Personal car accident and work injury compensation claim at Injuries Direct

A man who found out that his life-long disabilities may have been caused by medical negligence at birth is battling to make a claim for compensation.

Cambridge post-graduate Julius Whiston, 35, suffers from cerebral palsy and has been confined to a wheelchair since he was born.

Lawyers for Mr Whitson claim that he was starved of oxygen during his birth at the Queen’s Charlotte’s Hospital in Shepherd’s Bush in 1974. They say this was caused by a junior doctor who spent too long trying to deliver him using forceps.

Despite his disabilities, Mr Whitson won a scholarship at Eton and later achieved a degree and a PhD in mathematics at Pembroke College in Cambridge.

It wasn’t until his early 20’s when his condition began to deteriorate rapidly that a compensation claim was launched against the NHS. He hopes that any award of damages would go towards paying for his future care.

In May last year Mr Whitson looked to take a step closer to securing his medical negligence compensation payout when a judge dismissed claims that he had left it too late to sue. Now however, the NHS is attempting to have this decision overturned.

Victims of birth injuries are usually required to make their claim before they reach the age of 21 if they have not been mentally impaired.

In this case the judge made an exception to the rule as it was only when Mr Whitson’s mother, who works as a trained midwife, realised that his injuries could have been caused by negligence at his birth in 2005.

If the case is won Mr Whitson’s payout could run into millions of pounds. This decision will be made at a later date.

A bus passenger who attacked the driver because she wanted her to take a different route has been ordered to pay criminal compensation to her victim.

Belinda Mould, 31, punched, scratched and even bit the terrified female driver before jumping into her seat and attempting to start the vehicle’s engine.

Miss Mould, who has six previous convictions for assault, was later found by the police. She had also bitten one of the officers that discovered her.

She had been waiting outside a Tesco store in Hull with seven bags of shopping. After boarding what she believed to be the 13a bus, the driver changed the bus number to 14a – which takes a different route through the city.

When the driver turned in the direction of the 14a route, Miss Mould became very angry and launched a tirade of screaming and abuse at the driver. She assaulted her physically and grabbed at her clothing.

When the vehicle stopped Miss Mould pulled out the driver’s iPod headphones and threw then out of the bus. As the driver went to retrieve them, Miss Mould attempted to start the bus’ engine. After four failed attempts to start the bus’ engine, she escaped through the window and ran off. The whole incident was captured on the vehicle’s CCTV camera.

In a statement read to the court the driver had said: “As a result of the attack I feel nervous at work.”

Miss Mould was sentenced to 12 months imprisonment, suspended for two years and ordered to pay £200 criminal compensation to the driver.

Operations Manager for Stagecoach Tony Fieldsend said: “We were hoping she would go to prison but all she’s ended up with is a suspended sentence.”

A man who was severely injured in a road accident has been awarded £2.25 million in car accident compensation.

Anthony Bennett, 26, was the front-seat passenger in the car being driven by his friend Jonathan Stephens in Cornwall in October 2003.

The driver of the car lost control of the vehicle when it was travelling between 60mph and 70mph and spun into oncoming traffic.

Mr Stephens died at the scene of the crash while Mr Bennett suffered injuries so serious that he is now paraplegic. He remained in hospital for months after the accident to receive treatment.

Mr Bennett’s claim for compensation was made against the estate of Mr Stephens for the huge reduction of lifestyle he has suffered as a result. He was a labourer and a bricklayer before the accident and is no longer able to work.

He has also had to adapt his life to the changes and requires a range of expensive disability equipment to help him cope.

Solicitors for Mr Bennett argued that Mr Stephens had been driving too fast and was therefore breaking his responsibility of care for the passengers in his vehicle and therefore he should be liable to pay compensation for his future care.

Mr Bennett was awarded an out-of-court settlement of £2.25 million in passenger accident compensation. He may also be entitled to annual payments and this will be decided in a future hearing.

The family of a toddler who stabbed herself in the mouth with a used syringe are attempting to make a no win no fee compensation claim against Starbucks café.

Keeley Price was just 10-months-old at the time when the incident happened. She was with her mother Kelly and grandmother Linda Shipley on a trip to the Bullring shopping centre in Birmingham, and had stopped at the Starbucks café for a drink.

