Personal Injury Blog Category

Early assessment is key for injury claimants whose mental capacity is in doubt

09^th March 2018

When accident victims sustain a traumatic brain injury, they can lose their capacity to litigate or to manage and control any money that is recovered in damages. In such cases, a claimant deemed to be a 'protected party' must be supported by a ‘litigation friend’ who can conduct the proceedings and make decisions on the claimant's behalf, subject to the court's approval when necessary. If…

New proposals to limit lower-value injury claims are not yet written in stone

05^th March 2018

Previously in this column I have written about insurer-led government plans to reform the compensation system for lower-value injury claims. If implemented unchanged, these plans could effectively ban many soft tissue injury claims – and this may seriously erode your ability to access justice when you need it the most. Earlier this year the government announced plans to implement its new injury claim rules at…

Cohabitees seeking justice from a fatal accident claim need specialist legal advice

19^th February 2018

The devastating loss of a loved one killed through someone else’s fault is a situation that, frankly, our law struggles to deal with: what value should be put on the loss of a life, and how should compensation be calculated? The dreadful answer is that, although financial costs such as funeral expenses can successfully be claimed, in law a life in itself has no financial…

Exaggerating part of an injury claim jeopardises the whole claim in court

26^th January 2018

The High Court in London recently gave guidance on the provisions of fundamental dishonesty and the potential consequences for anyone found to be making a fundamentally dishonest personal injury claim. In the case of the London Organising Committee for the Olympic and Paralympic Games (in liquidation) v Sinfield the court ruled that a volunteer injured while working at the 2012 London Olympics was fundamentally dishonest…

Watch your step in the countryside – rural slip and trip compensation claims rarely succeed

22^nd January 2018

More and more people are discovering the joys of strolling in the countryside and most of those who enjoy rambling in the great British outdoors do so in the knowledge they are likely to come across hazards and obstacles – so can you claim compensation if a walking accident causes injury? One of the key elements in pursuing such a compensation claim is to establish…

Drive with a clear head this Christmas or risk ruining life in the New Year

21^st December 2017

And so Christmas is here – the time of year when happiness abounds. It is the season for fun and festivities, family gatherings, time spent with old friends and new, reunion with loved ones, presents, laughter, all-round Christmas cheer. But it is also prime season for alcohol-related road accidents. The current maximum sentence for drink or drug-driving is 14 years, and soon even a short…

Cycle consultation offers perfect opportunity for government to stop back-pedalling on road safety

01^st December 2017

Our government recently announced its intention to consider forcing all cyclists to wear a helmet: transport minister Jesse Norman has said his compulsory helmet review will be based on available evidence. It seems the matter will be considered as part of a general government review on bike safety announced following a recent series of high-profile incidents involving cyclists killed or seriously injured on our roads.…

Law courts offer no place to hide for dishonest injury compensation claimants

13^th November 2017

A recent Portsmouth County Court ruling decided a compensation claim, which resulted from a low-speed car accident, was fundamentally dishonest – and the claimants are now likely to be ordered to pay the defendants’ legal costs. On appeal it was argued that in their defence the defendants should have clearly stated they intended to allege fundamental dishonesty but the appeal court disagreed. Our courts will…

Third party liability insurance – are you covered?

08^th November 2017

For some years now the Road Traffic Act 1988 has been in conflict with European directives on insurance and providing cover for third party liabilities but, notwithstanding this, successive UK governments have failed to implement these European directives. More recently, court cases such as Damijan Vnuk –v– Zavarovalnica Triglav (2013) and Delaney –v– the Secretary of State for Transport (2014) have repeatedly indicated that court…

George Ide lawyers pound Chichester’s pavements in aid of Headway West Sussex