ROAD ACCIDENTS INVOLVING CHILDREN

Around 5000 children are killed or seriously injured on Britain’s roads every year (AA). One third of all cycling casualties, and a quarter of cycling fatalities, are children.

The figures have declined in recent years, thanks in large part to the work of safety campaign groups suchas Brake, Rospa, and APIL, and resulting government policy.

In 2006 the Government announced a new cycling proficiency test for children, to be trialled by 3000 kids before national roll out.

Also In 2006 a new law came into force requiring children under the age of 12, and being less than 4 foot 5 inches tall, to use correct child restraints whilst travelling in a vehicle. The Government estimated this would prevent 2000 deaths and injuries a year.

The law recognises that children can be expected to be less careful than adults, and claims involving children are often successful even where it may appear that the child was at fault. The claim will be brought on the child’s behalf by a parent or guardian.

A personal injury claim can be brought by a child any time up to 3 years from their 18th birthday, but in practice a lawyer should consulted as soon after the accident as possible, so that evidence can be obtained and preserved.

If your child has been involved in a road accident

Take down the details of the other party at the scene, including name, address, telephone and insurance details and vehicle registration number.

Report the matter to the police immediately. If for any reason this is not possible report the accident in person to a police station as soon as you can (and get a reference number)
Take details of any other party and any witnesses.

A Guide to Compensation Claims

news source : bestsyndication

If you’ve ever been in a non-fault incident – perhaps on the road, or at work – then it could be more than just yourself which is in pain; if the accident causes you to miss an extended period of work, or makes your working or day-to-day life more difficult, your bank balance could also feel the pain. However, those people that are hurt in this manner are often able to make a compensation claim which, if successful, could help alleviate any financial shortfall incurred as a result.

However, it’s difficult to know what sort of cases can get approved for compensation as the area is specialised and tends to go on a case-by-case process that can leave claimants confused. However, the key thing to remember is that if your personal injury was caused by the fault or negligence of another person or organisation, you could have grounds for a claim.

Making a claim for compensation can be an arduous process, but it can also be a rewarding one. Compensation is awarded based on several factors, including the pain and suffering you experienced as a result of your injury. You can find out about ’standard’ compensation for most types of claims – ranging from whiplash to loss of limb and even fatal injury – which can provide a guideline for what to expect during your case.

Success for your claim can be facilitated by a few supplementary actions, taken by yourself at the time of the incident. Get the details of any witnesses to the event who can then vouch for what happened. If appropriate, take photographs of the scene, the cause of the accident and, if applicable, any injuries that occurred because of it. This will add further proof to your compensation claim and means your solicitor will have an easier time arguing your case for you.

If your claim is taken on, it’s handy to know what costs and procedures there will be. Your solicitor should explain everything to you – you can generally expect to be told about different types of fees, depending on what type of agreement you have. Private fees mean that you will need to pay for your solicitor’s work and time, as well as medical reports, eye witness accounts and, if necessary, police reports. There could also be a barrister’s fees for the advice that could really help your case. You will be required usually to cover such costs over the progression of your claim. Although costly, the return on a successful case is higher – but be aware that an unsuccessful case means you could be responsible for both your own costs and the opposing party’s.

Increasingly popular is the no win, no fee option, which means that you will not be charged by your solicitor if your claim is unsuccessful. Your solicitor will assess your case to gauge its chances of succeeding before agreeing to take on a case on a no win no fee basis, but such an agreement does not mean you will not have to pay anything – the same costs as above still apply and your solicitor will also probably charge for a percentage as a success fee on top of their standard costs. However, the cost of the action is usually claimed as part of the overall settlement, so even though you’ll pay your solicitor’s costs, you won’t be any worse off financially, as any fees due will be deducted before you receive your cheque. Should your claim be unsuccessful, however, you will not have to pay these fees or those of the other party.

A compensation claim could change your life, and it’s simple to get free advice from experienced solicitors. What’s more, you can even claim online if it’s more convenient for you.

After all, a injury sustained through the fault of another needn’t be paid for by you alone.

For a free telephone consultation call Osbornes Personal Injury Lawyers at 0800 3281962 .

Race organisers could face claims

news source : Iomtoday

RACE organisers could be facing claims over two horrific accidents that took place on the TT course and the Billown circuit within 24 hours of each other last year.

The widow of Marc Ramsbotham says she is considering taking legal action over the horrific crash at the 26th Milestone during the 2007 Senior Race which claimed the life of her husband and two spectators.

And a father is fighting for compensation more than a year after he was badly injured while watching the post-TT racing on the Billown circuit.

Coroner Michael Moyle launched a stinging attack on ‘wholesale failings’ of TT race management and safety at the inquest into the deaths of Norfolk road racer Mr Ramsbotham, 34, and spectators Dean Jacob, 33, and Gregory John Kenzig, 52.

Now Mrs Ramsbotham’s widow Sarah said she had approached a solicitor over the possibility of taking legal action.

But speaking from her home in Wymondham, she insisted: ‘I am thinking about it but I have not decided anything yet. I’m take legal advice and I’m looking at what the options are.’

