Thursday 22 July 2010

Woman Bites Off Boss’s Penis in Bizarre Car Accident – Did He Claim for Compensation?

This is a story that will make most of us – especially the male half of the population – wince at the thought.

The China Press and Sin Chew Daily report that a 30 year old woman accidentally bit off her lover’s penis in a bizarre car accident. The Asian secretary was performing oral sex on her boss in Singapore when their car was driven into by a reversing van. The force of the collision caused the woman to bite down, unfortunately taking off the man’s penis. The man was immediately rushed to hospital along with his lover and his penis. It is unclear yet if the unlucky man has made a claim for compensation off of the van driver.

If you thought it couldn’t get any worse for this poor man you are definitely wrong. The accident was viewed by a private detective hired by his wife who was already suspicious he was having an affair. The private detective describes seeing the car ‘shaking’ before the van hit it. He reports this was followed by a loud scream and the woman’s head rising, her mouth covered in blood.

Not too sure how the man is going to explain that little incident to his wife. Some would say the accident has left him a little short of excuses, while he may argue it’s simply left him a little short.

Thursday 15 October 2009

Medical Negligence Claims Solicitors can help you get the compensation you need

If you’ve been affected by a case of medical negligence, it’s highly important that you secure the help of an experienced medical negligence claims solicitor to help you get the compensation you deserve.

Unfortunately, it seems that we’re going through a period of increasing medical negligence within our hospitals and other medical services. So much so that the numbers of people making medical negligence claims is rising rapidly, and daily there are new stories about people who have lives have been ruined by the negligent actions of the medical professionals that they put their trust in.

Reports issued today declare that regulator Watchdog will be assessing one in eight NHS trusts across England for medical negligence towards patients. This is because basic standards, such as hygiene and safety, are not being met in many hospitals in the country.

Earlier this week it was discussed that medical negligence claims are on the increase due to shorter working hours enforced on surgeons in hospitals. This has resulted in a sharp decline in patient care, and subsequently there have been a number of “near misses”, with patients becoming more ill or nearly dying due to a lack of communication between surgeons who are being forced to go home half-way through treating their patient.

This has lead to an increase in medical negligence claims in itself. Surgeons are now unable to become familiar with patients’ conditions, and this poses the danger of mis-diagnosis, or prescribing the wrong medicine. New surgeons are also suffering, as the less hours means their training time is dramatically shortened, meaning the possibility of less trained surgeons in the future in hospitals.

It was especially saddening to hear about two medical negligence claims over recent days, both of which were made after terrible medical negligence towards babies.

Harry Snowdon was awarded £7.1million compensation after his parent’s medical negligence claims were successful. His mother, Debra Snowdon was not monitored properly during her labour and given excessive amounts of Syntocinon; an inducing drug. This caused major complications during the birth of her son, which lead to him being starved of oxygen, causing permanent brain damage. Harry and his family will now live with the consequences of the Oxford hospital’s medical negligence for the rest of his life.

Similarly, Krishna Govekar and partner Johanne Rees made medical negligence compensation claims when their baby was starved of oxygen during birth. Medical negligence was caused by not monitoring the baby’s heart beat properly, which were very distressed. The lack of actions caused complications and their baby, named Arun, was born brain-dead with no hope of survival.

Although these are both cases of medical negligence during birth, many unfortunate people suffer negligence in other ways, during operations, being prescribed inappropriate medicine at the doctors or even going to the dentist surgery. These are just a couple of examples of how people’s lives can be affected by medical negligence; there are many more cases that happen everyday in the worryingly deteriorating standards in our hospitals.

If you have ever suffered medical negligence there are steps you can take to getting the justice you deserve. The best thing to do would be to get in contact with an experienced compensation claims company, who have the experience of managing medical negligence claims on a daily basis. They will look to put you in contact with a medical negligence claims solicitor.

Medical negligence claims are made on a No Win No Fee basis, against the insurance company of the authority, trust or board responsible for the medical negligence. A medical negligence claims solicitor will know exactly how much compensation you are entitled to and exactly how to get it for you.

Your medical negligence claim starts by contacting the experts.

Tuesday 13 October 2009

Personal Injury Compensation system for injured soldiers looks positive to change after today's result

Injured servicemen will be celebrating today as the news comes through that the personal injury compensation awarded to two British servicemen has been upheld.

