Thursday 9 December 2010

Work Compensation – Why Employers Are Required To Ensure Your Safety

When you go to work you don’t think that you could end up suffering a nasty injury. Unfortunately, many people are in an accident at work every single year. Sometimes it can be something that they did, however, on many occasions, their accidents are caused by forces out of their control.

Employers have a responsibility to ensure the safety of their employees. They must do anything they can within their power to protect their workforce at all times. The most obvious way to do this is by providing the proper training for any situation and eventuality. Training staff is a way of reminding them of health and safety procedures, which to most would be obvious, but repeating them puts the rules in the forefront of people’s minds.

Businesses are required by law to ensure that you, as an employer, are safe when carrying out the duties of your job role. This is stated in the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. If they fail to ensure this, by not providing the correct training, the correct clothing or equipment to do your job properly, you may be able to make a work compensation claim against them.

Many workers who are injured in their workplace are unsure about where to turn, or how best to achieve a compensation payout. Others do not want to as they think it will damage their company, especially when they want to carry on working for that employer. However, employers are covered by insurance, which they are required to have, called employers’ liability insurance. This is used in any event when an employee is injured in an accident that could have been prevented.

You should therefore not worry about causing harm to your company. It is in the law that you have the right to be protected when carrying out your work. Your accident may even encourage the company to improve their ways and provide better training or conditions to your fellow work-mates in the future.
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What Are The Types of Compensation Claims

Hearing about people winning compensation claims is not uncommon. However, many who are injured in an accident are unsure as to whether their injuries, or the cause of their accident makes them entitled to receive a payout themselves.

This article therefore looks at some of the most common compensation claims, which regularly result in money being awarded to injured victims.

Car Accidents

Car accidents happen all of the time in the UK. In 2008 2,538 people died on the road, and almost 250,000 suffered injuries. Unfortunately these statistics don’t make great reading, as it means it is highly likely that during some point in our lives we will be in some sort of road accident. And, as we cannot control what the drivers around us are doing, it means that being on a road can be a dangerous place.

Whatever the severity, if your car accident was not your fault, you will be entitled to make a compensation claim. The amount you receive will entirely depend on the circumstances and the severity of your injuries.

Accidents at Work

From 2006/2007, 241 people were killed at their place of work. 141,350 injuries were also reported to RIDDOR (Reporting of Injuries, Diseases and Dangerous Occurrences Regulations). Nearly 20% of these were falls from height.

Employers have a legal duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act to protect their workers while they are on their premises. If you suffer an injury which you believe could have been avoided had your employer given you better training, or managed the situation better than they had, it is highly likely that you could make a compensation claim.

Criminal Injuries

Being criminally attacked by someone is horrific and the effects can leave you physically and emotionally scarred. Fortunately, it is possible to make a compensation claim if you have been in this situation. An experienced personal injury lawyer will be able to help you make a claim to the CICA – a government body who centrally deals with and awards compensation claims based on the seriousness of the assault.

Medical Negligence

It doesn’t happen too often, but there are cases where hospital or medical patients are mistreated or given the wrong diagnosis for an illness or problem that causes them further pain. A more common problem is surgical errors, which can cause greater issues for those affected than they had before. Making a compensation claim after gathering the appropriate evidence is a relatively straightforward process once the case is passed to a trained solicitor.
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Knowing When Your Personal Injury Claims Are Valid

Most people who suffer a personal injury are unsure as to whether their claim will be valid for a compensation payout. They often don’t bother to get in contact with a legal expert as they don’t want to waste time filling in forms and going to meetings and doctors appointments if their claim ends up not being valid anyway.

However, if you are serious about being compensated for your injuries, and quite rightly so if they were caused in an accident that wasn’t your fault, there are a few things you can consider when contacting a lawyer to help you make your personal injury claim.

Most personal injury types can be compensated

It’s not just car accidents or accidents at work that leave you entitled to compensation. As a general rule of thumb, if you have been hurt by something or someone else in any way, it is possible to make a personal injury claim. Knowing this, it is far easier to approach a personal injury lawyer with confidence.

Determine who is to blame

If you are not at fault for your accident then who is? Try to determine this in advance of contacting a solicitor, and if possible, gather their contact details. Your legal expert can then pull together the paperwork to send to them declaring that you wish to make a claim against them.

Keeping Evidence

Personal injury claims are far more likely to be valid when you have a good amount of evidence to hand. Any photos, witness statements, medical bills or other pieces that may help your case legally should be preserved and passed to your lawyer as soon as possible.

Finding the right lawyer

You should not just choose any old company to sort your personal injury claim for you. Do some research before-hand. Are they a reputable firm? Do they actually have lawyers working on the premises or are they just a claims-farm selling personal injury claims for their own benefit? You should always try to ensure that the lawyer you choose has you best interests to heart, and isn’t just looking to make a quick buck from your misfortune.
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How To Win An Accident Compensation Claim

Being injured in an accident is no fun. The most important thing however, if you are unfortunate enough to be hurt in an accident that wasn’t you fault is to know what to do about it. This is when making an accident compensation claim becomes a vital aspect of your life.

