Personal Injury Law Blogs

Claims for professional negligence

Do I have a claim against a professional for negligence ?

If you believe you have received a sub-standard level of advice/work from a professional and have suffered a loss as a result, you have a possible claim in negligence. The professional will need to have failed to reach the standards associated with a reasonably competent peer in his or her profession. It follows from this that in most cases, expert evidence will be needed from a competent analogous professional to the effect that the professional in question has not achieved the required level of competence.

When can a professional be deemed negligent ?

The basis of any negligence claim is proving that a duty of care between you and the professional exists and that this duty has been breached.  In the context of professional negligence claims, it is not difficult to prove the existence of a duty as you will in all likelihood have a contractual relationship with the professional who provided you with the service.  The difficult part is proving that the duty of care was breached.  Professionals are expected to carry out their duty with a reasonable standard of attention and care that can be expected of persons in the same profession.  Quite often, expert witnesses are required to prove whether a duty of care was in fact breached.

How long do I have to bring a negligence claim ?

Generally speaking you have six years from the date of the negligent act to bring a claim, although it can prove much easier to win your case if you bring your case as soon as possible.

In the context of negligence, what does causation mean ?

Causation is crucial in any type of legal action for negligence.  In order for someone to be negligent, there has to be “a causal link” between the defendant’s negligence and the harm or loss suffered by the claimant.  If, for example, you were bitten by a neighbour’s dog and subsequently suffered a kidney infection, you would have show that there is a causal link between the dog owner’s failure to control the dog, the dog bite and the infection.  The fact that the claimant might have underlying medical conditions is immaterial as the law generally operates under the principle that you “take the victim as you find them”.

Lloyd Green Solicitors advise on clinical negligence claims. If you have a potential claim against a medical practitioner, get in touch with Lloyd Green.

Established personal injury domains for sale – enquiries welcome

As posted to WardBlawg recently, we have a contact who is keen to engage in discussions relating to the sale of established personal injury law firm domain names. We are still welcoming enquiries.

This may be of particular interest if the following applies to you:-

  • if you are concerned about the looming personal injury referral fee ban;
  • if you are looking to grab additional top spots in Google for relevant personal injury keywords;
  • if you want to avoid paying upwards of £700 per case from other websites;
  • if you’d like to avoid relying solely on pay-per-click, which can cost upwards of £40 per click, with no guarantee of being hired
  • if you want a pre-optimised personal injury site which has hundreds of targeted visitors per month, traffic that could potentially cost thousands of pounds per month through pay per click or other sources.

If you’d like further information please complete our online enquiry form here and please do share this news with any of your contacts if this may be of interest to them – please use the social buttons or email button to the left of this page.

Treatments Used To Help Heal Compound Fractures Sustained In Bicycle Accidents

The below article was penned by the bicycle accident attorneys, Rosenfeld Injury Lawyers in Chicago, Illinois.

When a cycling accident causes a compound or open fracture, the road to recovery can be long for some accident victims. Depending on the type of break and several other factors, many, up to 60%, of compound fractures are unable to heal on their own. This means they need surgery and possibly bone grafting to allow the bones to grow back together.

Challenges With Treating Compound Fractures

Compound fractures are also called “open” fractures due to that fact that there is an open wound. The bone has broken and cut through the flesh and skin, exposing it to the elements. There is increased chance of infection due to the nature of the wound, making it dangerous to close or do surgery on. Compound fractures have a higher chance of “non-union” between the pieces of bone that fractured. This can mean several surgeries for the patient if there is difficulty in getting the bone to heal.

Surgical Options

Depending on each individual fracture and patient, the orthopedic surgeon may decide on a few different surgical options. It depends on how much bone was lost and how large the gap is between the ends of the fractured bone.

  • Screws inserted across the break to hold it together
  • Steel plates screwed into the bone
  • A rod or nail into the shaft of the bone and connected the other side with pins
  • Bone grafting may be used with any surgery or on its own to promote bone growth between the fractured ends

There are risks of infection from the surgery itself and many compound fractures, even with bone grafting, can have difficulty healing. Most surgical treatments for fractures are successful and patients are healed in about 3 months. However, the hardware that is left in the body can cause some pain and the risk for arthritis down as the patient gets older is elevated in some surgeries that involve uneven joints.

New Breakthroughs In The Treatment Of Fractures

There are new treatments being studied to help in the healing of compound fractures that may make a difference for patients in the future. There are studies being conducted on different ways to improve the healing process and likelihood of the bone ends regenerating new bone between them. These include everything from stem cell research to worms with special glue that they produce.