Light Dragoon Corporal Anthony Duncan was shot in 2005 whilst leading an eight-man patrol in Iraq. The bullet tore through his thigh, resulting in a shattered femur and muscle damage. His injuries needed 11 operations to insert pins to hold bones in place. He also suffered other painful injuries and psychological problems through complications of the surgery he had.

Corporal Duncan originally received £9,250 in personal injury compensation. However, the payout did not take into account the further complications that he would suffer in the future due to the accident and treatment he had to have as a result.

After appealing the personal injury compensation award, Corporal Duncan was given £46,000 and a medical pension, designed to see him through any further medical problems that may arise.

Marine Matthew McWilliams was taking part in a training exercise when he severely fractured his thigh. As a result he had to have complicated medical treatment, including having a steel pin inserted into his leg to hold his bones together. Consequently he suffered scarring and walking difficulties.

Marine McWilliams was originally awarded £8,250 in personal injury compensation. However, following a successful appeal, this was increased to £28,750 to take into account difficulties he would encounter later in life.

The news is a great success to those opposed to the current system, which is to undergo a review, carried out by the former Chief of Defence staff, Admiral Lord Boyce. The Ministry of Defence compensation scheme currently takes into account immediate injuries, and not the long-term implications of these.

However, Lord Boyce will be looking at changing the system so injured servicemen and women will be given personal injury compensation that will see them through further complications as a result of their accident.

It could be said then that today’s news is the start of a turnaround for the personal injury compensation claiming system for members of the army and other armed services.

Currently, No Win No Fee personal injury compensation will cover someone for their injuries and future implications, including missing work, medical treatment, and even extra costs incurred from transport.

The fact that the people who risk their lives to protect our country do not get the same benefits as those who injure themselves in regular accidents is baffling to many. However, the news will please service charities. The Royal British Legion has been the first to comment, saying that the result was “a tremendous win for the compensation rights of our brave wounded soldiers.”

Let’s hope that the result is the start of the change for soldiers wanting to claim personal injury compensation after being injured in battle.

Monday 12 October 2009

Road Traffic Accidents reduce, but it's a long time before they will be forgotten

Unfortunately, being a safe, competent driver doesn’t protect you from road traffic accidents. Each and every day people become victims of road traffic accidents; suffering life-changing or fatal injuries, all because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Numbers of injuries and fatalities through road traffic accidents are falling however. The government is continuously setting tough targets to local authorities to improve their road network; implementing a number of safety measures to protect those who use them.

In 2008, fatalities from road traffic accidents fell 14% on 2007, from 2,946 to 2,538. In addition, the Police received information about 28,572 people killed or seriously injured in road traffic accidents – 7% down on the previous year.

Cities such as Nottingham are leading the way in improving road safety. A total of 70 improvements on the East Midlands city’s roads have meant a drop of deaths and serious injuries in road traffic accidents, from 695 to 637 in the space of one year. The city is currently 2 years ahead of schedule when it comes to meeting road safety targets set to them by the government.

Despite the attempts of governments and local authorities to improve road safety, people are still being killed or seriously injured through road traffic accidents. Along with new increased measures, including slower speed limits, speed cameras and better maintenance of roads, cars are also becoming much more safe and sturdy in the way they are built. This in itself would bring down the numbers of seriously injured in road traffic accidents.

The fact then that motorists are still dying on the roads then begs the question what else can be done to reduce road traffic deaths and injuries by a much greater figure? The reality is, despite cars becoming safer, they are also becoming faster. This means that some eager drivers are using them to get places quicker; in turn endangering themselves and other road users.

New government targets aim to reduce road deaths and injuries from road traffic accidents dramatically by 2020 based on average figures from 2004-2008. These include reducing deaths and serious injuries by 33% each, and for those under 18 this figure is 50%.

Although the targets are now in place, and are likely to be met, this does not establish how people’s driving habits are going to change in order to wipe out deaths and serious injuries through road traffic accidents completely.

In the mean time, if you are injured in a road traffic accident, there are people who can help get you the compensation you are entitled to. Road traffic accident compensation is intended to ease the financial difficulties encountered through your recovery period, and help to make a difference to your life if injured more seriously on a long-term or permanent basis.

