Accident Claims - No Win No Fee - Legal Articles

Monday, July 28, 2008

How do you make a successful MRSA Compensation Claim?

MRSA most commonly develops in hospitals when patients have an open wound such as a bedsore or a tube such as a catheter. The most commonly affected by this are the vulnerable, which includes the very sick and the elderly.

Cases of MRSA remained at low levels until 1992; however since then there has been a rapid increase in the amount of cases that we are now seeing. MRSA infections can more often than not be serious, leaving the victim of it suffering from aspects such as Septicaemia or pneumonia.

MRSA is never usually a problem in healthy patients; healthy patients are just carriers of the disease, which is still an extremely bad problem as they have the potential of passing the MRSA super-bug onto another person. Due to this it can not only impact the carrier of the super-bug but also friends and family members who are at risk of catching the super-bug.

It is because of the fact that MRSA is contracted through open wounds that most people who suffer from it will be suffering during their stay in hospital. Contracting MRSA whilst you are in hospital will lengthen their stay in hospital. Also when a case of MRSA is found in a hospital it will be able to spread very quickly due to the fact that a lot of the people who are admitted into hospital will have a lowered immune system, meaning they will be more susceptible to infection. If a case of MRSA is found to be in a hospital, especially on a ward with vulnerable patients then it has the potential to cause a lot of disruption to the hospital as the patient has to be isolated in a separate room to stop other patients catching the super-bug and, depending on the severity of the super-bug it may disrupt hospital routines as certain wards or theatres may need to be closed.

It is said that one in three of us carry the MRSA bacteria on the surface of our skin and in our nose without actually developing the condition. However if a carrier is involved in an accident it is quite easy for the MRSA bacteria to get into the wound and cause the victim to become quite ill. If a person is carrying the bacteria and they have a break in their skin they are at risk of contracting an infection.

Studies have shown that the super-bug known as MRSA affects about one in nine patients during a hospital stay, with certain patients being more at risk than others. Some of the risk factors when it comes to potentially contracting MRSA include; implants, diabetes, smoking, poor nutrition, prolonged pre-operative hospitalisation and prolonged surgery. It is because of figures such as this that in the UK there has been a focus aimed at the prevention and control of MRSA. These steps to prevent MRSA may differ from patient to patient but the best defence against MRSA remains as strict hygiene.

MRSA control should be one of the medical professional’s top priorities within the treatment of patients. If you however are now suffering the effects of MRSA due to standards of care slipping below what they should then you could be entitled to compensation.

If you have suffered in the last three years and you would like to know where you stand legally then contact a legal team today to find out more information about how to make a claim for compensation.

Helen is the web master of Accident Consult. The specialists here at Accident Consult can help you with all of your MRSA Compensation Claims.

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Have you suffered Orthopaedics Medical Negligence?

The medical term Orthopaedics refers to your bones, muscles and joints and the doctors who work in this field will often handle patients who have suffered bone fractures or need joint replacement or ligament surgery.

Every year in the UK thousands of people are treated successfully for Orthopaedic health problems; however some of the people treated do suffer mistakes at the hands of the people who are there to help them. These mistakes are common and this type of medical negligence is now two or three times more likely to happen than any other medical negligence claim.

The orthopaedics branch of medicine involves the preservation and restoration of the musculoskeletal system and the surgeons involved in this aspect of medicine have the job of diagnosing your condition and treating it using the appropriate method, which could be medicine, exercise or surgery. Finally a surgeon in the orthopaedics branch of medicine will perform rehabilitation on a patient by recommending exercise or physical therapy to restore movement. An orthopaedic surgeon will also inform you of how to prevent further injury by providing information and treatment plans.

Orthopaedic treatment can cover a huge range of personal injuries such as diagnosing a broken arm to performing a hip replacement operation. The main areas in which an orthopaedic surgeon will specialise include: the hand, shoulder and elbow surgery, joint reconstruction, paediatric orthopaedics, foot and ankle surgery, spine surgery, musculoskeletal oncology, surgical sports medicine, and orthopaedic trauma.