  • The University of North Carolina presented it findings last year that stem cell therapy enhanced with bone-growth hormone improved bone healing in animal studies
  • Ultrasound shockwaves are being used to promote fracture healing in the UK
  • The sandcastle worm emits a “glue” that is being studied as a way to hold fractures together within the body to promote healing

As some of these therapies come to fruition in the surgical world, there may be renewed hope for compound fracture victims to heal faster with less complications.  In the mean time, cyclists who have these types of fractures may have months of surgery and recovery before they are ever able to ride again.

Resources:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-2008087/Shockwaves-heal-broken-bones-New-treatment-avoids-need-surgery-fractures-wont-join-up.html

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/06/110606092530.htm

http://www.chicagobikeinjurylawyers.com/2012/07/bike-accident-lawyers-see-increase-in-serious-wrist-fractures-sustained-in-bicycle-accidents/

http://www.economist.com/node/15048727

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002966.htm

 

Uninsured Car Accident Compensation Cases to Drop

Jim Loxley is a Director for car accident compensation specialists, My Compensation
—
Specialising in this area, My Compensation knows that considering claiming car accident compensation is a common thing to do if you’ve sustained personal injuries as a result of someone else’s negligent driving. In the vast majority of compensation claims for car accidents, the third party’s insurance company compensates you monetarily in the event of a successful claim. However, what happens if you were in a car accident due to negligent driving, but the offender does not have any car insurance? In the United Kingdom, the Motor Insurance Bureau (MIB) is the organisation which is set up in order to help people secure car accident compensation when they’ve been in this situation.

My Compensation rarely sees these types of cases, but they do happen. The MIB regularly pays out compensation money for car accidents to people who need it and who have been involved in these unfortunate circumstances. Thankfully though, such situations may be a thing of the past, or at least diminished. The MIB has recently issued a press release stating that it is on a mission to seize UK vehicles with uninsured and has released postcodes of the worst offending areas of uninsured vehicles present on the roads. Just last month, police officers have seized the millionth uninsured vehicle, meaning attempting to claim car accident compensation from uninsured drivers will soon be an even less common occurrence.

It transpired that uninsured drivers are a real problem, specifically around West Yorkshire and the West Midlands. Road traffic accidents are not necessarily intertwined with these results. The millionth vehicle which was seized was in the B9 area of Birmingham of Bordesley which has dominated the ranks of uninsured drivers, totalling eight times the number of cars uninsured compared to the national average.
an image showing road user on a UK's summer day, driving his carAdditional research carried out illustrated that people in these areas did not understand the current car legislation surrounding motor insurance, a fact which means meant they were risking £5,000 in fines, having their cars seized by the police and also gaining points on their licenses. The press release by the MIB stated that at an estimated 1.2 million drivers in the West Midlands represented approximately 60% of the postcodes in the top 20 worst offenders in this country.

The Chief from Birmingham’s Road Safety Partnership, Chris Edwards, stated that “In the West Midlands we continue to adopt a multi-agency approach in partnership with the MIB to reduce the number of uninsured vehicles on our roads. West Midlands Police relentlessly enforces the law in respect of uninsured driving, which has led to a seizure of 5,881 vehicles between January and July 2012. In simple terms we seize on average 27 vehicles every day of the week or the equivalent of 1 an hour.”

Car accident compensation cases involving lack of insurance are some of the most difficult claims to take on. This MIB announcement can only be a good thing for the UK and its roads, making a better environment for everyone, a fact which My Compensation definitely welcomes.

Jim Loxley can be contacted through the My Compensation homepage.

Will a medical negligence claim affect my benefits?

Will my benefits be affected?

When you first visit a solicitor regarding your medical negligence claim, it will be difficult for them to determine how much compensation you are likely to receive as they have to take into account any social security benefits you may be redeeming, including income Support and sickness benefits. Benefits you receive may affect how much compensation will be rewarded to you.

Benefits claimed as a result of the injury may be deducted from the amount of any compensation awarded. The amount of these benefits is effectively included in the claim against the third party and therefore there is no real loss following repayment. The following benefits may be repayable to the DSS:

  • Income Support;
  • Invalidity Pension;
  • Invalidity Allowance;
  • Job seeker’s Allowance;
  • Reduced Earnings Allowance;
  • Sickness Benefit;
  • Statutory Sick Pay;
  • Unemployability Supplement;
  • Unemployment Benefit;

Benefits that are not means tested (such as Incapacity Benefit or Industrial Injuries Disablement Benefit) are not affected in this way and you will continue to receive them for as long as you are medically entitled.

