The accident happened at the Edinburgh branch of the Royal Bank of Scotland. Because of the injuries she sustained, she could not work for three weeks after the accident occurred and hence had to make a claim for accident compensation.

When the proceedings were brought to the Edinburgh Sheriff Court it was heard that the bank knew that there was a recurrent leak from the flat above the bank, and for the last seven months had been using a bucket to collect the dripping water.

The woman was awarded £7,500 in compensation from the bank. The Sheriff stated:

“I formed the impression that the defenders had adopted a cavalier approach to the risk presented by the leak. It had existed for several months. They had become overly complacent.

“There was no evidence that water on the linoleum floor would be visible to a customer taking reasonable care for their safety. Water is a clear substance. The linoleum floor appears to be a light colour.

“I do not believe it can necessarily be inferred that water would have been visible to a customer such as the pursuer if taking reasonable care. For this reason I do not find the accident was caused or materially contributed to by the fault of the pursuer.”

The accident happened at the Empress of Blandings pub when the toddler was stroking another dog. The attack happened without provocation or warning and the toddler was bitten several times on the face.

The dog, an American cocker spaniel called Merlin, avoided being destroyed but the dog’s owner was ordered to keep the dog muzzled while out in public.

The family of the injured toddler received £1,000 in dog bite compensation and the accused had to pay costs of £515 to Southampton Magistrates’ Court.

At the time of the attack the toddler’s mother spoke to the Southern Daily Echo, she said:

“My partner took Sonny for a walk in the pub garden and asked an elderly couple if he could stroke their dogs.

“He’d been stroking one of them for about ten minutes when the other one suddenly lunged at his face.

“The people in the pub were lovely and cleaned him up but the bites were quite deep so we scooped him up and took him to hospital.

“It was such an unprovoked attack – he hadn’t even touched the dog that lunged at him. What really annoyed us is that the dogs’ owners didn’t even apologise or ask how he was.”

Whiplash injuries can cause damage to the muscles in the upper back and the neck and can cause a significant amount of pain. In some of the worst instances they can also cause ligament damage.

The usual course of action for someone with a whiplash injury is to wear a neck brace and take pain killers; they may also have to visit a physiotherapist on a regular basis.

Most people who are the victim of a road accident don’t realise that they have sustained an injury straight away. The pain and discomfort can come later when the adrenaline subsides. Because of this it is important to see a doctor as soon as you feel any sort of discomfort. They will be able to discuss your injuries with you and suggest an appropriate remedy.

The degree of injury sustained due to a whiplash injury can of course be vastly different from case to case. However in any injury of this type, that was not your fault, it is always worth speaking to a specialist personal injury solicitor who deals with whiplash injuries on a regular basis, you may be able to claim for whiplash injury compensation.

The Health and Safety Executive were called to the scene of the factory accident in Buckinghamshire on the 18th of May 2011 to investigate. They found that the machine was not guarded properly and hence employees using the machine were at risk from the moving parts.

The worker sustained his injury when he attempted to clear waste from the machine, which is designed to heat plastic to temperatures above 200°C, using his fingers. In doing so his hand was dragged into the machine and between two driven nip rollers.

As a result of the accident at work, the employee lost three fingers on this right hand. The injured party has since been able to return to work albeit in a different capacity.

At a court hearing in Milton Keynes the firm were fined £7,000 for a breach of health and safety and had to pay court costs exceeding £2,700.

Does anyone accept liability?

After phoning the police and swapping personal details, make a note if any of the parties involved accepts liability for the accident. If you can, make sure other people make a note of this too. If you haven’t got a mobile phone to take pictures, make a quick sketch of the road layout and try to determine who, if anyone, was contravening road rules. This might include if anyone was travelling at excess speed or if someone passed through a red light etc.

Get your injuries checked

If you are the injured party, it is important to be checked over by a doctor, if necessary visit your local accident and emergency department to get the all clear. Make a record of the type and the extent of your injuries and also make note if you require any future medication or medical attention.

