Personal car accident and work injury compensation claim at Injuries Direct

Prime Minister Gordon Brown and his election team received a shock earlier today when a car crashed close to where they were launching their new campaign poster.

Unemployed 27-year-old Volkswagen Golf driver Omed Rashid collided into a bus stop in Hockley, Birmingham - just metres away from some of the Labour party’s top politicians, including Chancellor Alastair Darling and Deputy Leader Harriet Harman.

The accident happened as Mr Rashid attempted to overtake a dustbin lorry; the occupants of which had stopped to shout abuse at the political team. As he manoeuvred around the lorry, it clipped his car causing him to spin out of control.

Emergency services were called to the scene, though luckily nobody was injured in the accident due to the bus stop being empty at the time.

The driver of the rubbish lorry was reportedly unapologetic after the incident, saying: “Half our jobs are gone left, right and centre in this city.”

Business Secretary, Lord Peter Mandleson insisted that the crash was not a metaphor for his party’s current election campaign, which seemed to be severely damaged after the Prime Minister called a supporter a “bigoted woman” two days ago.

Those looking to claim car accident compensation after a crash will be able to do so far easier from today.

The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) have put in place a system which aims to ‘streamline’ the claiming process, with the aim of cutting the time legal cases take to settle by more than a half.

Approximately half a million people should benefit from the new system, which will deal with those making claims between £1,000 and £10,000; currently around 80% of all road traffic accident personal injury claimants.

Measures that will reduce claiming times include a time limit on insurers deciding on liability, fixed legal costs, and the use of a generic electronic claims form.

The news will please The Association of British Insurers (ABI), who have been campaigning for a more effective, simpler system for a number of years.

Nick Starling, director of general insurance and health for ABI said: “These changes will not only mean quicker compensation for many, but will also reduce the level of legal costs that all motorists ultimately end up paying through their motor premiums.”

An ex-footballer is making a £300,000 accident compensation claim after being told he may lose his leg.

Steve Tavinor, 36, was crushed by a Jaguar as he was unloading scaffolding from a lorry. His left leg was seriously injured and he has been left unable to work since the accident.

He said: “My football career is ruined. I have played all my life, but I will never play again. There is also a risk I will never be able to scaffold again and that is my livelihood.”

Mr Tavinor spent two years as a trainee with Oxford United, but was released before he had the chance to make a first team appearance. He also captained Witney Town.

The driver of the Jaguar, Trevor Tyler, was convicted of careless driving and faced a bill of £475, along with four points being added to his licence.

Doctors performed an eight hour operation on Mr Tavinor’s leg immediately after the accident, which gave it a chance. Despite various further operations and a skin graft, there is still a fear that he may eventually end up losing it.

He said: “Progress has been very slow so far and I have still got a metal frame around my leg. I just have to keep my head down and hope the leg keeps responding to treatment.”

Passengers of a Mediterranean cruise ship could be entitled to make injury compensation claims after a break-out of a vomiting bug.

The Boudicca, owned by operator Fred Olsen Cruise Lines, turned back to Liverpool early after a reported 650 of the 900 passengers on board fell ill with the norovirus.

The 23-night cruise cancelled stops in Malta and Lisbon in order to get back two days early. Many of the passengers were confined to their cabins, while swimming pools, saunas and the buffet restaurants were closed in an attempt to stop the disease spreading further.

The latest outbreak is the sixth time that the ship has encountered problems with sickness and diarrhoea in the last six months. 550 passengers have officially been diagnosed with the norovirus since December.

Personal injury expert Paul Lunt told Liverpool newspaper the Echo that those onboard could make claims for compensation on two counts.

He said: “The first would be to claim personal injury damages for pain and suffering as a consequence of the virus. The second compensation route concerns the laws surrounding loss of enjoyment, as consumers expect holidays to be pleasurable experiences.

“For both of these courses of action, how much compensation you can reasonably expect depends on the extent to which you suffered from the virus or were prevented from enjoying your holiday.”

The ship has undergone a deep cleansing and fumigation process to clear any presence of the virus, before setting off on its next voyage, due to embark today.

A doctor who removed a man’s testicle by mistake has been struck off from practicing in this country.

Dr Sulieman Ahmad Sulieman Al Hourani was operating on a man who required a cyst removing. However, he ended up removing the entire testicle.

The incident happened in September while Dr Al Hourani was working at Fairfield General Hospital in Bury.

He also stole sedatives and injected himself with drugs that were meant for a patient before performing an operation in August 2006.

Dr Al Hourani was found guilty of misconduct by the General Medical Council. Now practicing in Jordan, he did not attend the hearing and did not offer any explanation for his mistakes.

Head GMC Panel said: “The Panel has determined that Dr Al Hourani’s misconduct is fundamentally incompatible with his continuing to practice medicine.

“The Panel is of the view that the public interest requires that it be made clear that behaviour such as Dr Al Hourani’s is unacceptable in a member of the medical profession. Therefore, it would not be sufficient, or proportionate, to suspend his registration. It follows that he must be erased.”

