Personal Injury Solicitors Burnley: Prepare For Winter Driving As Early As Possible

With summer officially over, personal injury solicitors Burnley are expecting to see an increase in car crash compensation claimants as winter draws in and the roads become more hazardous. While the weather is still somewhat dry, rain, snow and ice will soon make the roads significantly more dangerous, causing braking distances to increase dramatically and leading to people making compensation claims with no win no fee solicitors Burnley.

As a result, we have come up with a list of safe winter driving tips that could save the life of you, your family and other road users.

- Plan in advance

You should plan your journey particularly carefully in wintry weather. Check traffic reports and maps to ensure you take the safest and most effective routes, and check the weather forecast so you know what to expect.

- Prepare your vehicle

Make sure you have enough petrol for your journey and know where filling stations are, check the oil levels, check that your car will not break down, test your brakes and lights, fill up your screenwash, and check that your electrics and tyres are suitable for the road. No win no fee solicitors Burnley see a lot of cases involving people who did not check their vehicle was ready for the winter.

- Take an emergency kit out

An emergency kit for winter driving should contain a de-icer, an ice scraper, a torch, batteries, blankets, a change of clothes, jump leads, a shovel, boots, a first aid kit, a road atlas and sunglasses to protect your eyes from the glare of the snow. You should start to buy these items now so you are ready for the winter.

- Drive carefully

Drive at a reduced speed that is suitable for the road conditions and do not accellarate or brake harshly. Instead, drop to a lower gear earlier than you normally would and then gently press the brakes.

In snow and ice, braking distances increase by as much as ten times, so keep a close eye on traffic to prevent car accidents with personal injury solicitors Burnley. Keep in mind that while a road may look dry or gritted, there could still be icy patches.

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Posted in Health Care, Personal Injury

What dental negligence claims do Manchester personal injury solicitors see?

Some of the cases personal injury solicitors Manchester deal with relate to dental negligence. Dentists must reach a high standard of skill and professionalism and must take all reasonable steps to ensure their patients do not suffer from avoidable injuries. They go through a lot of training and education to ensure they are knowledgeable about oral health, so people rightly think that they should receive proper and accurate treatment every time they visit the dentist.

Dentist must also invest in insurance, which will pay out compensation when no win no fee solicitors Manchester win in a case, allowing the dentist to continue practicing and allowing those who have been injured by the dentist's negligence to claim compensation and recover their losses.

Some of the most common dental negligence claims personal injury solicitors Manchester see are:

     Misdiagnosis claims and delayed diagnosis claims one of the most common illnesses misdiagnosed in dentistry or missed during check-ups is gum disease. When caught at an early stage, the illness is easily treated, but if it is missed then people can end up losing teeth.

-          Poorly-fitted dentures and fittings

When fittings and dentures are badly fitted, people can end up complaining to no win no fee solicitors Manchester about a range of oral health problems. Claimants can experience scraping and abrasions, gum pain, infections and a range of other problems. Remedying these issues can be expensive.

In rare cases, personal injury solicitors Manchester deal with people who have been infected with contagious diseases due to the negligence of dentists. Unhygienic dental practices, poor sterilisation processes and a range of other failings can lead to these problems.

Making a dental negligence claim

It is a good idea to make a dental negligence claim if you have received substandard dental treatment that has led to injuries or health problems. Repairing shoddy dental work is very pricey, and in some cases it is not even possible. Claiming compensation with no win no fee solicitors Manchester allows people to pay for remedial treatment, understand what happened to cause the negligent treatment, and enables claimants to receive some form of justice. 

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Posted in Health Care, Personal Injury

Making a brain injury claim with personal injury solicitors Bolton

If you've suffered a traumatic brain injury in an accident or incident you were not entirely to blame for, then claiming compensation with a no win no fee solicitor Bolton is a great way to recover your losses and help you get your life back on track. 

Brain injuries can affect every aspect of a person's life, and the cost of rehabilitation and high-quality medical equipment can be prohibitively expensive, but personal injury solicitors Bolton can help people cover these expenses.

Recovery and brain injuries

While recovery is possible for many claimants, it can take a very long time for people to make a full recovery, with other people never returning to health. Generally, children have the best prognosis, and the elderly have the worst - children's brains have a degree of 'elasticity' that adult brains lack, and children can use other parts of the brain to perform the tasks the damaged part would otherwise perform.