Make a note of expenses

Note down any out-of-pocket expenses you may have to pay as a result of the accident, this can include loss of earnings and travel expenses.

Discuss your claim with an experienced car accident compensation solicitor

Using an experienced personal injury solicitor can not only make your claim process a lot smoother, it can also help you get an appropriate amount of compensation for the injuries you have suffered.

Over the next two articles we will discuss the six things you need to do if you have an accident.

Phone the police

When you have an accident it’s really important that you phone the police if a person is injured, even if this is just a sore neck or general aches and pains. It’s also imperative that you don’t leave the scene of the accident until the police arrive. The police will issue you with an accident report number which you must note down, although most Police Forces will either phone you later with the details or you can phone the local police station to ask for this.

Take everyone’s details

Make sure you take the name and contact details of everyone who was involved in the accident. It can be a good idea to note down the make and registration numbers of the vehicles too. You’ll need this information when you make a claim. If you have a mobile phone, many are now equipped with a camera, use this to photograph the scene, taking as many photos as possible that will show who was at fault.

Continued in part 2

The Act itself states:

“The common duty of care is a duty to take such care as in all the circumstances of the case is reasonable to see that the visitor will be reasonably safe in using the premises for the purpose for which he is invited or permitted to be there.”

Because of this Act, you have the right to apply for compensation if you are injured in private premises. You may have slipped on a wet floor, tripped over an object or a rough floor surface that shouldn’t have been there, or even been knocked over or struck by an object.

If it can be proven that the owner of the premises should have done something to prevent your injury, according to the terms of the Occupiers’ Liability Act, you may be able to claim personal injury compensation from them.

However, in order for your claim to be successful, you (or your personal injury representatives) will need to provide evidence of what happened and of your injury, as well as proving that another party was liable for the incident.

There are lots of things you can do at the time of the accident to collect evidence to be used in your case. For example:

• If you have had a car accident, you can take pictures of the scene, including all vehicles involved and take down all the driver and witness details you can
• If you have an accident at work, make sure you report the incident to your employer right away. They should then make a record of it in the company’s accident book, and this can be used as evidence in your injury compensation claim.
• In any accident, take photos of your injuries (after visiting a doctor) and of the scene of the incident

Warren Anderson, 31, was working at James Gillespie’s High School when he saw a heavy wooden school gate with snapped hinges was about to fall on a woman pushing a pram. He moved in to save the mother and child, and took the impact of the falling four-foot high gate on his back.

As a result of the incident, Mr Anderson suffered a muscle strain to his shoulder, although the mother and baby escaped without injury. He claims he had to undergo physiotherapy to treat his injury, and also had to take time off work. It was also claimed in court that as he continues to recover, Mr Anderson is likely to suffer pain in the “long term”.

The plasterer is now seeking £50,000 in injury compensation from Edinburgh City Council, claiming that it is liable for the incident. However, lawyers for the council argued that that a company known as Cornhill Building Services, Mr Anderson’s employer, should admit at least partial responsibility for its employee’s injuries.

According to a report in the Sunderland Echo, the 335 miners are being represented by two mining unions, the Durham Colliery Mechanics’ Association (DCM) and the Durham Miners Association (DMA). The unions are arguing that the miners are suffering from knee problems caused by conditions at work, and that they should receive injury compensation for the pain and discomfort they have experienced as a result.

However, the case suffered a setback a year ago, when the courts ruled that the time limit to file the miners’ claims had expired. This decision was appealed in the London Court of Appeal, and the unions and miners were expecting to hear of the outcome by the end of January 2012.

The decision date has now been rescheduled, prompting DCM chairman Terry Watkin to say:

“I’m disappointed because it’s taken a long time and it’s the uncertainty.

“Our members find it difficult to walk and use stairs, particularly going downstairs.

“They also want to play with their grandchildren or ride bikes and, while it tends to be older people, they don’t have the mobility they would have otherwise had.”