If your means tested benefits and compensation award brings in over £6000, your entitlement to benefits could be affected. Usually, your benefits will reduce by £1 for every £250 that you have over the £6000 limit. A compensation award of £16,000 or more will mean you will no longer be entitled to receive means tested benefits.

To avoid this problem you can set up a trust and pay some of the compensation into this trust. The DSS will ignore the money in the trust when calculating whether you are entitled to benefits.

What is a personal Injury Trust?

Setting up a personal injury trust will guarantee you receiving your compensation while retaining your means-tested benefits entitlements. Personal injury trusts are recognised by the Department of Work and Pensions and Local Authorities.

When setting up a trust you need to consider who you want to appoint as trustees. Trustees are able to look after things, if you are unable to look after them yourself. Your trustee can be a friend, a relative, or a professional adviser.

Different types of trusts are available so it is important to find the right one that suits you. You need to be aware of the implications of having a trust, for example you may be asked to submit an annual tax return.

There are ways you can protect your on-going benefits so do not hesitate to contact your local medical negligence solicitors for further options and advice regarding your rights.

Finding Motorcycle Accident Attorneys in Santa Ana

Imagine something like this happens to you: You’re driving your motorcycle along Rte. 5, the Santa Ana Parkway, without a care in the world. The wind is whistling through your helmet, the sky is a gorgeous blue, you’re not in a hurry to get anywhere — and suddenly a car cuts into your lane, knocking your bike with its rear bumper. You and your motorcycle go flying and, if you’re lucky enough not to get hit by another car as you careen out of control, you land on the shoulder of the road tangled in the twisted remains of your own bike, racked with pain from multiple injuries or even from trauma to your head that your helmet was unable to protect you from. Good Samaritans stop to help you, calling an ambulance. Maybe the driver of the car that hit you takes mercy and pulls over to offer you help. (Or maybe they flee the scene, turning what was already a devastating accident into a hit-and-run.)

Or maybe this or something like it has already happened to you or to someone you love. If so, you know that the pain and horror of finding yourself lying twisted by the roadside is just the beginning. Now you need expensive medical treatment, a long period of recuperation, physical therapy. You’re probably unable to work at your job. In a worst case scenario, you may be paralyzed or have suffered brain damage, leaving you unable to work ever again. Your life may have been changed permanently.

It’s possible that nothing could ever fully compensate you for the results of such a motorcycle accident, but you’ll still need a great deal of money for the expense of recovery and the loss of income from your job. Don’t expect the insurance company representing the negligent driver to pay that money. They’ll offer you a settlement, but it will be much smaller than you need. (You didn’t think insurance companies made a profit from paying out fair settlements, did you?) Since your accident took place in Santa Ana, what you need is a motorcycle accident attorney who works in the Santa Ana area and knows the Orange County legal system, while even getting assistance from a process service company. What you need is a champion who can negotiate with insurance companies and lawyers with you and work to obtain for you a settlement that will come as close as possible to compensating for your losses and injuries.

Don’t delay. You can find Santa Ana motorcycle accident attorneys in the Yellow Pages or on the Internet. Set up a free consultation with one and see how you get along. When you find the right attorney, you’ll be on your way to getting to getting a just and fair settlement for the motorcycle accident that not only ruined your perfect day on the freeway but may well have ruined your life.

Birth Injury Basics: What You Need to Know

Trinity in the NurseryMedical malpractice can occur when a medical professional fails to perform his or her duty in the normal standard of care, or is negligent in providing proper care for a patient. Birth injuries that occur because of negligent medical care may result in injury to the baby. If you suspect you or your baby may be a victim of a birth injury, continue reading. Some of the most common birth injuries include the following scenarios:

• The obstetrician induces labor too early in the pregnancy
• Failure to respond to obvious signs of fetal distress which deprives the baby of oxygen
• Misusing the forceps during delivery
• Failure to diagnose an infection in the mother
• A Brachial plexus injury can occur if there is difficulty delivering the baby’s shoulder
• Not performing a Cesarean section after prolonged labor, thereby leaving the baby in the birth canal without oxygen
• Problems with the umbilical cord or failure to take immediate action

Birth injuries can also happen when the collarbone is fractured during delivery, most often if the baby is in a breech position.

