High Court serves Injunction via Twitter

In a legal first, the UK High Court has given permission for an injunction to be served via social-networking site Twitter.

The order is to be served against an unknown Twitter user who anonymously posts to the site using the same name as a right-wing political blogger.

The order demands the anonymous Twitter user reveal their identity and stop posing as Donal Blaney, who blogs at a site called Blaney's Blarney.

The order says the Twitter user is breaching the copyright of Mr Blaney.
He told BBC News that the content being posted to Twitter in his name was "mildly objectionable".

Mr Blaney turned to Twitter to serve the injunction rather than go through the potentially lengthy process of contacting Twitter headquarters in California and asking it to deal with the matter.

UK law states that an injunction does not have to be served in person and can be delivered by several different means including fax or e-mail.

Danvers Baillieu, a solicitor specialising in technology, said it was possible for anyone to approach the court about any method of serving an injunction if the traditional methods are unavailable.

"The rules already allow for electronic service of some documents, so that they can be sent by e-mail, and it should also be possible to use social networks," he said. Mr Blaney decided to use Twitter after a recent case in Australia where Facebook was used to serve a court order.

The blogger, who is also a lawyer and owns the firm serving the order, said that he thought that it was the first time Twitter had been used to deliver a court order. The injunction - known as the Blaney's Blarney Order - is due to be served at 1930 BST and will include a link to the text of the full court order.

Source: BBC.co.uk

High Court serves Injunction via Twitter

Top 5 Product recalls

Over the years there have been many product recalls that reached across international boundaries to affect thousands of people worldwide.

People often ask, what is a product recall? A product recall is a request to return to the maker a batch or an entire production run of a product, usually due to the discovery of safety issues. The recall is an effort to limit liability for corporate negligence (which can cause costly legal penalties) and to improve or avoid damage to publicity. Recalls are costly to a company because they often entail replacing the recalled product or paying for damages caused in use, albeit possibly less costly than indirect cost following damages to brand name and reduced trust in the manufacturer.

Here are some of the most famous product recalls in history. Should you be harmed in the United Kingdom by defective products of any type, make sure to get solid legal advice by a trusted personal injury firm like InjuryLawyers4u. Their law firm is one of many that are specially trained to handle the specific details involved with product recall litigation.

Tylenol

Arguably the biggest and most publicized product recall in business history involved Tylenol, when their over the counter pain relief pills killed seven people in 1982. The deaths came as a result of the pills being laced with potassium cyanide and led Johnson & Johnson to issue a nationwide recall of some 31 million bottles of Tylenol - with a retail value of about $100 million. When the FBI investigated the incident, it was found that the poisoned bottles came from different factories, but the deaths all occurred in and around Chicago, suggesting that the tampering took place at the store level. The perpetrator was never charged, but a man named James W. Lewis was caught trying to extort money out of Johnson & Johnson to “stop the cyanide-induced murders”. Lewis served 13 years in prison on the extortion charges, but was released in 1995 on parole and now lives freely in Massachusetts.

Firestone Tires

While Johnson & Johnson can be excused from personal blame, Firestone and Ford bear total responsibility for the carnage and destruction that led to a massive recall of Firestone tires in 2000. Upon being informed that several models of 15″ Firestone tires on Ford Explorers and Mercury Mountaineers had extremely high failure rates, Ford engineers evidently recommended several safety changes and improvements that were not implemented by either company. All of the alleged problems centered around tread separation, whereby the tire’s treads rapidly frayed away leading to the total disintegration of the tire - sometimes while the car was in motion. Some 200 deaths and 3,000 major injuries resulted from the catastrophic tire failures, which also preceded then Ford CEO Jacques Nasser’s resignation.

Dell Notebook Batteries (see previous post)

The press was on to something when it reported on a Dell laptop bursting into flames at a technical conference in Japan in June, 2006. What must have seemed at the time like a freak occurrence turned out to be a systemic flaw with over four million Dell notebook batteries produced by Sony. The lithium ion batteries were prone to excessive overheating, posing a fire hazard that at least six people reported before Sony mandated a worldwide recall of the defective batteries, which were used in Dell’s Latitude, Inspiron, Precision and XPS models. To its credit, Dell exchanged the hazardous batteries with new ones, often supplying consumers with brand new machines in its place.