Within medicine accidents and mistakes do happen and in most cases they are harmless. Medical professionals are merely just human and human error is often unavoidable but in cases where an error should have been avoided and there is no valid reason why it wasn’t, someone should be held accountable. These errors can occur during the diagnosis, treatment or prognosis of an illness as well as being a combination of all three of these.

If you feel that you have been mistreated and it has lead to you suffering as a result then you could be entitled to make a claim for compensation. Some of the most common reasons for an orthopaedic medical negligence claim are as follows:

• Inaccurate or late diagnosis
• Failure to take tests or misinterpretation of test results
• Poor treatment of fractures
• Poor operative technique
• Damage to nerves or circulation during medical procedures
• Inadequate cleaning and dressing of wounds or infection

If you have suffered due to Orthopaedic medical negligence in the last three years then you could be entitled to make a claim for compensation. In order to be successful in a medical negligence claim you need to be able to prove that the injury you are or were suffering from was caused due to a lapse in the medical care that you received. To prove this you would need to obtain statements from any relevant family members or friends. Your medical records would need to be obtained and this normally comes with a fee, which brings me to my next point, any fees and cost encountered along the way will get paid back on top of damages in a successful compensation claim.

If you are hoping to make a claim for compensation then contact a legal team today, who will be able to examine your case and explain where you stand legally.

Helen is the web master of Accident Consult, specialists in helping you claim the compensation that you deserve after a Medical Negligence mistake that was caused through no fault of your own.

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Have you suffered Orthopaedics Medical Negligence?

The medical term Orthopaedics refers to your bones, muscles and joints and the doctors who work in this field will often handle patients who have suffered bone fractures or need joint replacement or ligament surgery.

Every year in the UK thousands of people are treated successfully for Orthopaedic health problems; however some of the people treated do suffer mistakes at the hands of the people who are there to help them. These mistakes are common and this type of medical negligence is now two or three times more likely to happen than any other medical negligence claim.

The orthopaedics branch of medicine involves the preservation and restoration of the musculoskeletal system and the surgeons involved in this aspect of medicine have the job of diagnosing your condition and treating it using the appropriate method, which could be medicine, exercise or surgery. Finally a surgeon in the orthopaedics branch of medicine will perform rehabilitation on a patient by recommending exercise or physical therapy to restore movement. An orthopaedic surgeon will also inform you of how to prevent further injury by providing information and treatment plans.

Orthopaedic treatment can cover a huge range of personal injuries such as diagnosing a broken arm to performing a hip replacement operation. The main areas in which an orthopaedic surgeon will specialise include: the hand, shoulder and elbow surgery, joint reconstruction, paediatric orthopaedics, foot and ankle surgery, spine surgery, musculoskeletal oncology, surgical sports medicine, and orthopaedic trauma.

Within medicine accidents and mistakes do happen and in most cases they are harmless. Medical professionals are merely just human and human error is often unavoidable but in cases where an error should have been avoided and there is no valid reason why it wasn’t, someone should be held accountable. These errors can occur during the diagnosis, treatment or prognosis of an illness as well as being a combination of all three of these.

If you feel that you have been mistreated and it has lead to you suffering as a result then you could be entitled to make a claim for compensation. Some of the most common reasons for an orthopaedic medical negligence claim are as follows:

• Inaccurate or late diagnosis
• Failure to take tests or misinterpretation of test results
• Poor treatment of fractures
• Poor operative technique
• Damage to nerves or circulation during medical procedures
• Inadequate cleaning and dressing of wounds or infection

If you have suffered due to Orthopaedic medical negligence in the last three years then you could be entitled to make a claim for compensation. In order to be successful in a medical negligence claim you need to be able to prove that the injury you are or were suffering from was caused due to a lapse in the medical care that you received. To prove this you would need to obtain statements from any relevant family members or friends. Your medical records would need to be obtained and this normally comes with a fee, which brings me to my next point, any fees and cost encountered along the way will get paid back on top of damages in a successful compensation claim.