Proving Your Malpractice Claim

All healthcare professionals are tasked with providing the best possible care to their patients. All medical professionals owe a legal duty to the patient to administer care that is commensurate with the standards of their colleagues. When an injured plaintiff files a malpractice suit, they must be able to prove the following four elements in order to win the case:

1. A Duty of Care Was Owed — The plaintiff must prove that the doctor owed a duty of care because they had a doctor/patient relationship.

2. A Breach of Duty Occurred — The doctor owed a legal duty to the patient and the duty was breached when they deviated from the acceptable medical standards.

3. Injury to the Victim — The breach of duty was the primary cause of the injury suffered by the patient, such as failing to diagnose a condition.

4. Obtaining Damages — The plaintiff is entitled to obtain compensation and they can seek damages for the injuries they suffered due to medical negligence.

The injured victims will need a birth injury attorney to help them file a lawsuit for compensatory damages, which include both economic and non-economic damages. Economic losses typically include the cost of medical treatment needed. Non-economic damages include the pain and suffering the victim endured. In some cases, these may be harder to prove than economic losses. If the doctor acted maliciously, the plaintiff can sue for punitive damages, which are meant to punish the defendant for bad behavior and keep others from similar conduct in the future.

When to Seek Advice From a Medical Malpractice Attorney

Childbirth injuries continue to be a problem in today’s society. Obstetricians may find themselves facing lawsuits when a baby or mother is injured, causing permanent life-long disabilities. According to our medical malpractice lawyer in Syracuse NY, medical malpractice cases can be tough to prove because the stakes are high for everyone involved in this type of lawsuit. Because of this, it is critical for patients to hire experienced and well-trained medical malpractice attorneys to represent their interests. Malpractice attorneys can determine which cases will be successful if they go to trial.

Patients who have suffered serious harm during any type of medical care have the right to hold medical professionals legally liable. If you suspect you or your baby are victims of a birth injury malpractice, seek the wisdom and advice of an experienced malpractice legal firm to examine the facts regarding your case. They can help you recover damages for injuries you or your child may have suffered.

A native of upstate New York, Karla M. Somers is a mother, writer and legal researcher. She contributes articles to the law firm of Bottar Leone, a medical malpractice lawyer in Syracuse NY. For more than 30 years, this experienced legal team has been helping people recover their losses in wages and benefits, medical bills and permanent disabilities as a result of medical malpractice.

The Dangers of Boating Machinery Failure

(US personal injury law) Boating is one of the more popular recreational activities in the United States, particularly in coastal areas or those near a large body of water. Unfortunately, boating can be a risky activity for many, potentially resulting in injuries in a number of different ways. However, one of the most disturbing possible causes of a boating accident involves machinery failure, which is a surprisingly common phenomenon.

U.S. personal injury law ensures that those who have been the victim of an injury occurring as a result of machine failure of a boat not due to their own actions are entitled to seek compensation for their losses and expenses. However, actually receiving the compensation that may be owed to an injury victim can be difficult without qualified legal representation. Therefore, injury victims typically should seek legal assistance when pursuing an injury claim.

Common Types of Machinery Failure

There are a number of different ways in which machinery failure can occur on a boat, resulting in injury to any passengers or the boat’s driver. The U.S. coastguard has published a list of all the boating machinery failure accidents occurring in the U.S. in the previous year, available here. However, the most common of these accidents include:

Electrical system failure

Engine failure

Steering system failure

Shift failure

Throttle failure

These and other common forms of boating machinery failure can result in serious injuries and, in extreme cases, even death. These types of tragic circumstances should not be the victim’s burden to bear alone. Fortunately, financial compensation that can cover many of the costs of an injury caused by machinery failure on a boat may be available through a personal injury lawsuit. However, to ensure that a victim’s likelihood of receiving compensation is as high as it can be, it is often necessary to pursue the services of a qualified personal injury lawyer.

Author Bio

Michael Norman is a full time blogger interested in a number of topics, particularly matters of the law, such as personal injury law. He devotes a number of hours to posting articles regarding recent news topics and areas of interest pertinent to personal injury law on relevant blogs and other sites.

Route 78 Crash Leaves Two Adults, Two Children Dead

September 1, 2012—Santa Ysbael, CA—According to CNS News, authorities have identified the victims of a head-on car collision that occurred Tuesday on State Route 78 near Santa Ysabel. Two children and two adults were killed, and a number of others were injured.

The crash occurred around 3:15 p.m. and involved two vehicles. Mary Aguilar, 33, was driving eastbound with seven passengers, six of whom were children. A Pontiac Vibe driven by Francisco Perez, 33, crossed the center line and hit Aguliar’s vehicle head-on. Both drivers were killed instantly. Also killed were Camryn Aguilar, 7, and Jennifer Aguilar, 9, passengers in their mother’s car. Two other children and a passenger in the Vibe were also taken to the hospital with injuries.

