Victims of international terrorist attacks may claim compensation

Posted on 03/05/2012 by Accident Compensation News

Further to an announcement in February that they would be cutting compensation under the Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme for victims of domestic crime, the Ministry of Justice has now announced that the victims of six international terrorist attacks can claim compensation from the CICA (Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority) on an ‘ex gratia’ basis.

The six international incidents are the nightclub bombing by Islamist extremists on the island of Bali, Indonesia, in October 2002, the attack on Mumbai by Pakistan-based militants in November 2008, terrorist attacks on Egypt’s Sharm el Sheikh in 2005, Dahab in 2006, and Turkey’s Kusadasi in 2005 and Marmaris in 2006.

An MOJ spokeswoman said people injured in other terrorist attacks abroad can also apply to the foreign secretary, who will consider adding further incidents to the scheme. She said the government would introduce a statutory scheme for future terrorist incidents as soon as possible.

Justice Minister Crispin Blunt commented: “We should support and compensate those people who sadly have been injured in overseas terrorist atrocities. While we will never be able to put right the harm victims of terrorism suffer, we hope this scheme will go some way towards helping them rebuild their lives.”

Both the new and proposed future scheme will be open to British, EU, EEA and Swiss victims with a minimum three years’ residence in the UK immediately before the terrorist attack.

Prepared by Lawson-West Solicitors, May 2012

Lords amendments favour industrial disease sufferers

Posted on 25/04/2012 by Accident Compensation News

The House of Lords recently agreed two amendments to the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders bill, in favour of those suffering from asbestos-related diseases.

The Peers firstly passed an amendment for damages claims for respiratory disease arising from industrial exposure to a harmful substance to be exempt from the government’s proposed reforms. A further amendment, to exempt claimants with a disease, condition or illness resulting from a breach of duty at work, was also passed, but only by five votes.

The amendments would mean that in such cases, claimants would be able to keep 100% of the compensation they are awarded, while the opposite side pays for their ‘after-the-event’ insurance premium and lawyer’s success fee.

Under the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill, accident victims in future will have to pay their legal fees out of their damages.

The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) welcomed the amendment but is concerned that it does not go far enough. Chief Executive Deborah Evans said: “This is obviously good news for victims of industrial disease and it is imperative that the government does not overturn these important amendments when the debate returns to the House of Commons. It is still, however, a devastating blow for justice that the same degree of consideration was not given to the proposals for other innocent victims of injury, whose lives may also have been shattered through no fault of their own.”

She added: “Not only will many genuine claimants face being denied access to justice altogether, but those people who are still able to claim will face having their damages cut. As a just and moral society, we have a duty to ensure that vulnerable people are properly protected. But the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill is a backwards step in that regard.”

The Bill is scheduled to be implemented in April 2013.

£5M COMPENSATION AWARD TO FUND ROUND THE CLOCK CARE

Posted on 08/03/2012 by Accident Compensation News

A six-year-old girl who suffered severe brain damage in a car crash involving a speeding driver has been awarded nearly £5m in compensation. The youngster, Cerys, from Sutton Coldfield has required round the clock care since the head-on crash in 2006 when she was 11 months old. Her family will also receive £450,000 a year to fund her care for the rest of her life.

After the collision, she was left unable to breathe without a ventilator and has needed numerous operations as well as 24 hour nursing care

The driver of the speeding vehicle, who was doing over 70mph in a 30mph area was convicted of dangerous driving in April 2008. He was jailed for 21 months but released under curfew conditions after serving just six months.

After the crash, Cerys’ parents campaigned for tougher sentences for dangerous drivers, which led to Jack Straw, the Justice Secretary at that time proposing an increase in the maximum two-year jail term for dangerous driving to five years.

If you have had a serious injury in an accident that wasn’t your fault please contact Vicky Jones at Lawson-West to make a claim for compensation on 0116 212 1000.

THORNTONS FINED FOLLOWING ACCIDENT AT FACTORY

Posted on 01/03/2012 by Accident Compensation News

Chocolate maker Thorntons has been fined £20,000 recently following an accident on a wrapping machine at its Somercotes factory in Derbyshire.

An employee was working on the machine which wraps chocolates in foil before sending them down a chute into a tray. During a break in production, and while the machine was still running, she attempted to clean the inside of the chute because it had become covered in caramel. The cloth she was using to clean the chute got caught up in rotating parts of the machine, dragging her hand inside. The employee suffered a fractured and lacerated finger and was off work for some ten weeks after the incident which happened at the end of 2009.

An investigation carried out by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) found that although the machine had guarding installed, it was inadequate. An audit of other machines in the factory also found safety improvements to a range of machines were required, including improvements to prevent access to dangerous parts of machinery.

