Injured Back??

comercrawley

the personal injury lawyers

Your questions answered……

Question:  I recently injured my back as a result of lifting something heavy at work.  Please can you advise me about pursuing a claim for compensation?

Answer:  To successfully pursue a claim for compensation you will need to prove that your back injury was caused by your employer’s negligence or breach of statutory duty.

The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 place a number of duties upon an employer.  The primary duty is for employers, so far as is reasonably practicable, to avoid the need for employees to undertake any manual handling operations (which is defined as any transporting or supporting of a load by hand or by bodily force).  Where this can’t be avoided, the employer is then under a duty to carry out a risk assessment in respect of that task and to take appropriate steps to reduce the risk of injury.  The employer must also provide the employee with certain information concerning the task and to provide appropriate training.  Where there is a breach of the Regulations which causes an injury, this gives rise to a civil claim for compensation.

There is also potential liability under the common law duty of care which employers owe to their employees in negligence which includes a duty to provide safe equipment and a safe system of work.

The issues will therefore be firstly whether your employer should have provided equipment to prevent you from having to lift the item by hand.  Thereafter, it will be a question of investigating whether your employer carried out a sufficient risk assessment in respect of the task and provided you with sufficient information and training.  The relevant factors will include the size and weight of the load, your gender, height and general build, and how the item needed to be lifted.  

It will be necessary to obtain medical evidence to prove that your back injury has been caused by lifting the item.  This will involve seeing a medical expert (often a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon).  The expert will consider, amongst other things, the nature of the injury and whether there is anything in your past or present medical history which may be relevant to the injury (this is often the case with back injuries as people sometimes have a pre-existing condition).  Where this is the case, it will tend to not prevent compensation being claimed but instead may limit the value of the injury claim.

Finally, it is worthwhile mentioning that your employer is likely to be insured in respect of any claim that you pursue, through their employer’s liability insurance policy. 

If you have a question for our legal advice team you can submit it by email: enquiries@comercrawley.co.uk or in writing to:  Chancery House, Victoria Road, Diss, Norfolk IP22 4HZ.

Claiming on benefits...

comercrawley the personal injury lawyers Your questions answered…… Question:  I have had an accident and am considering making a claim for compensation.  I am concerned however that if I receive compensation it may mean that my benefits get stopped.  Could this happen? Answer:   There is a risk that this could happen but there is a way that it can be avoided. The risk only applies to state benefits that are means tested, examples of which areIncome Support, Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit.  Certain benefits are non means tested (such as Incapacity Benefit, Disability Living Allowance and Child Benefit) and there is no risk of these being affected by the mere fact of receiving compensation. For means tested benefits, there are financial eligibility limits including those relating to capital.  What needs to be considered is whether, by receiving the compensation payment, it may take you above a limit that will mean that either your benefit is reduced or stopped altogether.  This will depend on a number of factors including how much compensation you will be receiving, what other capital you have and what the financial limits are for that particular state benefit.  Anycapital that your partner has may also be taken into account. It is possible however to prevent benefits from being affected by setting up aPersonal Injury Trust and paying the compensation directly into an account specifically set up for the trust.  The Benefits Agency must still be informed of the change in your circumstances but upon being advised that the compensation has been paid into a Personal Injury Trust, should disregard that capital in their assessment of your means so far as your benefit entitlement is concerned. Your solicitor will be able to advise you as to whether a Personal Injury Trust is advisable in your case and, if so, to explain what is involved in setting up a Trust and how to go about doing this. The fact that it is possible to protect your entitlement to benefits means that the fact that someone may be in receipt of a means tested state benefit should not deter them from pursuing a claim for compensation.     If you have a question for our legal advice team you can submit it by email:enquiries@comercrawley.co.uk or in writing to:  Chancery House, Victoria Road, Diss, Norfolk IP22 4HZ.

Back Injuries...

comercrawley

the personal injury lawyers

Your questions answered……

Question:  I recently injured my back as a result of lifting something heavy at work.  Please can you advise me about pursuing a claim for compensation?

Answer:  To successfully pursue a claim for compensation you will need to prove that your back injury was caused by your employer’s negligence or breach of statutory duty.

The Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 place a number of duties upon an employer.  The primary duty is for employers, so far as is reasonably practicable, to avoid the need for employees to undertake any manual handling operations (which is defined as any transporting or supporting of a load by hand or by bodily force).  Where this can’t be avoided, the employer is then under a duty to carry out a risk assessment in respect of that task and to take appropriate steps to reduce the risk of injury.  The employer must also provide the employee with certain information concerning the task and to provide appropriate training.  Where there is a breach of the Regulations which causes an injury, this gives rise to a civil claim for compensation.