It was here that the toddler found the syringe and jabbed it into her mouth. When Keeley’s grandmother realised what had happened, she grabbed the syringe from the toddler only to prick herself on the hand in the process.

Both then had to endure a six-month wait for tests to be carried out to see whether they had contracted any infections, such as Hepatitis B and other blood-related diseases.

Mrs Shipley said: “Kelly was at the counter getting the drinks and I sat down in an armchair with Keeley in my arms. She was reaching over my back and from the upholstery found a syringe and did what babies do at that age, put it in her mouth.”

She added: “I was horrified and immediately took it out of her mouth but in doing so pricked my hand, drawing blood.”

When she complained to the manager at the Starbucks, the incident was added to their accident log book but no apology was offered.

“She couldn’t get us out of the shop fast enough,” said mother Kelly. “We didn’t get any first aid, there was no apology and no offer of a taxi to take us to the hospital.”

The Starbucks later told the family that they would not accept responsibility as the café was cleaned on a regular basis.

Mrs Shipley said: “that’s not accurate because I lifted up the armchair cushion and underneath found food debris – it obviously hadn’t been cleaned for a while.

“It was six months before we got the all clear, but in that time we were worried sick and imagining the worst. We didn’t know what was in the needle, it could have been Hepatitis, HIV, anything.”

The family have now secured the services of a no win no fee compensation solicitor to help them with their claim against the café chain. The case is due to be heard at Birmingham County Court in the near future.

Investigations into the safety of pushchairs have intensified following numerous complaints about children injuring their fingers on dangerous hinge mechanisms.

Currently, British company Maclaren face a multi-million compensation claim against them from parents all over the world whose children have lost parts of their fingers in the contraptions.

However, new research shows that the problems of dangerous hinges could be more widespread than once thought, and that other makes of buggies could have similar issues.

Head of the Consumer Focus Body investigation team Gemma Bowen said: “Our initial investigations have made it clear that the safety of the side hinge mechanism is an issue that is wider than just one make of pushchair. We want to hear from anyone who has got a finger caught in one of these hinges, or worse.”

Suspicions have been growing that Maclaren have been trying to cover up the possible dangers that their buggies pose. In the US the company were ordered to provide safety covers for the hinges on their buggies though initially, this action was not taken in Britain.

Now this is being looked into following doctor and parent reports that suggest injuries have been caused by the pushchairs over a number of years. Currently parents in this country can only get hold of the safety covers if they apply to Maclaren directly by email. However there is no system in place to provide these automatically to owners of the buggies.

The daughter of company director Ian Harmer lost part of her finger in a Maclaren buggy hinge. He said: “It was horrific. She is now left with a shorter finger for the rest of her life. It was incredibly stressful.”

The owners of a dog that attacked a postman and left him severely injured will not be prosecuted.

It is unknown whether the injured postman, Keith Davis, will make a claim for compensation for the attack which left him needing surgery in the week leading up to Christmas in 2008.

Judge Gareth Hawkesworth ruled that as the attack took place in a private cul de sac, the owners could not be charged under the Dangerous Dog Act 1991.

Roberts Stewart, 44, and his daughter Emma, 22, were therefore acquitted from being responsible for a dog that had caused injury at a hearing at Cambridge Crown Court.

Prosecutors had argued that the attack was on an unadopted road near the home of Mr Stewart which was a public place. However the judge ruled that the road was private and therefore the rules did not apply.

Now, the Communication Workers Union (CWU) is trying to have the Dangerous Dog Act 1991 amended to include attacks that happen on private property.

A spokesman for the CWU said: “It must be amended so it applies to both public and private property because about 6000 members of the CWU are attacked by dogs every year. Thousands of our members visit people’s property daily – if they’re attacked the union will always look to prosecute and get compensation.”

An ex-footballer of Premiership side Bolton Wanderers has been awarded £32,500 injury compensation.

Marcus Hallows’ career was sadly cut short after a leg-breaking tackle during a game for Altrincham FC in March 2005.

He was brought down by Ashton United defender Danny White while he was making a run for the goal. He suffered an open fracture of the shin and broke his right tibia and fibula as a result.