In a separate move, a spectator badly injured at the Steam Packet race on the Billown circuit, the day after the 26th Milestone tragedy, says he is seeking compensation from the race organisers.

Andy Green, 42, of Findern, in Derbyshire, was a spectator at Cross Four Ways when competitor Carl Roberts hit a kerb and ploughed into him in the first race of the day.

The force of the accident was so great that Mr Green’s leg snapped above the ankle, leaving bones protruding from his skin.

He had to be airlifted to Noble’s Hospital and was then transferred by air ambulance to Derbyshire Royal Infirmary where he spent the next eight to nine weeks.

He had to have a metal brace fitted to his leg and was unable to return to work for seven months.

‘I was standing by the burger van videoing the racing when this bike flew towards us at high speed and crashed straight into my leg. It broke my tibia and fibia, smashed my ankle and dislocated my little finger,’ he said.

‘I can’t begin to explain the pain but the bones in my left leg came out of the skin and stuck into the ground.’

Next month, more than a year after the accident happened, he will return to the hospital in Derby to have his leg broken again and re-set.

Following the accident, Mr Green contacted a local solicitor to help with a claim for compensation.

But he subsequently learned that ‘no win, no fee’ compensation claims are not recognised in the Isle of Man and he is now in contact with an Island advocate.

Three other spectators together with the rider had to be airlifted to Noble’s following the accident but maintenance engineer Mr Green said it was fortunate that those standing next to him were not more seriously injured.

Competitor Carl Roberts and the other three spectators were released from hospital later that evening.

Mr Green – who has a wife, Hayley, 41, and two sons, Stephen, 22, and Kevin, 19 – was off work for seven months after the accident.

‘We were given no indication of the dangers of standing where we did, next to the road,’ he said.

‘But the race organisers refuse to recognise our case because the Isle of Man is run on a different set of laws to the UK. I’ve lost £8,000 to £9,000 minimum in lost earnings. We are not asking for the earth, just the money that we have lost.’

Phil Edge, press officer for the Southern 100 which ran the Steam Packet race on the Billown Circuit last year, said he was unable to comment as the matter was in the hands of the lawyers and the insurance company.

Tourism and Leisure Minister Adrian Earnshaw said: ‘Since the incident in 2007 we have listened to the comments made by the chief coroner in his report and a lot of hard work has gone into implementing the recommended changes, particularly with regard to spectating at the TT.’

For Personal Injury Claim Compensation contact http://www.osbornes-injury-lawyers.co.uk

Stuart Kightley blasts the ABIs streamlining proposals

new source : Stuart Kightley at http://www.osbornes-injury-lawyers.co.uk

The idea, it seems, is simple. The injured person cuts out the middle man (his lawyer) and deals direct with the person who injured him (let’s call him the Accident Partner) and/or the insurers (for argument’s sake, the Accident Facilitator). He or she simply completes the Accident Facilitator’s form (assuming he didn’t injure his hands, arms, eyes or brain), detailing his case on duty, breach, causation and loss, and sends it to the Accident Facilitator (Acc Fac).

He does not need legal advice because it’s only a bit of form filling, and he does not need to investigate the case or contact witnesses because the AccFac (Fac) will do that for him. At the end of 3 months the Fac will get back to him (honest) to inform him whether or not his claim has been successful. If so, he need only attend the Fac’s doctor for a report on why he has not yet returned to work and within another 3 months (yes, really) he can expect to receive the Fac’s valuation.

He is entitled to legal advice on the tariff figure ascribed to his claim and to mediation if he is still not happy. If he is really difficult and insists he needs a lawyer, he is of course perfectly entitled to find one, either now or after a liability denial, but the scene of crime will be stale and the bodies hidden.

It is proposed that this scheme applies to well over 90% of all PI claims. At a stroke the lengthy, costly and generally troublesome business of accident litigation becomes just another consumer process. Like Tesco Law but without the law.

Undoubtedly the ABI is a powerful and respected voice in the debate on civil justice reform. It is perhaps a measure of that power that the recent ‘compensation culture’ campaign, with its weekly stories of cancelled school trips, abandoned pancake races and banned conkers, prompted the government to legislate on the issue even though nobody believes – and that includes the government and the ABI – that such a culture exists in this country. Perhaps emboldened by that success the ABI has now turned its guns on the compensation system itself.

The best evidence is that the cost of PI claims is not increasing and that recent hikes were down to government and insurance industry policies. The Better Regulation Task Force has per capita tort costs in the UK near the bottom of the industrial world’s league table. And on delay, there already exists a Protocol that requires defendants and their insurers to investigate and respond on liability within three months. The problem is that they all too often delay, so that the Claimant ends up with little option but to litigate

But at least the stakeholders have engaged the idea of reform to the PI system and real concessions and improvements have been made, suchas the recent fixed costs and fixed success fees schemes.

But back to the consumer. There is nothing in the scheme that protects or promotes the interest of the consumer. In fact it does the precise opposite and dismantles the machinery designed to give the injured person a fair chance of redress. It was never a good time to be injured by someone else’s negligence, but for them to injure you and then take over the handling of your claim would be an injustice too far.