Worcestershire Sauce

Many of us enjoy adding a little spice to our meals, but our fellow UK residents took a lot of risk in doing so between 2005-2007. A lengthy investigation found that a Worcestershire sauce manufactured Premier Foods had been contaminated with a carcinogenic dye known as Sudan 1. The contamination was linked back to adulterated chili powder, and the resulting products were used in everything from pizzas to ready-made meals sold on supermarket shelves. Fear of the contamination and its risks prompted the removal of over 400 suspected products from shelves. Remarking on the financial loss to manufacturers and retailers, FoodNavigator.com contends that “the figure is certain to run into double digit millions.” Interestingly, the Sundanese government has demanded that the deadly dye have its name changed, presumably to deflect attention away from where it is produced.

Peanut Butter

One of the most far-reaching food recalls in history came in 2009, when Peanut Corporation of America recalled bulk peanut butter products for fear of Salmonella contamination. In total, the Food & Drug Administration eventually recalled at least 3913 different products from roughly 361 different companies companies, including such popular snacks as Little Debbie crackers. According to MSNBC, at least six deaths were blamed on the outbreak, along with some 470 people who became ill in 43 different states and internationally. Cries for food safety reform were heard far and wide following the recall, and it remains to be seen whether any changes occur.

Top 5 Product recalls

Laptop burns and the law

Over the years, as computers have become more common, there have been a number of recalls of monitors or consoles due to problems with overheating. Dell in particular has had a problem with monitors overheating and burning down houses or at least causing fires. Laptops, as they have become more common, also pose a risk of overheating.

The problem with laptops is that they are meant to be used on firm, hard surfaces. When they are placed on the lap like their name implies they should be, they can potentially overheat. A recent test showed that a laptop could heat up to 100 degrees when in use. That shows a significant risk of burning a user should that user put the laptop on his or her lap.

As a result of this risk, laptops are more frequently known as notebook personal computers. There have been numerous cases reported over the years where an individual has used his or her computer on his or her lap and ended up with burns on the legs and other areas. In some cases, the laptop managed to burn the user through pants and undergarments.

With the creation of special processors for notebooks, the heat a computer gives off has been diminished. This does not prevent some computers from malfunctioning. Also, older computers do not necessarily have these cooler-running features.

Compensation can be awarded under product defect law. If you have been injured from an overheating laptop, contact a trusted solicitor in your area such as InjuryLawyers4u

Laptop burns and the law

Motorcycle accidents and the law

The majority of serious motorcycle injuries are caused by drivers failing to see the cyclist. Even though motorcycles account for only 1% of all UK road traffic, they account for 19% of the most serious accidents. Not all these accidents are the fault of other road users. However, many of them are – caused by drivers failing to see motorcyclists who are riding in a responsible manner. Other causes can include dangerous road conditions caused by negligent councils, for example, large potholes as well as unforeseen obstacles.

Due to the vulnerability of motorcyclists, motorcycle injuries are often very severe. In cases of non-negligence, it is essential the cyclist receives full compensation, and there are motorcycle lawyers who specialise in this area on a no win no fee basis.

Most insurance companies fighting compensation claims by motorcycle lawyers will try to claim the cyclist contributed to the accident in some way. Thus, it’s essential that cases are handled by lawyers well versed in this type of claim. Normally, before motorcycle lawyers take on a case on a “no win no fee basis”, they will expect to see witness and police reports of both the incident itself and the events leading up to it, in order to ensure the claim has a chance of success.

Claims cover personal injuries and loss of earnings, as well as damage to the motorcycle, clothing and helmet. By choosing “no win no fee” motorcycle lawyers, cyclists ensure that, in the event of a claim being unsuccessful, they will have nothing to pay in legal fees whatsoever.

Motorcycle accidents and the law

Pursuing Compensation Against Uninsured Drivers

People often feel there is little point in pursuing claims for injury compensation from uninsured drivers. However, there are specialised injury lawyers who specialise in uninsured driver accidents, and who will pursue the claim on a “no win no fee” basis. Uninsured driver accidents are very different to normal motoring claims, so it’s essential the lawyers are familiar with Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB) procedures.

It has been estimated there are over 1 million uninsured drivers in the UK today.

Many of them are driving totally illegally, with no driving documents at all. They are the reason people who do drive legally have such high insurance premiums – all motor insurance companies have to pay premiums to a special MIB fund. This money is used to compensate the victims of uninsured drivers, and also pay the victim’s legal fees if the guilty party (provided they are present) is unable to.

“No win no fee” agreements are common in injury compensation claims. This means that, if the claim is unsuccessful, the client will not have to pay any legal costs. Things get complicated, however, if the accident is a “hit and run” case. Under the MIB Untraced Drivers Agreement, injury lawyers can still claim personal injury compensation. However, in these cases the MIB will not cover full legal costs.
Again, injury lawyers use “no win no fee” agreements to get round this. If the claim is unsuccessful, the client pays nothing. If they are awarded injury compensation, the legal costs are taken from this.