Mr Hallows, who played for Bolton Wanderers reserves in 1995/1996 made legal proceedings against Mr White’s club Ashton United and, after a series of hearings, a judge has ruled that he was entitled to sports injury compensation.

£32,500 was awarded for the loss of earnings he suffered due to not being able to play football. He now instead works as a sales manager for a construction company, and occasionally as an Elvis impersonator.

Chairman of Ashton United David Aspinall has complained that they will not be able to afford the compensation payout, but also cannot risk appealing and possibly incurring an additional £10,000 in legal costs. He also argued that the judgement could have repercussions for clubs around the country, many of whom are in financial difficulty as similar claims will end up being made.

The judgement will be handed down from court on March 5th, when Marcus Hallows will make a statement regarding his compensation award.

Hundreds of people are lining up to make a compensation claim against a holiday company.

Tour operator First Choice is facing the prospect of making a £3.5million payout to the many holidaymakers who fell ill because of poor hygiene at one of the company’s hotels.

Many who stayed at the four-star all inclusive Bahia Principe Hotel in the Dominican Republic complained that they witnessed bad hygiene practices during their stays in the summer of 2007. Several fell ill with acute gastroenteritis as a result.

409 First Choice holidaymakers are making claims that cutlery was not washed and food was not properly cooked. Raw and cooked meats were apparently kept close together whilst dogs, birds, mice and insects were allowed in to the hotel’s restaurant.

Other complaints included piles of vomit not being cleaned up, bottled water being replaced by tap water, cockroaches being found in bedrooms, blocked toilets and showers and the hotel pool smelling of urine and vomit and containing faeces.

Now, lawyers are estimating that the victims’ package holiday claim will reach the regions of £3.5million – the same result 500 other holidaymakers achieved when staying at the same hotel with a different travel company.

One visitor said: “I caught the maid mopping the floors with water out of the toilet. By the third day it was like a Thriller video. Everybody there was being sick or rushing to the toilet.”

First Choice will face claims for failing to have adequate systems in place to assess hygiene, sanitary and safety standards in the hotel, failing to check that food and drink was safe to consume and failing to act on complaints that jeopardised the health of residents.

The family of a pensioner who died just months after an injury at a Tesco store have received personal injury compensation for her death.

Margaret Buxton, 84, was at the Nottingham store when her leg became trapped between the sliding doors. The doors shut unexpectedly and quickly onto the pensioner’s leg, causing her severe pain and distress. She cut her leg badly and needed an operation to perform a skin graft, taking skin from her thigh. The cut also caused Ms Buxton to suffer a massive blood clot.

Ms Buxton’s daughter, Susan Wilson, reported that her mother’s health deteriorated rapidly after the operation in May 2008. Ms Wilson later found her mother collapsed in her home in November of the same year. She sadly passed away in Hospital the following month. Her daughter stated that her mother never full recovered from the accident.
Tesco accepted liability for the accident in their Long Row store and made an out of court settlement for personal injury compensation with Ms Buxton’s family. In a statement by the company they assured that “the safety of staff and customers is always priority. This was a terrible accident that was investigated fully at the time and is now settled with the family.”

Pensioner Lucille Smith is launching an accident compensation claim for £30,000 after claiming she was hit by a falling shop sign.

She claims she was walking down Hanover Street in Edinburgh city centre on December 19 in 2008 during extremely windy conditions. The five foot by four foot sign is said to have blown off the shop front and hit Ms Smith, knocking her to the ground. The 63 year old is reported to have suffered a dislocated and fractured left shoulder, an extremely painful injury.

Ms Smith is now claiming accident compensation from the firm who erected the sign, the Glasgow based Forest Group. She claims they are responsible for not putting up the sign correctly and endangering the safety of the general public. She claims to have knowledge of several other cases of signs the company have erected blowing off in windy conditions. The company is estimated to put up 2500 similar signs each year.

Forest Group however denies liability for the accident. It says that the sign was screwed correctly into the shop front by a joiner and checked for safety and sturdiness after erection. It also reports that no problems with the signs stability were reported to them before the accident. It also notes that a contract with the shop customer – Eric Young and Company – provided them with an indemnity. The question marks over liability for the accident will also be decided with the success or failure of Ms Smith’s accident compensation claim.