Personal car accident and work injury compensation claim at Injuries Direct

A paramedic whose injuries forced him into early retirement has been awarded £200,000 accident at work compensation from his former employers.

Michael Kirkham, 58, was injured when he fell heavily whilst out saving someone who had suffered a cardiac arrest, causing chronic damage to his shoulder, arm and back.

The paramedics were forced to carry responder bags to the scene, which weighed in excess of 60lbs, and had been subject to numerous complaints from paramedics. Despite this, Staffordshire Ambulance Service failed to change them to make them easier for their workers.

Due to their heavy and clumsy nature, Mr Kirkham got his bag caught on the door handle of the ill person’s house. This made him trip and fall down heavily on the hard floor.

At first he had to take time off work with a chronic shoulder injury, but this later developed and he lost the feeling in his left arm completely and began to suffer from terrible back and neck pain. He ended up having to use an electric wheelchair and became reliant on round-the-clock care from his wife.

Although he can now move around with the aid of a walking stick, he has been forced into an early retirement and has not worked since March 2003.

Regarding his accident at work compensation payout, Mr Kirkham said: “To me it’s not a victory; it’s just compensation for what we have gone through and the money we have spent trying to get me well. There is no way I can ever work again now because of my injury.”

The family of a girl who suffered medical negligence during her birth has been awarded a multi-million pound injury compensation sum.

Rhiannon Pridmore suffered severe brain damage after her umbilical cord became trapped around her neck during the birth process. After being dead for eight minutes, her brain was starved of oxygen whilst doctors tried to resuscitate her. She is now a victim of tetralplegic cerebral palsy and cannot speak, walk or stand up.

An undisclosed figure of injury compensation was awarded by managers of Swansea’s Singleton Hospital which will pay for medical care for the rest of her life. Both a lump sum and annual payments are likely to be made to the family.

A representative for the local health board said: “I would like openly to apologise to Rhiannon and her parents for the wrong that has been done to them.” He also hoped that the money would help make the lives of the family ‘more bearable.’

A man who attacked a fellow clubber with a glass bottle, leaving him with personal injuries to his face will not be made to pay criminal compensation.

Instead, Judge Peter Fox told the court that the injured Craig Turnage could make a claim for compensation to the criminal injuries compensation authority (CICA).

The accused, Liam Johnson, was also spared from being sent to prison after the evidence suggested that he only attacked Mr Turnage in an act of self-defence.

Judge Fox suggested that the victim was ‘largely to author of his own misfortune’ after he had threatened to stab Mr Johnson with a knife during an argument.

‘Instinctively’ swinging his bottle towards Mr Turnage, he caused multiple personal injuries to his face which left him pouring with blood and needing a number of stitches as treatment.

However, he will not be awarded criminal compensation directly from Mr Johnson, and will have to use the CICA if he is to seek any damages for his injuries.

Judge Fox added: “I must stress this is a unique case, and that is why you’re not going down today. No one should think they will follow in your footsteps.”

A singer in an up-coming boy band has been awarded £3million personal injury compensation following an accident on the road that left him brain damaged.

Owen Griffin, 26, was left in a coma for a number of weeks following the accident, and now suffers from brain damage, memory loss and physical difficulties.

Mr Griffin was a passenger in a car that collided with a motorbike. The severity of the accident caused the death of the rider of the motorbike, along with the driver’s five-year-old son who was travelling in the car at the time.

The rest of Mr Griffin’s band Idolize, who were hotly tipped for success by industry experts, were travelling to catch a ferry back to Northern Ireland following a concert in Scotland when the accident happened. He was asleep in the back of the car at the time and was wearing a seatbelt.

An award of personal injury compensation was settled out of court days before the case was due to be heard at the High Court in Belfast, in what is so far one of Northern Ireland’s largest ever compensation settlements. No liability for was accounted for and the fee was agreed by the driver’s insurers.

Mr Griffin can no longer sing due to a tracheotomy and is unlikely to work again due to the injuries sustained to his brain. He now lives in an assisted living housing scheme where there is care if he needs in around the clock.

His lawyer said: “The compensation reflects the severity of the injuries and Owen’s future needs for health care and support.”

A man who fell severely ill after a hospital failed to diagnose life-threatening meningitis has been awarded £3.2million medical negligence compensation.

Mark Thomas was rushed to hospital by his worried mother in 2002 as a 12-year-old boy. He had begun to experience symptoms including a stiff neck, intolerance to light and heavy sweating.

However, when they arrived at Walsall Manor Hospital’s A&E department they were questioned to whether the situation was actually an emergency or not.

But Mark’s mother, Elaine Thomas refused to give up and insisted he was checked by hospital staff.

She said: “I knew something was really wrong. I had to carry him downstairs and laid him on the settee. He was crying because of the light and he was deteriorating badly. Mark is my only son, I know my son.”

Mrs Thomas was later proven right – by the time nurses came to check on him, a blood clot had travelled to his brain and he had suffered from a stroke.

It was also revealed that results of a previous blood test carried out on Mark had not been correctly examined, and the results were delayed for five days. Without this delay, the likeliness of him falling as severely ill as he did would be minimal.

