Adams Personal Injury Blog
Shopper Struck by Heavy Doormats Receives £20,000
Tuesday, 15 December 2009
A woman who was injured when a stack of doormats fell from a high shelf in a hardware store has won £20,000 in compensation.
The woman, who was browsing in an aisle of the store, was suddenly hit on the head and shoulder by the thick rubber doormats. The impact caused soft tissue damage which, unfortunately, did not respond well to treatment.
As a result of the accident, the woman has been left with restricted movement and some degree of pain and discomfort which, it is thought, will be permanent. Because of the injury, she finds that her capacity for work is limited and she also now finds it difficult to carry out everyday tasks such as driving, housework and gardening.
The woman claimed that her injuries had been caused by the shop’s health and safety failures. The doormats should not have been kept on a high shelf without there being a shelf guard in place to prevent them from falling, especially since the stack could easily become unstable if disturbed by customers.
The hardware store’s initial offers of compensation to the woman were rejected as not being commensurate with the seriousness of the injury she suffered. Eventually, however, an amount of £20,000 was agreed to compensate her for her pain and suffering, loss of earnings, medication, travel and other costs.
Accidents in shops are all too common. If you have suffered a personal injury because of a store owner’s failure to eliminate foreseeable risks to the public, contact one of our personal injury specialists to discuss your claim for compensation.
posted by Admin at
09:16
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Rugby Player Receives £1,500 for Broken Jaw
Tuesday, 8 December 2009
A rugby player from Wales whose jaw was broken when he was punched by an opponent has been awarded £1,500 in compensation.
Richard Mark Williams was playing in a Swalec Cup game when the incident occurred. He was kicking the ball downfield and an opponent, Samual Pailor, tried and failed to charge down the kick. Mr Pailor then grabbed Mr Williams’s shirt and there followed a ‘trivial exchange of words’ between the two players.
Suddenly, Mr Pailor punched Mr Williams in the face with such force that he had to be taken to hospital, where he was treated for a displaced fracture to the left side of his jaw. The injury left Mr Williams with a slight overbite which required orthodontic treatment.
In court, Mr Pailor pleaded guilty to inflicting grievous bodily harm and was sentenced to 200 hours of community service. He was also ordered to pay Mr Williams £1,500 in accident compensation. Recorder Paul Lewis QC told Mr Pailor, “You should know that violence on the rugby field is no different from violence on the streets.”
posted by Admin at
08:48
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New Process for Low Value Traffic Accident Claims
Monday, 7 December 2009
A new scheme is to be introduced that is intended to reduce the time it takes to settle personal injury claims for between £1,000 and £10,000 brought by victims of road traffic accidents in England and Wales.
The new process will set fixed time limits and recoverable costs for less complex claims, so that claimants receive fair compensation settlements as soon as possible.
The value of the claim for the purposes of deciding whether it should be dealt with under the new process will be based on the level of general damages, which includes damages for pain, suffering and loss of amenity (PSLA), and special damages. Damage to the vehicle and hire car costs are not included in the claim value, but can be recovered as an element of special damages within the process . The value of the claim will also take into account any deduction for contributory negligence for not wearing a seatbelt.
The following claims will be outside the scope of the scheme and the present pre-action protocol and costs regimes will continue to apply to them:
- claims which do not include at least £1,000 for PSLA – the personal injury small claims limit;
- claims involving employers’ liability and/or public liability;
- Motor Insurers’ Bureau Untraced Driver Agreement cases;
- claims where the claimant or defendant is deceased;
- claims where the claimant is bankrupt; and
- claims where the claimant or defendant is a protected party.
posted by Admin at
08:40
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Injured Delivery Driver Gets £22,000
Thursday, 3 December 2009
A delivery driver who was forced to give up his job after suffering a back injury during the course of his work has won a £22,000 payout.
When the accident happened, John Atkin was driving a van loaded with leaflets and newspapers. As he drove, the load moved around in the back of the van and when he came to unload, he discovered the bundles were in the wrong order. Whilst trying to rearrange them, Mr Atkin suffered a serious injury to his cervical spine.
After the accident, Mr Atkin found he was no longer able to carry out manual lifting tasks and so had to give up his job. Because the injury is so painful, he has not been able to find alternative work.
An investigation was carried out to find out why the leaflets and newspapers had moved around in the back of the van. This revealed that they had been loaded incorrectly at the depot.
Mr Atkin brought a claim against his former employer, which admitted failing to comply with health and safety regulations. Mr Atkin agreed a £22,000 settlement to compensate him for his injuries, his loss of earnings since the accident and his future loss of earnings while he looks for a suitable new job.
If you have suffered injury in a workplace accident through no fault of your own, you could be entitled to compensation. Damages can be awarded for physical injuries and psychological distress as well as for wages lost if you have been unable to work. Contact one of our Personal Injury Claim lawyers for advice.
posted by Admin at
09:58
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