An apprentice plumber was killed in an accident at work after being crushed by half a ton’s worth of MDF sheets.

18-year-old Michael Scott suffocated after he was pinned against a wall whilst working alone at the Aberdeen based company APH Services in December 2006.

The accident happened in the morning after Mr Scott received a text from his manager, Steven Anderson, telling him to tidy up the building.

Mr Anderson discovered the teenager crushed by the weight of the heavy boards when he made it in at around noon.

Although Mr Scott was taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, he was pronounced dead on his arrival.

At a trial at Aberdeen Sheriff Court, Mr Anderson is facing charges for failing to protect the safety of employees. He is accused of failing to reduce the health and safety risk, leaving the MDF sheets propped against a wall and failing to secure them properly, as well as failing to provide appropriate training and supervision.

The man some consider as the unluckiest in Britain has been focussed on in a Daily Express article.

John Child, of Milton Keynes, has suffered a string of accidents and personal injuries, all of which were caused through no fault of his own.

He has been involved in five car crashes, knocked off his bike three times and been hit by a car whilst crossing the road.

Mr Child, 45, has endured painful injuries including whiplash, a torn shoulder ligament and severe bruising, as well as facing bills totalling £4,500 for damage to his car and bike.

The incidents date back to January 1999, when he was hit by another car pulling out of a junction. A year later a woman collided into him at a roundabout, and in 2002 he was forced to perform an emergency stop when a lorry sped in front on him, causing someone to go into the back of him.

He has also been knocked off his bike by a bus, and suffered two further cycle accidents in the space of a week in January 2005.

In disbelief, Mr Child decided the give up cycling, but has since had two accidents whilst driving his car. He was also run over whilst using a zebra crossing, as well as being knocked over in a car park by a motorist who failed to stop.

To make matters worse, Mr Child was made redundant from his job at Jaguar last year.

He said: “I have been driving since I was 18 and I have never caused a collision. But after everything that’s happened to me, I’m lucky to be alive. I still can’t work out why this keeps happening to me.”

Young farmers gathered last week in a bid to highlight the growing issue of farming accidents.

The National Federation of Young Farmers’ Clubs (NFYFC) met in Torquay for their annual general meeting, where they held a minutes silence for those who had lost their lives in farmyard work accidents.

Vice-chairman of the NFYFC James Chapman, who lost his arm in a farm accident five years ago, has been a strong supporter of the HSE’s Make the Promise campaign. This has been set up to encourage employees to think about the potential dangers of every action they take at work, by making them tell loved ones that they promise they will come home safe at the end of the day.

He said: “I know only too well what can happen when safety isn’t put first. A few years ago, I lost my left arm when it was caught in an unguarded PTO shaft. It only happened because I, like many farmers, was working under pressure trying to get a job done as quickly as possible.”

Agriculture is considered the most dangerous industry by the HSE, with a fifth of all workplace deaths happening in this type of environment. Currently, only 1.5% of the population work in this sector.

38 people died and 589 were serious injured in farming accidents in 2008/2009.

The NHS believes that TV shows such as Holby City and Casualty are the reason behind the increase in compensation claims against them.

They argue that the shows give patients false expectations, and the impression that hospital doctors and nurses are ‘miracle workers’ when it comes to delivering their care.

Those attending the Royal College of Nursing annual conference were told that when things don’t turn out the way patients expect, many are quick to seek legal assistance in the form of personal injury solicitors.

Numbers of clinical negligence claims have soared in recent years. Last year there were 6,080 claims against the NHS, compared to 5,470 the previous year. The total cost to the organisation was £769million.

Critics may argue that the rise in claims cannot be attributed to television programmes, but instead a rise in awareness of one’s legal rights when it comes to falling victim of a medical mistake.

Some completely dismiss the idea that television can alter people’s perception of hospital treatment. Commenting on the Daily Mail website, Ele from London said: “It’s a very sad state of affairs if people can differentiate between ‘real life’ and clearly fictional TV programmes!”

Others argue that Holby City and Casualty are not as great as the NHS is making out to be. Cheryl from Mansfield writes: “Not everyone in these shows makes a full recovery. The show features a woman with a broken neck who will paralysed for life. Also, someone usually dies every week in Casualty!”

A cyclist is making a £50,000 claim for compensation after she fell off her bike.

Isabella Vanni, 39, argues that the position of a splitter island separating the cycle path and the road caused her accident, which left her with a fractured elbow and wrist.

The victim was on her way to visit a friend when she hit a kerb and was thrown off her bike onto the road. Her injuries left her requiring surgery.

She said: “My accident not only left me unable to work, but I was also too weak and too nervous to ride my bike until just this month.”

Ms Vanni had also been planning to start her own upholstery business, but these plans have also been put on hold because of the cycle accident.

Solicitors representing the injured said: “There are a number of reasons why the splitter island installed by the council is poorly conceived and ultimately caused Ms Vanni to be seriously injured. (She) is a capable cyclist whose injuries would have easily been avoided if proper planning had been done by the council.”