every little thing that
happens on these outings. Well bollocks to that I say – if you’re going to be
educating our children you should be responsible for them whenever they’re doing
school-related don’t you think? It just sounds like common bloody sense!

 

 

Posted byAccident ClaimsFebruary 23, 2015February 23, 2015Posted inIndustry
Roundup, NewsTags: accident claims, personal injury claims, personal injury
compensationLeave a comment on 14 years of suffering, £3m in personal injury
compensation


MOTORBIKE ACCIDENT CLAIM LEADS TO £10M COMPENSATION AWARD

INDUSTRY NEWS ROUNDUP: WEEK ENDED 16 FEB 2015:

A motorcycle accident claim that was made in the wake of a man sustaining
crippling injuries has been decided in his favour – to the tune of £10 million
or so.

So it may not give Macel Beasley back his full physical function, but the 31
year old can at least live a bit more comfortably after he’s been given the
financial wherewithal to actually live his life in the wake of the motorbike
accident that changed his life. Beasley, which now needs the use of a wheelchair
and requires constant care after he was left with serious brain damage and a
serious speech impairment, has just been given a lump sum payment of something
like £4.27 million – something he plans to spend on buying a home specially
adapted to his needs – and yearly tax-free annual payments of £175,000 to help
pay for the 24 hour a day care he can’t survive without.

I’m not going to go into the details surrounding the injuries Beasley sustained.
To be completely honest with you it’s rather gruesome – let’s just say that was
cut off by a VW Golf and ended up in hospital, in a coma, for two weeks straight
before he even woke up. On the way to hospital he was so injured his heart
stopped not once, not twice, but three bloody times; it’s an absolute miracle
this man is still alive. Long story short – once everyone took a good, long,
hard look at the accident, it was decided that the driver of the VW Golf was
100% responsible for the accident. In other words, Beasley got his £10 million
compensation package so he can begin to put his life back together, or at least
as much as he’ll be able to do now with his permanent and life-changing
industries.

Honestly it’s instances like these that break my heart. Sure, Beasley became a
millionaire overnight. I can almost guarantee that if you asked him if he would
trade every penny of it if he could regain his ability to walk, talk and think
unhindered, he would jump at the chance. I know I would – and I’ll wager that
you would as well, wouldn’t you?

 

 

Posted byAccident ClaimsFebruary 16, 2015February 16, 2015Posted inIndustry
Roundup, NewsTags: accident claim, motorcycle accident claim, personal injury
compensationLeave a comment on Motorbike accident claim leads to £10m
compensation award


HOW TO BLOW £50K IN ACCIDENT CLAIMS CASH IN A MONTH

Industry news roundup: week ended 9 Feb 2015:

Looking for a crash course to blow £50,000 in personal injury compensation fast?
Just follow pensioner Angela Nangle’s lead and you’ll be right as rain.

You heard that right – a 62 year old woman from Brighton spent some £50,000 she
had been awarded after an accident claim in order to not have to declare the
money as income and risk losing her housing benefit. The story came to light in
Brighton Magistrates’ Court recently after it was revealed Nangle took out some
£3,000 a day from her trust fund between May 27 and June 29 of 2012.

The story begins in 2009 when she filed notice that she would be receiving a
personal injury compensation award that exceeded £16,000. That’s the minimum
that would see her losing her housing benefit – and that’s when she placed it in
a trust fund so the cash couldn’t be taken into account. However something
changed three years later when she didn’t declare any money in the account on a
review form, and that sparked an investigation into the matter.

Finally the truth came out recently in court, with Nangle admitting that she had
been taking the money out in cash instead of depositing it in a bank account.
She knew that if there was any sort of paper trail she’d end up having to list
it on a housing benefit claim. The 62 year old instead decided to blow the money
any way she could – and I mean any way she could. I’m talking fine dining,
expensive wine, and male companionship. That’s right: the pensioner was buying
the company of male escorts with her compensation award.

Her reason for doing so? The money was too much trouble to manage, so she
decided to get rid of it.

You know if she truly wanted to get rid of her cash I would have been more than
happy to take the money off her hands. I could use a new car or two, or maybe a
nice sailing yacht. Honestly what was this woman thinking? At any rate I hope
she had a good time blowing all that cash like that. I know I would have.

 

Posted byAccident ClaimsFebruary 9, 2015February 9, 2015Posted inIndustry
Roundup, NewsTags: accident claim, personal injury clams, personal injury
compensationLeave a comment on How to blow £50k in accident claims cash in a
month


TAKE THE BUS, MAKE A BOGUS ACCIDENT CLAIM

INDUSTRY NEWS ROUNDUP: WEEK ENDED 12 JAN 2015:

Looking to put a few bogus personal injury compensation claims in to a hapless
insurer? Just take the bus a few times and Bob’s your uncle.

Right, so no one likes riding public transport. Well, some people do but we’ll
not talk about those odd ducks. Sometimes you just have to ride the bus, putting
your faith in whatever Higher Power you believe in that your driver isn’t a
total pillock. Of course, sometimes he’s as thick as a post anyway. Other times,
he’s a bloody criminal mastermind.