Many people are put off by contacting a solicitor. They believe it will be a massive hassle, where you have to wait for ages to hear anything, have loads of forms to fill in, go to see them at inconvenient times, and have to fork out loads of cash for the shortest of consultations.

However, with the majority of solicitors that deal with accident compensation claims, this is not the case. This is because they are particularly vetted by the authorities to ensure that they are giving their clients the very best service possible.

For most cases they are also required to offer their services for free on a no win no fee basis. This may sound mad, but they can afford to do this as when they win the case for you, they can recover their costs from the losing side – i.e. the side that caused your injuries.

If you want to win your accident compensation claim, it is important that you are in contact with one of these solicitors or lawyers almost straight away after you accident. The shorter the time your injuries have occurred, the easier it is for them to be judged for severity, which can have a massive impact on how much compensation you are likely to receive.

Also, gather as much evidence as possible, and preferably have statements from any witnesses to your accident, whether it was a car crash, a slip or fall at work, or you were criminally assaulted in the street.

If you follow these steps, you are on the right path to receiving the compensation you are entitled to.
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How To Make A Motorbike Accident Compensation Claim

Unfortunately, travelling on a motorbike is a very dangerous way to get around. In 2006, in relative terms, 54 times as many motorcyclists were killed or seriously injured in accidents as car drivers. This is an astonishing figure when you realise how few motorbikes actually do travel on our roads compared to cars.

Of course, for those that ride motorbikes, it provides great joy and excitement, particularly when you take your prize possession out into the country for a quiet ride around twisty bends and up and down hills. It also provides a great way to get through busy traffic, especially if there are lots of cars backed up, you can still find the space to pass them safely and get to your destination quicker.

When you look at these things it’s easy to see why the positives outweigh the negatives for motorcyclists. However, you are at particular risk when on the road, and it is important to know what to do in the case that you have an accident which isn’t your fault.

Here are some things you should do if you want to make a motorbike accident claim:

Take photos/gather evidence

If you are able to, i.e. if your injuries are not too serious, you should try to take a photo of the accident scene. Most mobile phones these days have cameras built in. Use yours or a camera of a witness to your accident to take a photo of the location of the accident and any damage caused. You should also try to talk to any witnesses and gather any comments you can. Even if you just get their contact details, it means that you or your solicitor can talk to them at a later date.

Get the details of the other party

If there was another driver, motorcyclist or even pedestrian involved in your accident you should make sure you take their details. Try to stay calm and never say sorry or admit that you were at fault, especially if you believe that they caused your accident.

Talk to a trained solicitor

There are a number of expert solicitors and lawyers out there who can help you get hold of motorbike accident compensation. Make sure you contact one sooner rather than later, as the events will be fresh in your mind, and you will be able to be assessed for your injuries more effectively. You shouldn’t need to pay anything, as they will gather their costs from the other side if they believe your case will be successful.
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Five Things You Should Avoid Saying If You Want To Get Car Accident Compensation

Being in a car accident is traumatic. However, if you weren’t to blame for the accident, it is likely you could receive car accident compensation, depending on the circumstances and severity of your injuries.

To get hold of compensation however it is important that you act in the right way, say the right thing and, more importantly, don’t say anything to the insurance company who could eventually make your payout that could damage your chances of making a claim.

Here is a list of the five things you really should avoid saying if you want to see a compensation payout coming into your bank account:

1) Apologise or admit it was your fault at the crash scene

Although car accidents are scary, you should try to remain as calm as possible after the event, especially if there is another driver involved. They may start accusing you of being at fault, however, you should never succumb in any way. Never say sorry or admit liability as the other party can use this against you in any claim against them.

2) Speculate to your insurance company

When you call your insurance company after your car accident, never speculate about what happened. Keep it to the basic facts about what you saw, and no more than this. An insurance company would suspect you have made something up if you begin to add ‘I believe...’ into your statements and could find out that the story is different to what you have told them with further investigation.

3) Say that you’re not injured

Until you have been checked by a doctor you should never say you have not been injured, even if you are not in any pain immediately. The most common injury following a car accident is whiplash, which can often take a few days to start feeling the effects from. Saying you are not injured could jeopardise your chances of receiving a payout later on.

4) Admit fault to the insurance company

In the days after a crash the mind often plays tricks on you, and when you think about the events for long enough, you do start to blame yourself even if you know that you weren’t at fault. If this does happen to you, you should never say to your insurance company that you think you may be to blame, as they may get an admission of liability from the other person.

5) That you think you have a certain injury, e.g. whiplash

You should not go speculating about what injuries you may have suffered without first receiving proper medical attention. There are an increasing number of fraudulent claims, and crash scams that see people claim for whiplash. For this reason, insurance companies are becoming increasingly suspicious of people who immediately claim to have this injury. Let the experts weigh up all the evidence, and have a thorough medical examination before declaring what injuries you have.
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