A cyclist from Malmesbury has been awarded personal injury compensation after a dog ran under the wheel of his bike.
Mr Ken MacLennan, 65 years old, was cycling through a park, when a dog owner allowed their dog to run off its lead and run in front of Mr MacLennan’s bike. He was thrown over the handle bars and sustained a fractured pelvis.
Mr MacLennan was training for a cycling race, but his injuries left him hospitalised for 1 month and unable to walk without the aid of crutches for a further 3 months. He was unable to work for 6 months and is still unable to walk long distances.
Mr MacLennan has said:
“My injuries left me unable to walk, drive or cycle and were incredibly painful.
“For six months I was unable to carry on my everyday life and I’m still not able to do all the things I used to do.
“My accident would never have happened if the dog in question had been better trained.
“Dog owners must act more responsibly and keep their dogs on a lead in public places if they know they are going to chase cyclists.”
Mr MacLennan’s solicitor has said:
“Dog owners need to understand that they are legally responsible if their pet causes an accident such as this.
“Mr MacLennan’s injuries have disrupted his life completely and resulted in significant loss of earnings.
“He still suffers some discomfort and is unlikely to ever fully return to a full bill of health.”
Pet owners can obtain pet liability insurance and are responsible to protect others from potential dangers posed by their pets. Mr MacLennan has now been awarded £14,000 in personal injury compensation.
A Harbour Master from Suffolk has been awarded personal injury compensation after he injured his back due to an accident at work.
Mr Leggett, 58, worked as a Harbour Master for Waveney District Council for 21 years, but was forced to take early retirement when he slipped. The accident at work happened when Mr Leggett went outside to throw away some rubbish and he slipped on dangerous stairs in his place of work, that were covered in slime due to the exposure to the sea.
It was heard that Mr Leggett had continuously reported the hazardous stairs to his employer on numerous occasions. The stairs did not have any tread and there was no handrail to hold on to.
Mr Leggett has said:
“My colleagues and I had reported our concerns about the stairs to Waveney District Council several times over about four or five years but they did nothing to make them safer. I decided to pursue compensation because I felt strongly that the council had been negligent towards its employees.
“This injury meant I had to leave the job I loved earlier than I would have liked and I wanted to make sure that none of my colleagues suffered the same fate.”
If Mr Leggett’s employers had carried out regular health and safety inspections, then this accident at work would not have occurred. Mr Leggett was awarded £6,000 for personal injury compensation.
A roofing contractor and the owner of a Halifax mill have been fined after a worker fell during an accident at work.
The subcontractor was working at the mill in Old Lane, Halifax in October 2007, when a ladder he was using became detached from the roof ridge. The workman fell 4 metres to the ground, where he sustained breakages to the heels of his feet.
Mr Michael Stephenson was employed as the contractor for Calderbrook Estates, to oversee the repairs to the roof were carried out.
Mr Stephenson was fined £2,000 and ordered to pay £1,500 in costs and Calderbrook Estates were fined £2,500 and ordered to pay £3,355 legal costs.
The Health and Safety Executive carried out a full investigation and reported that there were insufficient scaffolding and guard rails when the roofing work commenced.
A Health and Safety Executive Inspector, David Welsh, has said:
“This incident caused serious injuries and could have been life-threatening. There were problems with this work from the start of the job and none of them were dealt with in a suitable way.
“The incident need never have happened if the correct systems had been planned and put in place. I hope other businesses can learn from this incident and appreciate the high risk involved with work at height on roofs.
“Injuries caused by falls from heights are the biggest cause of death at work in Great Britain. Work at height must always be properly planned, appropriately supervised and carried out in a safe manner.”
A teacher, from Prestwick, has lost her car accident claim after she failed to convince a judge that the accident left her suffering from Parkinson’s disease.
The teacher was praised by the judge for her teaching gift, but lost her claim for more than £130,000 damages. Sarah Smith, 59, was driving in her car on the A77 near Kilmarnock, on her way to work. She was unaware she had Parkinson’s disease when she became involved in a collision. She sustained minor injuries from the car accident, but later developed a tremor on her left side. She sought medical advice and was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
Mrs Smith’s lawyers argued during the court hearing that the accident had accelerated the progress of the disease by up to 7 years.
However, Mrs Smith was unable to prove her case and was only awarded £4,500 for the neck, back and leg injury she suffered.
Lord McEwan said:
“I am deeply sorry for Mrs Smith, who presented herself with restraint and moderation. She made light of her condition.
“Many would not have behaved so. I do not doubt that she will forever believe the car crash has brought on her misfortune. Someday, medicine and science may prove her correct, but that is for future generations.”
A man from Bolton is pursuing a claim for personal injury after he was involved in a horrific car accident, which left him without the use of his legs.
Rajendra Vanker, 47, father of 2, was helping his father, Chandrakant, unload his car, when they were struck by another car. The driver of the vehicle had suffered a heart attack at the wheel and later died in hospital from a condition he did not know he had.
Mr Vanker was unable to work after the accident and was forced to hand in his resignation as a research chemist, which paid extremely well. Mr Vanker claims that the accident left him with severe pain and he could barely walk.
Mr Vanker is now finding his claim for compensation for injury difficult as the driver’s insurance company state that the driver is neither liable nor negligent due to the fact that he unaware of his condition.
Mr Vanker said:
“It’s unbelievable insurance companies can get away with this knowing someone has been permanently disabled.
“I fractured both my knees and despite an operation and 11 months physiotherapy I’ve still got serious mobility problems. I can’t walk long distances and my driving is restricted. Four years down the line, it’s not got any better.
“I’ve never been able to go back to work in the chemical industry, where I had 25 years’ experience. It has turned my life upside down.