Apparently, over a period of 15 months, there were seven bus collisions in
Chester that were all orchestrated beforehand. Shedloads of people were in on
it, including many of the passengers, and if it weren’t for the whole scheme
unraveling because the mastermind behind it – a man named John Smith, charmingly
enough, who ran a claims management company that went by the name of Swift
Accident Solutions. Swift profited by referring “injured” claimants to personal
injury solicitors, and with some 177 claimants going through Swift Accident
Solutions, Smith was just piling the cash up left and right.

This is of course absolutely maddening to hear about things like this. Luckily,
behavior like this can’t be gotten away with today, as the case arose before the
ban on taking referral fees from personal injury lawyers for sending possible
claimants their way. Still it just makes my blood boil to know this bastard was
orchestrating this whole thing. It gives the personal injury compensation
industry the kind of black eye that is just so hard to recover from; it’s
instances like this that have created the stereotype of the so-called “ambulance
chaser” lawyer going about and drumming up business for himself through sleazy,
underhanded and borderline illegal means.

For what it’s worth, most people involved in personal injury law aren’t right
bastards like this Smith bloke. Yeah, there’s money to be made in the business
but it’s the same in any line of work – in this one at least you’re helping
people become whole again after sometimes horrific accidents; doesn’t that count
for something at least? If you ask me, it certainly does!

Posted byAccident ClaimsJanuary 12, 2015January 12, 2015Posted inIndustry
Roundup, NewsTags: accident claims, personal injury claims, personal injury
compensation, personal injury lawyersLeave a comment on Take the bus, make a
bogus accident claim


THIS IS WHY WE CAN’T HAVE NICE THINGS

INDUSTRY NEWS ROUNDUP: WEEK ENDED 5 JAN 2015:

This week, I’ve finally figured out why we can’t have nice things here: there
are local authorities so incompetent that they’re their own worst enemies.

File this one under ‘this is why we can’t have nice things’: it was recently
revealed that waste trucks owned by Braintree Council have racked up more than
£150,000 in personal injury compensation damages over the last half a decade. In
fact, from 2009 the council waste trucks have been involved either directly or
indirectly in more than 500 accident claims against the council’s insurance
policies, with at least £200,000 in damage incurred as a result.

The worst part is that the biggest single payout happened just last September
when a driving school vehicle was gently pranged from behind by a road sweeper,
generating a massive £21,105 in damages. Thankfully most other payouts were less
than that, but with more than 500 of them even a little bit adds up to a lot –
every £9,000 or £3,000 road traffic accident claim, put together, amasses to a
mountain of payouts.

The best part, though, must be how much damage council drivers managed to do to
their own vehicles, with Braintree paying out more than £114,000 over the past
five years to simply keep their own waste trucks in good working order. In one
case, a council driver managed to open the door of his truck as another vehicle
was overtaking, causing around £670 in damages to the truck – and probably
giving the daft council worker a nice, good scare as the door was sheared off
just inches from him.

Braintree Council of course tried to downlplay the figures, claiming that the
local authority’s fleet of more than 80 vehicles that spend more than 1.2
million miles’ worth of time on local roads every year – implying that accidents
happen. Well, you know what I say to that? If your drivers have so many miles
under their belts and they’re so bloody well trained, why are all these damned
accidents still happening? You would think these blokes would be bloody experts
that know their vehicles inside and out, but apparently that’s not the case.

And another thing – who pays for all these compensation payouts? The local
taxpayer, that’s who. Where do you think the council gets the cash to pay its
insurance premiums?

 

Posted byAccident ClaimsJanuary 5, 2015January 5, 2015Posted inIndustry Roundup,
NewsTags: accident claims, personal injury claims, personal injury compensation,
road traffic accident claimLeave a comment on This is why we can’t have nice
things


MAN PUNCHES TEEN, SLAPPED WITH ACCIDENT CLAIM CASE

INDUSTRY NEWS ROUNDUP: WEEK ENDED 29 DEC 2014:

A man who punched a teen so hard that stitches were needed has been slapped with
a personal injury claim and ordered to pay £400 in compensation.

Looks like there was a little bit of a dust-up outside a pub in Hinckley – the
result was 25 year old David Varley throwing a few punches. The (possibly
inebriated) gent took out his rage on a 19 year old, cutting the young man so
hard that he had two cuts that needed stitches. Well, the 19 year old has the
last laugh, as Varley was just ordered to pay £400 in personal injury
compensation. On top of that, the bloke’s got to do 120 hours of unpaid work and
is now under 12 months of supervision after his six month jail sentence was
suspended for 18 months.

Apparently the incident occurred back in March of 2013, but Varley wasn’t
actually nicked for the crime until May of 2014. Apparently he had been out of
the country for some time; a tip to police saw the man collared at East Midlands
Airport after his return flight.