For more on 'no win no fee' compensation, contact InjuryLawyers4u.co.uk

Pursuing Compensation Against Uninsured Drivers

The problem with whiplash

Whiplash is the debilitating and painful neck injury caused by rear end car collisions. As most whiplash injuries happen when the victim’s car is stationary, it is quite likely they can make a claim for whiplash compensation.

Whiplash injuries vary a great deal, and occur when the body is suddenly thrust forwards and upwards out of the seat. Symptoms may develop straight away, or up to a day later. The process of whiplash compensation is very complex, which is why there are specialised whiplash lawyers in this area.

Whiplash compensation is normally sought under the Judicial Studies Board “Assessment of General Damages in Personal Injury Cases” Guidelines, and whiplash lawyers should ensure the case operates under a “No Win No Fee” basis. This is because whiplash compensation claims are often overturned due to lack of evidence.

The problem with whiplash accidents is that they happen very quickly – often, with no witnesses. Adrenaline can often mask symptoms, meaning victims don’t bother calling an ambulance or the police – even though they should. This means whiplash lawyers often have to place a case where there is little independent evidence, and where the accused party will insist the other driver was in the wrong. This is rarely the case.

Whiplash lawyers can use medical evidence, as well as insurers’ reports, to prove a case of negligence against the third party. If they are successful, they can claim full whiplash compensation from the insurers of the accused driver. This can include medical expenses, loss of income and payment for suffering and pain.

The problem with whiplash

United States – Land of Personal Injury Claims

The US has always been known for its somewhat bizarre and over-the-top lawsuits. In recent years a number of truly wacky personal injury claims have been launched (some of them even ending successfully).

For every famous injury claim that makes the headlines, there are hundreds that do not. Remember the monstrously overweight boy who sued a well-known fast food restaurant because apparently they didn't warn him that eating excessive amounts of burgers would damage his health?

Less well known, there was the man who put his camper van on cruise control at 70mph so he could make a cup of coffee in the kitchen area of the vehicle and then when, not surprisingly, it careered off the road he sued the manufacturers because they didn't tell him that it wouldn't steer itself around bends.

Then there was the nudist who made a personal injury lawsuit after he attempted a firewalk in the buff. Apparently he should have been told that tramping through flames in his birthday suit was likely to leave his delicate parts slightly more delicate.

Despite the bizarre nature of these accident claims, the people involved have obviously felt strongly enough about their case to warrant setting in motion a lawsuit. Some of them have even been successful! Of course, the majority of compensation claims that reach the courts, both in the UK and in the US, are nowhere near as controversial as those mentioned above. Many actually involve people who genuinely do deserve damages.

However, seemingly weird and wonderful claims do still seem to be made - and many of them, for one reason or another, occur in the United States. So many occur, in fact, that American journalists have compiled a list of the strangest cases to hit their courts during recent years. Here are a few of the best you may not have heard of:

A woman who suffered an ankle injury after slipping in dog's urine left on a kitchen floor made an accident claim against the owner of the house. But the strange part was that the man whose kitchen she was in - was one of her best friends! She insisted on taking her pal to court, claiming he should have cleaned up his dog's mess.

And won.

Another case from the US. A man from Iowa made a personal injury claim after a stay in a hotel turned somewhat nasty. The gent in question was staying at the Alton Holiday Inn when he became embroiled in a disagreement with the manager. Instead of resolving the complaint, the manager allegedly told his guest to shut up and then proceeded to gnaw a chunk out of his finger. The plaintiff subsequently took the hotel boss to court in an attempt to win $150,000 in injury compensation.

And won.

An American gentleman named Carl Cornett was happily devouring a bag of salted peanuts when he chomped on something a little hard and cold. Spitting the offending object into his hand, he was disgusted to discover it was a tooth. But it wasn't his tooth - in fact it wasn't even a human tooth. It turned out to be the fang of an unidentified animal. Not surprisingly, Mr Cornett made a personal injury claim against the peanut manufacturers, alleging that the creature's tooth had made him violently, physically and mentally ill.

And… lost (won the case, lost the compensation).

The list goes on and on.

Have YOU been injured? Need no-win-no-fee advice?

As already mentioned, the majority of cases here in the UK and over in the US are far more normal than those above and usually feature people with a genuine and deserved claim for damages. If you feel you could be entitled to personal injury compensation as the result of a non-fault accident - personal injury solicitors in the UK like InjuryLawyers4u are there to help.

Visit the InjuryLawyers4u website and make a free assessment.

United States – Land of Personal Injury Claims