Personal car accident and work injury compensation claim at Injuries Direct

A woman, who suffered serious personal injury after falling in a city centre café, has been awarded £75,000 in accident compensation.

The Swindon Advertiser is reporting that the seventy year old woman, who has not been named, had popped into the Lantern Café, on Havelock Street, in Swindon but tripped over a door-mat at the entrance and ended up crashing to the floor, knocking over several tables in the process.

The pensioner broke one shoulder and dislocated the other in the fall and also suffered a badly injured knee, her injuries kept her hospitalised for two and a half weeks and she claims she has still not fully recovered from her injuries, finding everyday tasks such as climbing the stairs very difficult.

After taking legal advice the woman launched a claim for personal injury compensation from the café’s insurers and was awarded £75,000 in compensation, after they admitted liability.

She told the newspaper that she went over as soon as she put her foot onto the new mat, which her legal team claimed was ‘not of the right type’.

The newspaper attempted to speak to the café’s owners but was informed that no one was available to comment.

Figures released under a freedom of information request, have revealed that police officers injured in accidents at work, have received more than £12 million in compensation.

The recently released figures show that the forty three police forces in England and Wales, including the British Transport Police and the Civil Nuclear Constabulary, have paid out a total of £12,109,426 in work accident compensation since 2006.

However this figure does not include the majority of claims made in 2011 which have still to be settled and as four forces failed to respond to the freedom of information request on time, it is likely that the true figure could be significantly higher.

The highest single payment made was for £550,000, which was paid by Hertfordshire Police to a civilian police employee, who broke their elbow after slipping on an icy car park.

Other payments included damages of £14,000 paid by Humberside Police, to a police sergeant, who claimed that an overly loud cell door buzzer had brought on tinnitus and just over £2,000 was awarded to a police officer who injured his hand by putting it through a glass pane, while rushing to respond to an emergency call.

Greater Manchester Police paid out £2.58 million in work related compensation, which was the highest in the country, followed by the Hertfordshire Police Force on £1.2 million and West Midlands Police with £1.1 million.

The husband of a Tyne and Wear lollipop lady is seeking compensation, after his wife suffered life changing injuries when she was run-over by a car.

The Shields Gazette is reporting that fifty nine year old Eleanor Harman was knocked over while on duty in Beach Road, South Shields, despite holding her lollipop and wearing a high visibility jacket.

The driver of the vehicle involved, sixty nine year old Grandmother Margaret Boyles, of Fox Avenue, in South Shields, was found guilty of careless driving at South Tyneside Magistrates’ Court and had four penalty points added to her license, she was also fined £95 and ordered to pay £500 in court costs.

Mrs. Harman was rushed to Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary, immediately after the accident and spent two days in intensive care, before being transferred to the specialised brain injury ward of the Walkergate Park Centre.

Her husband Harry has now launched a claim for car accident compensation against the driver’s insurers, to help cover the high cost of his wife’s lifelong care and future rehabilitation.

Mr. Harman told the newspaper that his wife suffered extremely serious injuries and stated that because of someone else’s actions, their lives will never be the same again.

A Hertfordshire boy has been awarded a multi-million pound compensation package, after delays during his birth left him severely disabled.

The Watford Observer is reporting that seven year old Mattia Dessi, from Bushey, was born at the Watford General Hospital in 2004, but delays during his delivery led to his brain being deprived of oxygen.

This led to Mattia being born with spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy, which has left him wheelchair bound and only able to communicate by moving his eyes.

His family launched a claim for birth injury compensation against the West Hertfordshire Hospitals NHS Trust, claiming that staff at the Watford General had been negligent by delaying his delivery.

The High Court in London was told that the NHS Trust had conceded that there was a breach in their duty of care to Mattia but disputed that this had led to his cerebral palsy.

However, an agreement was finally reached after lawyers for the Trust agreed to pay eighty five percent of the full value of the claim.

Even with a fifteen percent reduction it is likely that damages will still run into millions of pounds, as Mattia will require round the clock care for the rest of his life.

A former Phones 4U employee seriously injured in an accident at work, has launched a claim for more than £300,000 in work injury compensation.

Twenty two year old Louise Mennell, from Eastbourne, in East Sussex, was working at her local branch of the high street phone retail giant, when a computer stack fell on her and seriously injured her foot.

The Eastbourne Herald newspaper is reporting that Miss Mennell was left permanently disabled after the accident and now suffers with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), which is a relatively rare condition that results in a continuous burning pain, which can sometimes spread to other parts of the body and is thought to be associated with dysregulation of the autonomic nervous system.

In a writ issued to the High Court in London, Miss Mennell claims that the accident also caused her severe psychological problems, which included depression and her legal team are arguing that her future job prospects have been significantly compromised because of her injuries.

Phones 4U admitted liability for the accident through their insurers but the two sides are now locked in a legal battle to determine the amount of damages Miss Mennell should receive.

A maintenance fitter working on the M1 motorway suffered serious personal injury, when the wheeled excavator he was driving struck an overhead bridge.