Because of the meningitis, Mark now suffers from brain damage including severe short-term memory loss. He also had to learn how to walk, talk and eat again and also cannot be left unattended in the house by himself.

Walsall NHS Hospitals Trust admitted liability for damage caused to Mark because of their actions and agreed to pay the multi-million pound medical negligence compensation award. This will help pay for the care of Mark for the rest of his life.

Mark, who is now 20 said: “I can’t tell you how angry I am, I don’t know how to express it. I’d rather have my old life back.”

Mrs Thomas said: “I know he will be all right and he will be taken care of, but it doesn’t mean anything. I have got my son but it’s not the way I wanted it.”

A spokesman for the Walsall NHS trust replied with: “We wish to apologise again to Mark and deeply regret the delay in diagnosing his condition. We would like to convey our best wishes for the future to Mark and his family.”

A man was awarded £3770 car accident compensation after hitting a mattress that had fallen from another car onto the motorway.

Thomas McKenna, a 71-year-old pensioner from Clydebank suffered personal injuries when his car struck the mattress at high speed on the M8 motorway near Glasgow.

The accident is believed to have aggravated an injury that was suffered by Mr McKenna in a previous car accident, and as a result affected his recovery from it.

The mattress was being transported by Thomas Aitchieson, and had fallen from his car onto the carriageway. After a review of the circumstances, he was ordered to pay Mr McKenna the car accident compensation amount for his injuries and damages after being found liable for the cause of the incident.

A teaching assistant from Essex has been awarded a work injury compensation payout after damaging her back in a classroom.

Yvonne Macklin suffered a slipped disc in her back when she was made to lift heavy food boxes filled with pupils’ lunches at the Monkwick Infant School in Colchester.

The accident, which took place in 2006, speeded up a degenerative spinal condition and has left her unable to work. As a result she has been hit by a loss of income and cannot carry out many activities that she used to be able to do.

The GMB – Britain’s General Union, backed Mrs Macklin’s personal injury compensation claim until her employer, Essex County Council agreed to settle out of court. Although the final figure was not revealed, the GMB called it a ‘substantial sum.’

Mother of one Mrs Macklin, 48, needed crutches after the accident and walked with a limp for a lengthy period afterwards. It’s believed that an underlying back condition was brought forward five years as a result of the incident.

An ITV news presenter will take her employers to an employment tribunal after claiming she became a victim of racist discrimination.

Lisa Aziz’s compensation claim could see her being awarded anything up to £5million from the national news channel.

Ms Aziz, who became the first Asian presenter of a national terrestrial news programme, was fired from the news channel after being accused of making regular wrongful claims for expenses.

However, in a new revelation she has argued that she became a victim to racist and ageist attacks – stating that ITV wanted to get rid of her for new, younger female presenters.

Ms Aziz has also revealed how she had regularly heard racist, mimicking comments from weekend news presenter Steve Scott. Many of the attacks were against established ITV anchor Sir Trevor McDonald

The employment tribunal, which starts in March next year, will examine claims of race, sex and age discrimination.

ITV have denied the accusations, saying: “We have carried out a full and thourough investigation which found the claims made by Lisa Aziz to be baseless. We will vigorously defend our position in this regard.”

Six breast cancer patients are launching medical negligence claims against a doctor who misdiagnosed their illness.

The women had originally been given the ‘all clear’ by radiologist Dr Glenn Kelly. However, it was later discovered that he’d failed to notice deadly tumours when carrying out routine mammogram screenings.

After being reassessed and diagnosed with breast cancer, doctors have confirmed that the delay in diagnosis may have affected their chances of survival.

The patients were treated at Accrington Victoria Hospital in Lancashire and therefore they would be liable for any compensation payouts following the women’s medical negligence claims.

Over 350 mammograms at the hospital have had to be rechecked since September, with 85 women having to undergo second breast examinations.

The six women have secured the help of a medical negligence claims solicitor to assist them in getting compensation. Previous cases show that the women could, potentially, receive payouts in the regions of tens of thousands of pounds.

Dr Kelly has been suspended by the General Medical Council while his previous work undergoes investigation.

An electrician from Bristol was lucky to survive after he suffered an 11,000-volt electric shock accident at work.

Steve Edwards, 51, was set on fire and sustained burns to 20% of his body in the incident, which left him spending five days in an induced-coma.  He also had to have hours of skin graft operations to treat burns to his face, chest, neck and arms.

Mr Edwards was carrying out a routine connection of a high-voltage switch in September. However, he did not know that the power to the switch was still connected and as a result suffered from the horrific accident at work.

Recalling the moment he realised he was on fire, he said: “After I was burnt I was fully aware of what was going on. I can remember coming away and trying to put myself out and then my colleagues threw me on the floor.”

His burns were so severe that his youngest child, only nine-years-old, was not allowed to visit him during the first week of his hospital stay. However, his three older children, along with his wife were at his bed-side the whole time.

Now, recovered from him burns, Mr Edwards still attends physiotherapy and other medical sessions at Bristol’s Frenchay Hospital twice a week.