Make sure you get an experienced, established personal injury claims company to make your road traffic accident claim on your behalf. This way, you are more likely to receive the maximum amount of road traffic accident compensation available to you, which will greatly ease your recovery process.

Friday 9 October 2009

The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority award just £18,000 to brutal knife attack victim

UK Personal Injury Solicitors was disappointed to hear about Jessica Knight, the young girl who was awarded just £18,000 from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) after a horrific knife attack last year.

The CICA is a government agency which pays compensation to innocent victims of criminal assault in England, Scotland or Wales. Depending on the circumstances of the criminal assault attack, the CICA can award anything from £1,000 to £250,000 to an individual for their injuries.

For this reason there has been uproar in the media, initiated quite rightly by Jessica Knight’s mother Jill Walmsley.

Jessica, who was just 14 at the time of the incident, was brutally attacked by Frenchman Kristofer Beddar whilst walking in her local park. She was stabbed up to 25 times in the neck, face, back and shoulders. As a result she suffered perforated upper and lower bowels, a collapsed lung, and a stroke caused by a heavy blood clot.

Jill Walmsley has been heavily critical of the compensation review conducted by the CICA, branding her daughters eventual award “a joke”.

She added: “If she had suffered the same injuries in a car accident then we would have been talking hundreds of thousands of pounds, but is it right that all she has been through is worth £18,000?”

There’s no doubt that the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority is a great organisation that offers compensation to those who may not have believed they would get any after an unprovoked criminal assault attack. Without it innocent victims may not have any way of paying for time off work, medical treatment, and other things that they suddenly need in the aftermath of suffering life-changing personal injuries.

However, this case is another example of how important it is to secure the services of an experienced legal professional if you want to get the maximum personal injury compensation available for your injuries. UK Personal Injury Solicitors know this side of the law inside out, and know exactly how much you are entitled to. They will fight all the way to get you the compensation you deserve.

The attack on Jessica Knight is likely to be with her for the rest of her life, and is likely to cause a string of physical and psychological problems for such a young girl. At 16 she should be living life to the full, but instead is going to have to live with the trauma of her attack, and has not even been awarded enough compensation to help her make the most of rebuilding her life.

Now, Jessica Knight along with her mother will be appealing the £18,000 compensation award. Let’s hope that the CICA look at her case again and give her the money she deserves.

No Win No Fee Compensation Claims

The introduction of No Win No fee claims opened new doors in claiming for personal injury compensation. It meant that thousands of people who were injured in an accident no longer needed to worry about affording legal representation when making their claim.

The term ‘No Win No Fee’ is another way to describe a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA). The CFA is an agreement made between a lawyer and a client when a claim for personal injury compensation is taken on. The agreement itself sets out terms which protect the client from having to pay for legal costs if they were to lose their claim for personal injury compensation.

With the introduction of No Win No Fee came new rules to legal costs. Lawyers who now take on No Win No Fee cases are entitled to charge success fees – which are taken from the 3rd party (the side that caused the personal injury). Clients are now not charged legal costs from their compensation award. Instead the compensation is awarded and legal costs are an addition to this payment. This is where you hear the term 100% compensation.

No Win No Fee cases were introduced to stop government legal aid covering costs of personal injury accidents. Only now in exceptional circumstances is legal aid used to cover those injured in an accident. However, government authorities such as the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) and the Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB) still help pay for injuries sustained by victims of criminal assault and being hit by uninsured drivers.

No Win No Fee personal injury compensation has had its critics. One of the major authorities to criticise the system over recent years has been the NHS, who claim that No Win No Fee cases end up in them forking out much more than they used to on legal costs when they lose medical negligence cases. The Welsh Health Minister Edwina Hart banned all Personal Injury Claim company literature from the confines of NHS buildings, saying they were “highly inappropriate.”

However, even the NHS are now using a No Win No Fee compensation company, as they struggle to recover millions of pounds in money fraudulently taken from their system by private companies, dentists and doctors who claim for more medical funding than they are entitled to.

The No Win No Fee system is not there to be exploited. It’s there to help those who may not have been able to afford legal cover without it, and it’s there to help people get the justice and money they deserve following an accident that wasn’t their fault. Compensation can help put those suffering from an injury on the road to recovery.