The man, who did not want to be named, was working for Nottinghamshire engineering contractors Van Elle Ltd, when the boom of his vehicle struck the bridge and catapulted him over the steering wheel and through the vehicles open front screen.

He suffered serious personal injury when his head struck the vehicles front excavator blade. His injuries were so severe that he required five months of rehabilitation, after spending two weeks in a coma.

The man has since returned to work but is still receiving physiotherapy, for reduced function in his left arm and leg.

An investigation into the incident by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) revealed that the worker had not been adequately trained on the use of the excavator and was not wearing his seat belt, on the day of the accident he was standing in for the vehicles regular driver.

Van Elle Ltd, of Pinxton, in Nottinghamshire, was fined £12,750 and ordered to pay court costs totalling £29,660, after admitting a breach of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations, at Mansfield Magistrates Court.

A man, who almost choked after swallowing a rubber mould left inside a packet of Walkers crisps, has been awarded £3,500 in compensation.

Fifty three year old delivery driver, Peter Collins, from Bamford, near Rochdale, was watching the television with his son Joshua and enjoying a pack of barbecue rib flavoured crisps, when he suddenly began choking.

Mr. Collins told the Manchester Evening News, that it was only the prompt interaction from his son that prevented the incident being a lot worse.

Twenty six year old Joshua first attempted the Heimlich manoeuvre but when that didn’t work, slapped his father hard on the back dislodging the obstruction, which turned out to be a crisp shaped rubber mould, used in the production of the popular potato snack.

Father of two Peter was referred to his local hospital for tests, where it was revealed that chemicals from the rubber mould had leaked into his stomach.

He then launched a claim for compensation against Walkers Crisps and was awarded £3,500 in compensation, after the snack food giant admitted liability.

Mr. Collins suffered with loss of appetite and nausea following the incident and was on medication for three months.

Walkers Crisps declined to comment.

A woman, who was left with no feeling from the waist down following hospital treatment, is seeking £300,000 in medical negligence compensation, from Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust.

The Plymouth Herald newspaper is reporting that fifty nine year old Mary Dacey, from Camborne, in Cornwall, was originally admitted to the Royal Cornwall Hospital, after suffering a suspected subarachnoid haemorrhage (bleeding to the brain), two days later she was transferred to the Derriford Hospital in Plymouth, where her condition deteriorated.

A writ issued to the High Court in London, claims that trainee surgeons at the Derriford, unsuccessfully attempted to perform a lumber puncture but the day after the failed procedure Miss Dacey was unable to move her legs.

The writ also states that the lumbar puncture was attempted despite the fact that the patient was taking anticoagulants, which is known to increase the risk of haemorrhaging.

Miss Dacey who was previously fit and healthy is now confined to a wheelchair and is doubly incontinent, which the writ states is due to substandard treatment at the hospital.

Miss Dacey, who was her mother’s primary carer, before the incident, now needs help with practically every aspect of her daily life.

A spokesperson for Plymouth Hospitals NHS Trust stated that as the case was ongoing, it would be inappropriate to comment.

A global manufacturing company has been prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), after an employee severed three fingers in a bubble wrap machine.

Twenty nine year old Daniel Winters, of Leighton Buzzard, was employed by Sansetsu (U.K) Limited, at their factory in Buckinghamshire and was operating the bubble wrap machine, which heats plastic to temperatures in excess of 200 degrees Celsius.

Milton Keynes Magistrates’ Court was told that Mr. Winters was attempting to clear waste fragments from the machine, when his hand was dragged in-between two powered rollers.

Mr. Winters suffered life changing injuries in the factory accident, losing three of the fingers on his right hand; he has since been able to return to work, albeit in a different capacity.

An investigation into the incident by the HSE revealed that the bubble wrap machine was not effectively guarded and employees were at risk from dangerous moving machine parts.

Sansetsu (U.K) Limited, of Tilbrook in Milton Keynes, was fined £7,000 and ordered to pay court costs totalling £2,742, after admitting a breach of the Provision and Use of Work Equipment Regulations.

Speaking after the court hearing a HSE inspector stated that inward running nips were a potential danger in many industries and companies must ensure such potential hazards were adequately guarded.

An aluminium casting firm has been prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), after a worker suffered serious personal injury after being burnt by molten metal.

Forty one year old Asim Qureshi was employed by JVM Castings Ltd, at their factory in Droitwich Road and was working on a die casting machine, when he was suddenly showered with molten metal which sprayed out from the back of the machine.

Worcester Magistrates’ Court was told that the molten metal which can reach temperatures of 650 degrees Celsius, burnt through the workers clothing causing serious burn injuries to his leg, right arm, shoulder, and face.

His injuries were so severe that he was unable to work for two months after the industrial accident and still has scarring on his hand and leg.

An investigation by the HSE revealed that the back of the die casting machine was not guarded and the employees clothing and eye protection were unsuitable for the task.

JVM Castings (Worcester) Ltd, of Borman, Apollo, in Tamworth, was fined £6,000 and ordered to pay court costs totalling £4,000 after admitting a breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act, following a successful prosecution by the HSE.