After the hearing at Southern Derbyshire Magistrates’ Court, HSE inspector Stuart Parry commented: “Thorntons should never have allowed the machinery guarding to fall below the legal safety standards. It was effectively asking its employees to work on machines that put them at risk of injury. It was entirely foreseeable that the inadequate guarding could lead to injury and even if the employee had not used a cloth, her hand could still have been drawn into the machine while cleaning it.”

If you have suffered an accident at work, please contact Lawson West Solicitors on 0116 212 1000.

REFERRAL FEES BAN REGULATORY NOT CRIMINAL OFFENCE

Posted on 01/11/2011 by Accident Compensation News

Further to the recent announcement that referral fees for Personal Injury cases are to be banned, Justice Minister Jonathan Djangoly has confirmed that flouting the ban will not be a criminal offence, but will be enforced by the legal profession’s regulators instead. He commented that the Ministry of Justice has “veered away from a criminal offence”, which is a “very blunt instrument”.

A criminal offence would have to be proven beyond reasonable doubt and “it would be very difficult for a jury to convict on the basis of the complexity of these arrangements”, Mr Djanogly said. By contrast a regulatory offence which would be enforced by the Solicitors Regulation Authority and others would ensure that “the principle of what’s happening can be looked at… and a view taken”.

In other news, Mr Djangoly has been stripped of his role as regulator of claims management companies following the discovery of a conflict of interest – his two children were discovered to own shares in claims management companies run by his brother in law.

Dowler family join the fight against no win no fee reforms

Posted on 26/09/2011 by Accident Compensation News

In a letter to PM David Cameron and his deputy Nick Clegg, the family of Milly Dowler has urged them to block ‘unjust and unfair’ civil justice reforms which would ‘significantly weaken’ the ‘no win no fee’ system they have used to pursue a case against News International. The company has just agreed a £3m settlement with the family over claims that Milly’s phone was hacked after her disappearance in 2002.
In the letter, the Dowlers said : “We were lucky that we fell under the [current] system. We understand that the new law affects thousands of people who want to sue the News of the World and other newspapers…..We are sure you don’t want to go down as the prime minister who took the rights away from ordinary people so that large companies could print whatever they like and break the law.”
The letter refers to reforms under the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders bill, which will receive its third reading in the Commons soon, and was welcomed by the Law Society. Chief Executive Desmond Hudson, commented: ‘After all they have been through we welcome – and are humbled by – the intervention of the Dowler family in this debate. They have succeeded in making it clear to the prime minister that it is ordinary families with terrible life challenges that will be impacted the most. They will be the losers. As a society we need to protect them and their access to justice.”
Lawson-West is supporting the Law Society’s Sound off for Justice campaign against the reforms. For more information on no win no fee accident claims please contact Lawson-West on 0116 212 1000.

Employees lack company health and safety knowledge

Posted on 16/08/2011 by Accident Compensation News

A survey of more than 1,500 workers saw three-quarters admit to being unaware of safety procedures within their workplaces.

The survey, by website personalinjurylawyers.co.uk, found that 73% of workers were totally unaware of health and safety procedures, and nearly half claimed they had never seen any written documentation about safety procedures, despite working in a business with five or more employees. Only 6% of those taking part felt they were “very knowledgeable” about their organisation’s health and safety procedures.

20% of the employees questioned knew their organisation’s fire safety procedures while less than one third knew who the business’s “health and safety manager” was. Furthermore, only a quarter claimed to know where their workplace first-aid kit was located.

A positive approach to Health & Safety within a firm can make a huge difference towards reducing workplace accidents. Statistics like these show how much more still needs to be done within many organisations.

Pothole damage racks up after two cold winters

Posted on 29/06/2011 by Accident Compensation News

Two harsh winters in a row have taken their toll on Britain’s roads, with a new report by the Labour Party’s Transport Team estimating some £13 billion of damage has been done. The report has raised concerns about the safety of motorcyclists and motorists, since budget cuts mean that pothole repairs are not being carried out.

The survey, of 152 local authorities, found that some 40 per cent of councils had a backlog of pothole repairs, totalling over £5 billion. 92% of the councils also said they didn’t have the funds needed to fix the roads in their area, with three quarters of councils cutting their road maintenance budgets.

And, in some cases potholes are being reinvented – Lambeth Council, for example, has changed the measurement criteria for pothole maintenance. A pothole now refers to a hole more than 40mm deep, where previously it was 25mm.

Fine after accident at the fair

Posted on 23/05/2011 by Accident Compensation News

A fairground operator has been fined £10,000 after an 11-year-old girl suffered a serious head wound when she was thrown from a ride at a West Midlands park.

The lap bar on the ride failed, and the girl had not been able to put on a lap belt as a secondary measure. As a result of being thrown from the moving ride she suffered a head wound which required ten stitches, as well as multiple cuts and bruises.

The HSE investigation into the incident discovered that the lap belts in the ride cars had been poorly maintained and most were in such a poor state of repair that they were unusable.

If you have been injured in an accident that was someone else’s fault, please contact Lawson-West on 0116 212 1000.