Recovery can involve physical therapy, speech therapy and intensive psychological assistance, and many people are unable to pay for this. 

Speaking to a no win no fee solicitor Bolton allows them to do so.

Personal injury solicitors Bolton also consider the long-term prognosis of a claimant. People with brain injuries can develop neuron degenerative disorders and are at a higher risk of a range of health problems. New medical treatments or forms of supportive therapy for people with brain damage could also be created in the future, and compensation claims consider the potential cost of these treatments as well.

The effects of brain injuries

No win no fee solicitors Bolton see three different types of damage that brain injuries can cause. These are:

-          Cognitive effects

Some brain injuries affect the way people remember, think and learn, altering the way they perveive the world and making certain tasks difficult.

-          Emotional effects

People can experience problems with their emotions or personality changes when specific regions of the brain are damaged.

-          Communication effects

Some parts of the brain relate to recognising facial expressions, following conversations and speech, and damage to these areas can make it hard for people to communicate.

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Posted in Health Care, Personal Injury

Company Fined and Prosecuted For Dangerous Scaffolding

The dangers posed by unsafe scaffolding are obvious, but personal injury solicitors Manchester still see cases involving falls from height or other accidents on scaffolding. When people fall from height, they can sustain serious injuries, including paralysis and brain damage, and with death a real risk.

A company was recently prosecuted in Trafford Magistrates' Court after the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) determined it had put its employees at risk due to unsafe scaffolding. R Hamer Ltd pled guilty to breaching Work at Height regulations at the hearing on August 30th, and was given a 12-month conditional discharge and ordered to pay £562 in costs.

Scaffolding accident claims with personal injury solicitors Manchester

The case could have easily led to the employees seeing no win no fee solicitors Manchester, with HSE inspector Grayam Barnes saying they could have "easily been seriously injured or killed". He thanked the person who had informed the HSE about the dangerous workplace.

HSE were alerted to the company by a concerned member of the public, who noticed two workers replacing guttering on a Bradshaw house on unsafe scaffolding and in high winds.

When an inspector visited the property on February 1st, they found two men using an unsecured board as a walkway between poorly-erected scaffolding. A man was seen to climb down the scaffolding without using a ladder, there were no toe boards, handrails and edge protection, and no harnesses were being used. A Prohibition Order was immediately enforced.

Scaffolding businesses should not wait until they are prosecuted by the HSE or until they see themselves dealing with no win no fee solicitors Manchester in an accident at work compensation claim. Worker safety should be a key consideration in all businesses, especially those with such obvious risks and well-defined safety regulations.

One of the biggest causes of fatal workplace accidents in the construction sector is falls from height, and companies must do everything they can to ensure these accidents do not occur. If you've been injured in an accident at work, then speak with personal injury solicitors Manchester to claim compensation and recover your losses.

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Posted in Health Care, Personal Injury

Positive thinking 'helps people recover from whiplash'

When people visit personal injury solicitors Bury with whiplash pain, their lawyers will encourage them to think positively about their case and about their injuries. Positive thinking could not only make them more likely to win their compensation claim, but it could also improve their overall wellbeing, helping them to avoid some of the mental and emotional complications that can come with such a painful injury.

And positive thinking has a range of other benefits as well - in fact, research from the University of Alberta's School of Public Health found that whiplash patients who have positive expectation recover from their injuries three times faster than those who do not.

Positive thinking and whiplash injury claims with personal injury solicitors Bury

Researchers examined 6,000 people who had sustained whiplash in a traffic accident to make the discovery, also finding that those who thought positively about their return to work considered themselves to have recovered 42% faster than those who assumed more negative things about returning.

Furthermore, a related investigation into Swedish whiplash victims found that those who did not think they would make a complete recovery were around four times as likely to still feel symptoms of the injury than those who thought otherwise.

Perhaps people had a realistic assessment of their injuries when contemplating their recovery time, but no win no fee solicitors Bury would point to the wealth of other evidence that has correlated positive thinking and faster recoveries from a huge range of other illnesses.