There is also potential liability under the common law duty of care which employers owe to their employees in negligence which includes a duty to provide safe equipment and a safe system of work.

The issues will therefore be firstly whether your employer should have provided equipment to prevent you from having to lift the item by hand.  Thereafter, it will be a question of investigating whether your employer carried out a sufficient risk assessment in respect of the task and provided you with sufficient information and training.  The relevant factors will include the size and weight of the load, your gender, height and general build, and how the item needed to be lifted.  

It will be necessary to obtain medical evidence to prove that your back injury has been caused by lifting the item.  This will involve seeing a medical expert (often a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon).  The expert will consider, amongst other things, the nature of the injury and whether there is anything in your past or present medical history which may be relevant to the injury (this is often the case with back injuries as people sometimes have a pre-existing condition).  Where this is the case, it will tend to not prevent compensation being claimed but instead may limit the value of the injury claim.

Finally, it is worthwhile mentioning that your employer is likely to be insured in respect of any claim that you pursue, through their employer’s liability insurance policy. 

If you have a question for our legal advice team you can submit it by email: enquiries@comercrawley.co.uk or in writing to:  Chancery House, Victoria Road, Diss, Norfolk IP22 4HZ.

Your Questions Answered...

comercrawley

the personal injury lawyers

Your questions answered ……

Question:  I have been told that if I pursue a claim for compensation I must agree for my entire medical records to be disclosed.  This is putting me off making a claim as I don’t want, say, an insurance company to know my personal medical history.  Is this true?

Answer:  It is true that someone pursuing a claim for compensation needs to be agreeable to their medical records being disclosed.  This includes general practitioner records and records relating to any relevant treatment such as hospital or physiotherapy.  It is also true that all of a claimant’s GP medical records need to be disclosed and not just those that relate to the treatment that s/he has received in connection with the injuries to which the claim relates.

The reason why all of the medical records need to be obtained is because the medical expert who prepares the report on the claimant’s injuries needs to be in a position to report fully on the injuries suffered.  As part of this process, the medical expert needs to consider whether there is anything in the claimant’s medical history which may be relevant.  This includes whether the claimant has had any similar problems in the past (for example, in the case of a back injury, whether the claimant has had any problems previously with his/her back).

The fact that all of your medical records would need to be obtained should not however put you off pursuing a claim for compensation.  The medical expert will only include in the report information which is relevant to the claim.  Consequently you do not need to be concerned that personal information in your medical records which is irrelevant to your claim will be included in the report.

Finally, it is important also to mention that those who have had sight of your medical records are required to treat them entirely on a private and confidential basis.

If you have a question for our legal advice team you can submit it by email: enquiries@comercrawley.co.uk or in writing to:  Chancery House, Victoria Road, Diss Norfolk, IP22 4HZ.

Motorbike Accidents

comercrawley

the personal injury lawyers

 Your questions answered ……

Question:  I recently had an accident when the front wheel of my motorbike went into a pothole.  I lost control of my bike and ended up with a broken arm.  Can you please advise me about making a claim for compensation.

Answer:  This is quite a topical subject with the large amount of potholes having developed or become worse following the recent cold and snowy weather conditions.

The starting point in terms of advising you is to establish whether the pothole was on land which is publicly or privately owned (or, more specifically, maintained). 

Most pothole claims arise from accidents that occur on public roads and in such cases the claim is normally made to the local authority who are responsible for maintaining the road at public expense. 

The first thing that will need to be proven is that the size of the pothole (and most importantly its depth) was such that it constituted a hazard that should have been repaired.  Photographs and measurements of the pothole are therefore important.

The next stage effectively involves proving that the council were either aware of the hazard or should have been aware of the hazard through their system of carrying out regular inspections of the highway.  Thereafter the council should act within a reasonable timescale in terms of arranging for the repairs to the highway to be carried out.  Councils keep records relating to the inspection and maintenance of the highway as well as records of complaints about the condition of the highway.

Every case however is decided on its own individual facts and other relevant considerations include where the pothole was and whether there had been any previous accidents or complaints.

If however the accident occurred on private land, then the claim will instead be made to the individual or organisation who owns or is responsible for maintaining the land.  The law is different to highway claims but, in general terms, such claims can often be easier to prove as a private landowner would be expected to inspect the area more often and can also act sooner in terms of arranging for a pothole to be repaired (or sectioned off) once it has started to form.

If you have a question for our legal advice team you can submit it by email: enquiries@comercrawley.co.uk or in writing to:  Chancery House, Victoria Road, Diss Norfolk, IP22 4HZ.