So this just goes to show you: don’t drink and fight. Better yet, don’t drink,
fight, then run away for over a year because you’re hiding from the police and
you’re probably embarrassed about the whole thing – likely because you’re a big
baby that knows he ended up doing the wrong thing. Honestly this Varley bloke is
damned lucky he didn’t end up getting worse off. If a particularly bloodthirsty
personal injury lawyer had gotten wind of this case, you can only imagine how
much Varley could have been in the hole for. As it is, £400 and 120 hours of
unpaid work is getting off damned easy.

Listen, I know that I’ve been in situations where I might have said or done
things I regret – but throwing punches? Never been that angry. Or maybe that
pissed. Still, a little self control goes a long way, for what it’s worth. And
for pity’s sake, act your age – and don’t pick on teenagers, even if they’re
saying or doing something bloody stupid!

Posted byAccident ClaimsDecember 29, 2014February 9, 2015Posted inIndustry
Roundup, NewsTags: personal injury claims, personal injury compensation,
personal injury lawyerLeave a comment on Man punches teen, slapped with accident
claim case


THE HEARTBREAK OF MEDICAL NEGLIGENCE CLAIMS

INDUSTRY NEWS ROUNDUP: WEEK ENDED 22 DEC 2014:

The personal injury compensation market isn’t all just car accidents and slips
and trips on broken pavement – there’s medical negligence claims as well.

There’s something particularly depressing and heartbreaking when it comes to
medical negligence claims, especially since they usually stem from a terrible,
debilitating injury or ailment that would have never occurred if it wasn’t for a
mistake made by medical professionals. The worst of these cases are most
certainly those that happen to young children or newborn infants, as it sets
these unfortunate kids with a lifetime of pain and suffering.

A good example of this is the teenager from Belfast who recently received a
massive £8 million in personal injury compensation after it was proven that his
spastic quadriplegia cerebral palsy was a result of an improperly treated
infection just after his birth. The poor child also ended up with learning
difficulties and epilepsy – as if his other injuries weren’t enough – and having
to need constant 24 hour a day care.

So on the one hand it’s fantastic to hear that this poor teenager has received
such a huge settlement amount. You know as well as I do that he’s going to need
that cash as he grows older to be able to afford the things he needs, like a
specially adapted home and the round the clock medical care he’s going to need
in order to survive. It’s exactly why his personal injury solicitors worked so
hard to get him that weighty award.

On the other hand, I am absolutely positive that the poor teen and his family
would trade away every single penny just to be made whole. I know that if I had
a child in the same predicament I would quite literally give my own arm and a
leg to heal my own son or daughter. My heart absolutely goes out to this family
for everything they have had to go through, and I can only hope that they can
get a bit of respite now that the lawsuit is over and their personal injury
claims have been settled against the hospital responsible for the tragic events.

Posted byAccident ClaimsDecember 22, 2014December 24, 2014Posted inIndustry
Roundup, NewsTags: accident claims, medical negligence claims, personal injury
complensationLeave a comment on The heartbreak of medical negligence claims


HSE THROWS BOOK AT CONSTRUCTION FIRM FOR WORKER’S INJURIES

INDUSTRY NEWS ROUNDUP: WEEK ENDED 15 DEC 2014:

The Health and Safety Executive positively threw the book at a construction firm
recently after one of its workers sustained some serious injuries on the job.

49 year old Jamie North, a groundworker from Grimsby, ended up breaking his leg
in multiple places as he undertook piling work for Topcon Construction Ltd. The
poor bastard went through the ringer, needing not one but two surgical
operations to piece his leg back together which required screws and a steel
frame. To make matters work, he ended up being diagnosed with a blood clot after
a three week hospital stay. Needless to say he’s no longer working in
construction and is still undergoing treatments to strengthen his ankle. The
personal injury claim is going to be bloody massive – you know it as well as I
do.

Meanwhile, Topcon was just found guilty of breaching safety regulations after
the HSE prosecuted the firm. The construction company now has to pay some
£10,000, as well as personal injury compensation, for the massive debilitating
accident, and all because Topcon couldn’t be arsed to make sure that the work
equipment being used for cropping piles was in suitable condition.

Honestly I’m not going to go into what exactly hapened to Mr. North. Needless to
say it involved a pile that hadn’t been cut right because the equipment used to
cut them free, a cropper, didn’t cut through it completely. A worker pushed a
pile over and it twisted and fell right on the poor groundworker. And that’s
really all I’m going to say about that, considering how gruesome the man’s
injuries were.

Meanwhile the whole thing could have been prevented according to the HSE. But
no, now Mr North is half-crippled from his experiences and injured so badly that
he’ll never work in construction again. Not that firms think that much about the
wellbeing of their workers if they don’t have to. This is of course why the HSE
fines these companies so deeply – because the only language these bastards speak
sometimes is cost and benefit. If we can make it more expensive for firms to not
comply with HSE rules than it is to actually take care of their workers
properly, maybe we won’t have these ridiculous instances in the future, eh?

Posted byAccident ClaimsDecember 15, 2014February 9, 2015Posted inIndustry
Roundup, NewsTags: HSE, personal injury claims, personal injury
compensationLeave a comment on HSE throws book at construction firm for worker’s
injuries


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