Charon UK Tour Report #5: The English Legal System – the foundation

Today, I am at 6 Bedford Square, the former home of Lord Eldon, Lord Chancellor, talking with Professor Gary Slapper, Director of NYU in London.  We discuss the pervasiveness of law and the foundation and structure of the law of England & Wales.  The intention is to provide an overview of the system for non-lawyers to set the scene for the remainder of the tour.
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Guest Post: Personal Injury accidents

Personal Injury accidents
By Ward & Rider, Solicitors

When you think about personal injury claims the first things that probably come to your mind are those annoying TV adverts or the cold callers that are constantly phoning to try and convince you to make a claim for an accident that you may or may not have had. Due to this, personal injury claims often get a lot of bad press but they’re not all bad. Fraudulent claims are definitely a problem but there are a lot of people that suffer injuries through no fault of their own and the money from a claim can really help. Hire a solicitor to make a claim that has a specialism in personal injury, such as May I Claim

There are many types of accident and injury that may entitle you to make a claim but we are going to look at just a few of the main ones:

Road Traffic Accidents
Road traffic accidents are unfortunately very common. Vehicle on vehicle collisions are a daily occurrence throughout the country and often lead to some pretty serious injuries. Common injuries affect the neck and back but not everything is physical. Many people develop psychological conditions as a result of being involved in road traffic accidents.

It is possible for even worse injuries to occur when a vehicle collides with a pedestrian. Broken bones and severe internal injuries are common if the victim is lucky enough to survive the impact from a car. However you may be injured from a traffic accident if you have lengthy hospital stays, regular treatment for a recurring ailment that arose from the accident or need to take a long period of time off work you could be due substantial compensation.

Accidents at Work
Another of the most common personal injury scenarios are accidents at work. Despite many laws being in place to protect workers, many employers fail to live up to their responsibilities. If you are involved in an accident at work at no fault of your own you could definitely be due some level of compensation.

It is your employer’s responsibility to provide you with a safe environment in which to work but you need to live up to your side of the deal too. Keeping your own areas free of clutter and other hazards is one way you can help to protect yourself and your colleagues.

In office environments common hazards include tripping over wires and other things that are carelessly left lying around, faulty electrical equipment and repetitive strain injury from repeatedly performing the same task such as typing.

In more commercial environments such as warehouses and construction sites hazards are more likely to be things like vehicles moving around such as forklift trucks and falling objects. It is your employer’s responsibility to provide you with the necessary safety equipment and if they don’t they may be held responsible for any injury you might suffer.

Slips, Trips and Falls
The workplace isn’t the only place where you might suffer a trip, slip or fall. Accidents happen every day both in public areas and on private premises due to the negligence of others.

How many times have you seen a broken step, cracked paving slab or pot hole whilst walking around in public? How many times have you seen a puddle of liquid or other hazard in an aisle of a supermarket? The people who are responsible for maintaining these areas are expected to keep them safe.

Whilst these sorts of hazards seem fairly minor they can cause serious damage. A broken ankle or leg will not only keep you out of work for a significant amount of time but may require a lot of further treatment for the rest of your life, not to mention the psychological effects from no longer being able to do things that your injury will prevent.

If you think you have suffered an injury from no fault of your own don’t hesitate to make a personal injury claim, it’s no less than you deserve.

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