My sincere condolences go out to the Aguilar family on their terrible loss.

Head-On Collisions Rare But Often Deadly

According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, head-on collisions represent only two percent of all traffic accidents, but account for ten percent of all fatalities. The high level of fatality in these accidents is usually attributed to the fact that high-speed head-on impacts can push engine blocks forward into the driver and passenger seating areas, resulting in severe trauma. Passengers in the back are usually safer during a head-on collision than during other types of crashes.

The Cause of This Accident

The California Highway Patrol has not released a final report on the cause of the accident, but it is clear that the driver of the Vibe crossed into the path of the Aguilar’s vehicle. Whether the driver suffered a seizure or heart attack prior to the accident, whether he was under the influence of drugs or alcohol, or whether a mechanical failure on his car led to the accident is unknown at this time.

Who Is Liable?

Liability in this case seems relatively clear-cut, but a professional car accident attorney should examine the evidence of the case carefully. It is very possible that there are mitigating circumstances that may change the liability picture. For example, if it is found that the driver crossed the center line because of a tire blowout, the manufacturer of the defective tire could be liable rather than the driver himself. Similarly, if the driver suffered a seizure due to incorrect dosage of medication, the healthcare provider who prescribed the drug could have liability.

In defence of personal injury solicitors

Ambulance Chasing? Personal Injury Claims in 2012Personal injury law has something of a bad reputation. Personal injury solicitors are derided as ‘ambulance chasers’ and viewed as untrustworthy. Injury lawyers are viewed with suspicion, if not outright hostility. The negative public perception of injury claims lawyers isn’t helped by the seemingly wall-to-wall TV ads which are on from morning until early evening. With this level of saturation, an advert for PPI claims, a talking Meerkat or even a gratingly jaunty Opera Singer provide light relief. The terminology used in these ads is part of our daily lexicon – ‘make a claim’, ‘no-win-no-fee’, ‘damages’ and so on.

Personal injury law in the UK

However, what haven’t made it into our daily vernacular are the terms which underpin personal injury law – ‘delict’ (‘tort’ in England), ‘duty of care’, ‘summary cause action’ and so forth. Personal injury law (or the law of negligence as your solicitor would call it) is a vast and occasionally complex area of law that encompasses pretty much every ‘wrong’ a man, woman or company can inflict on another. From illness-inducing invertebrates ensconced in beverage bottles, to falling bags of flour, right through to professionals providing unreliable information, the law of negligence has had to consider many of the myriad actions and consequences of human conduct.

Purpose of compensation / ‘damages’

One salient fact which rarely comes through in the sensationalist headlines is that compensation or ‘damages’ is designed to put you in the position you would have been in, ‘but for’ the negligent act (or omission) which resulted in your injury. This is often missed as sensational tabloid headlines decry a payout in the hundreds of thousands for someone who suffered a seemingly insignificant injury. Obviously this is not a perfect science.  It’s difficult to put a price on the loss of a limb, or an injury to an internal organ but the law tries as best it can to award an amount commensurate to the injury or loss. In addition, compensation can be claimed for loss of amenity, the cost of care and the cost of altering your lifestyle as a result of your injuries. It becomes easier to calculate loss when the loss in question is financial (or ‘pecuniary’ as the law calls it). Nonetheless this can involve a detailed computation using something akin to actuarial tables. Once your personal injury lawyer arrives at a figure, this is then proposed as a reasonable level of compensation to the other side, and to the court. Normally a process of negotiation follows during which your personal injury solicitor fights tooth-and-nail to get you a figure as close to the top of the proposed sum as possible. Again, these parts of the process rarely make it into the sensational tabloid headlines.

Fighting your corner

Personal injury solicitors such as Lawford Kidd provide a valuable service for a great many people who have suffered a loss which wasn’t their fault. They achieve redress for people who have been wronged. The roots of this branch of our law date back to Roman times and, fascinatingly, have their basis as a way to preserve a peaceful society. In ancient times a financial payment was intended to head off retribution being taken or a blood-feud developing. It is easy to scorn personal injury lawyers and claims companies and scoff at the seemingly ridiculous levels of compensation that are awarded. However, the media never tell the full story. And it’s a sure-fire bet that if we were injured, and it wasn’t our fault, we would want someone to fight our corner.

Image courtesy of  Lee J Haywood on Flickr