Indeed, while the research team at the University said they were surprised by their discoveries, positive thinking has helped people recover from a huge range of other health problems - in fact, it is a cornerstone of the placebo effect.

So if you seem anxious about your whiplash injuries and personal injury solicitors try to reassure you and alleviate your stress, they might not only be helping your emotional wellbeing, but could also be reducing your recovery times and help you get back to health as quickly as possible.

If you're suffering from whiplash, speak to a no win no fee solicitor Bury to claim compensation!

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Posted in Health Care, Personal Injury

Can a lack of household maintenance lead to personal injury claims?

Poor standards of home maintenance could be putting homeowners at risk of dealing with a personal injury solicitor Blackburn after guests are injured on their premises.

While most compensation claims dealt by a no win no fee solicitor Blackburn are against companies and organisations, some cases are against homeowners, who have failed to ensure their property is safe for guests and the general public.

The recent Halifax Insurance Home Maintenance Monitor found that 11% of all residences in Britain require some major improvements, with around half needing some minor work.

Not only could regular maintenance and improvements reduce the likelihood of a homeowner facing personal injury solicitors Blackburn in court, but dealing with problems early will ensure they do not worsen and will save money in the long-term. Therefore, Halifax advised homeowners to complete the following tasks:

-          Check the loft has enough ventilation and insulation

-          Have the boiler, central heating and gas fire checked by a Gas Safe registered professional every year

-          Call the experts for plumbing, electrical or gas work and check references when choosing a professional

-          Keep an eye out for emerging problems

-          Speak to your insurance company if you are carrying out an extension, conversion or any similar work

-          Check that the roof is in a good condition

-          Clear leaves and debris out of drains and gutters to prevent overflows, blocks or slips and trips

-          Secure gates and outbuilding doors

-          Secure external light fittings

The Halifax research revealed that 23% of people have previously ignored a serious home maintenance issue, with some common excuses including being too busy (41%), fear of causing an injury to themselves or another person (29% and not having the correct tools and equipment (36%).

A no win no fee solicitor Blackburn may deal with a number of cases involving failure to properly repair and maintain a household. Landlords can be liable in compensation claims when they have been informed about domestic repairs but have failed to deal with them, previous homeowners who fail to repair a house can face compensation claims if the current homeowners are injured due to this negligence, and people who have been injured in someone else's residence may also be able to claim compensation against the property owner.

If you want to find out whether or not you can make a compensation claim, contact personal injury solicitors Blackburn now to discuss your case.

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Posted in Health Care, Personal Injury

How Could Hospitals Improve Treatment Standards?

Personal injury solicitors Manchester are very interested in legislative changes to the NHS. A large proportion of personal injury claims relate to mistreatment in hospitals, and the severity of claimants' injuries are frequently serious.

A recent report by Professor Don Berwick echoed many of the thoughts no win no fee solicitors Manchester have about the NHS. Professor Berwick worked intensively to discover some of the key issues in the UK's healthcare system and how medical negligence claims arise, investigating other healthcare systems internationally to inform his understanding.

He made four key findings about the running of hospitals and patient safety. These are:

Patient safety and the quality of patient care should be of paramount importance

Employees should be supported in their personal development, allowing them to improve their capabilities

Carers and patients should feel like they are heard and should be empowered and engaged

Data should be completely transparent

Criminal charges following clinical negligence compensation claims?

While clinical negligence compensation and full investigations into what went wrong is enough for most patients, Professor Berwick suggested that criminal sanctions may be suitable in some instances, suggesting that a number of new offenses should be created that relate to clinical negligence. These would deal with instances of wilful neglect or recklessness, as well as cases in which healthcare organisations obstruct the disclosure of relevant information or withhold this information, and could apply to organisations as well as individuals.

The report stated that these criminal sanctions should only be used rarely and should not be used to punish people for punitive errors. While personal injury solicitors Manchester may be apprehensive about the value of creating new crimes, having potential criminal sanctions against hiding information could help rightful claimants succeed in medical negligence claims. Individual practitioners already face being struck off the register and forbidden to work in the UK, but institutional negligence can frequently go unpunished.

Until healthcare systems become perfect, people will always want to visit a no win no fee solicitor after being the victim of medical negligence. Professor Berwick's suggestions could help to reduce this demand, although it will be impossible to eradicate it.

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