“I just want compensation to be available to people in situations like this, so they don’t have to endure the hardship I have.”
Now with the help of his local MP, Mr Vanker is fighting to make the insurers pay compensation.
The mums of 3 toddlers are suing a theme park for personal injury compensation, after their children were hurt whilst on a children’s ride.
The children and their mums were on the Big Apple Caterpillar ride, when it stopped suddenly and jolted. The parents claim that their children smashed into the safety bars.
Natalie Stark, 20, Mother of Holly, has said that she took her 2 year old daughter to hospital as she sustained a black eye due to the accident.
Liz Wilson, 37, Mother of Jennifer, has said that her 2 year old daughter suffered a swollen eye, cut lip and neck strain.
Margaret Gillies, 38, Mother of Caitlin, has said that her 2 year old daughter sustained an eye injury and a bruised cheek.
The theme park has offered the 3 mums an out of court settlement, by the way of a free pass into the theme park. The parents were outraged by this offer and are going to pursue with legal action for their personal injury compensation.
The Big Apple Caterpillar ride was closed after the accident occurred, but the owners of the theme park re-opened it on the same day. It has now been heard that the Health and Safety Executive are carrying out an investigation as to why this accident occurred.
A North Somerset business has been taken to an employment tribunal by an employee, due to sex discrimination and discrimination in pregnancy in the workplace.
Mrs Green, 39 years old, worked for a cattery and kennel manufacturer, Lindee-Lu Ltd and felt that she was treated unfairly during her employment and especially when she became pregnant.
Mrs Green, Mum of 3, represented herself at the employment tribunal, which was held in Bristol in October 2008. Mrs Green has commented on the situation that led her to pursue this matter at a tribunal:
“I feel that I was not treated nicely or fairly at my place of work when I became pregnant and left because the atmosphere became unbearable and impossible to work in.”
The employment tribunal hearing lasted 3 days and a decision was eventually made. Lindee-Lu Ltd were ordered to pay Mrs Green £817.16 for failing to provide a contract of employment and £369.55 for not issuing payslips. Mrs Green was also awarded a further payment, which amounted to a year’s salary.
This compensation payment made to Mrs Green was in recognition of unlawful discrimination against her on the ground of pregnancy pursuant to section 3A of the Sex Discrimination Act 1995 and also compensation for injury in respect to her feelings.
An 81 year old lady, Lillian Morgan filed for personal injury compensation 3 years ago and she has recently received £1,500 in compensation.
Lillian Morgan tripped over a loose flagstone and sustained severe personal injuries and can only walk around with the aid of a walking stick.
Court proceedings commenced at Chester County Court and the council were ordered to pay £19,500. However, Lillian Morgan only received £1,500 in personal injury compensation and the other £18,000 was taken for legal costs.
Lillian Morgan was happy with the outcome and has said:
“I’d never had to use a walking stick and did things like decorating myself but now I can’t bend. Even the judge turned round and said he’d been around Northwich and they never seem to do anything about those flags. I wouldn’t mind if at the end of the day there had been a decent settlement but it dragged on and was next to no settlement, it’s insulting.”
A spokesperson for Cheshire County Council has said:
“We accept the decision of the court but this would not have gone to court if we did not believe we had a good case and had not taken legal advice. We would not spend taxpayers’ money going to court to defend a hopeless case.
“We look at all claims very closely and only around 10 per cent are genuine. If we were regarded as a soft touch, people would try it on and we have a duty to Council Tax payers not to let that happen. This verdict will not stop us looking at all claims that come in and defending them if we feel we have a just case to do so.”
Motorist Mr Mohammed Patel, 23 years old, has admitted to intentionally causing car accidents and collisions to allow him to make false car accident claims to insurance companies.
It was heard in court that Motorist Mohammed Patel deliberately tried to get other motorists to crash into him by braking sharply and suddenly in front of them. He would then swerve to make the accident look realistic and obtained false witnesses to provide statements to verify his statement to the insurance companies.
Mr Patel appeared in Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester and admitted to 17 charges, including fraud, dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and conspiracy.
An Insurance Fraud Bureau spokesman said:
For each successful scam, criminals can net up to £30,000 and there is growing evidence to show that proceeds from this type of fraud are used to fund other forms of serious crime.
Fraudulent claims add five per cent to the premiums paid by honest members of the public.
Manchester Police Force have launched an investigation into fraudulent car accident claims and a further 14 people from the North West have been identified as being involved in an ongoing operation.
Mr Mohamed Patel will appear in court again at a later date to be sentenced for the bogus car accident claims.
The parents of 3 children are making a claim for personal injury compensation, after the children got their fingers trapped in heavy swing doors at their primary school.
The parents of the children have said that St John’s Primary School in Portobello is in a poor state of repair. The father of Elliot Tefler, 5 years old, has said that his son had a “lucky escape” when his fingers got trapped in the door. He said that he visited the school the evening of the accident and could not believe the condition the school was in.
Mr Tefler said:
Part of the problem with the door is that it needs to be replaced.
I was absolutely appalled with the state of disrepair at the school, especially in the toilets where Elliot trapped his fingers.
He was very lucky because he could have lost his fingers.
The doctors at the Sick Kids said he was very fortunate.
Boys are always jumping around, you can’t wrap them in cotton wool, but I was flabbergasted when I found out what had happened to him. I can’t fault the school staff and headteacher, but they’re there to teach kids, not watch them 24/7 in case fire doors that don’t have adequate stoppers close on their fingers.
The other similar incidents happened earlier in the year, where one of the young children had to have her fingertip reattached after it was trapped in the same door.
Mr Tefler is not seeking personal injury compensation, he just wants to ensure that this does not happen again. However, the other 2 families are seeking compensation for injury from the County Council.
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