If you are hoping to make a claim for compensation then contact a legal team today, who will be able to examine your case and explain where you stand legally.

Helen is the web master of Accident Consult, specialists in helping you claim the compensation that you deserve after a Medical Negligence mistake that was caused through no fault of your own.

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Delayed Cancer diagnosis – how will it effect you?

It has been stated that one in three people will develop a form of Cancer at some point within their lives, making it one of the most prolific diseases that we are now seeing. Due to this doctors have to be highly aware of the possibility of Cancer when making a diagnosis.

The importance of an early diagnosis when it comes to Cancer cannot be emphasised enough; in many cases an early diagnosis is the difference between life and death. An early diagnosis is also the deciding factor on your life expectancy. Early diagnosis is crucial regardless of what type of Cancer you have; this is especially true in the case of lung, ovarian and stomach Cancer as they have a much lower mortality rate if they receive a prompt diagnosis.

Sadly some people aren’t treated as early as they should be. There are many reasons for this such as a patient didn’t think anything of their symptoms and dismissed them as something else so they didn’t bother going and seeing their doctor. Also many people go to their doctor with symptoms but these symptoms are similar to another disease with the same symptoms so they could easily be dismissed. All of these are common human error but it is important that a doctor goes down all avenues when they are diagnosing you.

An example of why it is so important to catch any form of cancer early is people who are diagnosed with ovarian cancer at the earliest stage they have a 92% to 93% of a five year survival but this can quickly be reduced to 11% or 12% if the cancer has seriously advanced.

An example of when a diagnosis goes beyond simple human error is if a smoker goes to see a doctor with a cough and the doctor merely puts it down to the fact that they smoke. This is completely unacceptable as a cough is one symptom of lung cancer. In a case such as this the doctor should have examined the matter further and investigated the possibility of lung cancer, if for nothing else than to rule it out.

There are many different types of cancer so in order to make an accurate diagnosis you need a medical professional to correctly interpret your symptoms and by looking at your test results thoroughly. Failure to accurately diagnose allows the cancer to spread and grow, which can be at an alarming rate depending on where the cancer is and how advanced or aggressive it is.

If a cancer diagnosis is failed to be made then your correct treatment will be delayed, which will increase your chance of dying from the disease; however this problem can also be turned around, which basically means that if a doctor makes a diagnosis of cancer and there is no cancer present then this can cause a person a lot of unnecessary emotional suffering and shock and it may even lead to them receiving the incorrect treatment. Any situation such as this will be viewed as a form of medical negligence.

If you feel that you have suffered from medical negligence in the past three years due to actions that were taken or actions that were failed to be taken when it comes to your Cancer diagnosis then you could be entitled to make a claim for compensation.

Thousands of men and women across the UK have already claimed the compensation that they deserve after being involved in some form of a medical negligence claim, now it’s your turn so get in touch with a legal team today to find out where you stand with making a claim for compensation.

Helen is the web master of Accident Consult, specialists in all aspects of Medical Negligence Compensation Claims.

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Are you entitled to compensation for Medical Negligence?

Estimations suggest that everyday in the UK a patient may die as a direct result of medical treatment that was intended to help them so the real question here is why?

Within the field of healthcare mistakes happen pretty much everyday but these mistakes usually cause no harm to the patient and it’s safe to say that in most of these cases the patient isn’t even aware that a mistake has been made. This comes as no surprise to most people as people in roles such as doctors and nurses are highly regarded but what most people forget is that these people are just human like everybody else; errors will occur; its when these errors start affecting our health that we should really be worried.

The term medical negligence covers a large scale of people and different medical professions. A medical negligence case could be brought up against anyone involved in your care and welfare such as; hospital doctors, GP’s, nurses, surgeons, dentists and physicians. These are just a few examples of the people that we entrust our lives to and we expect them to uphold the highest care towards us. In most instances none of us experience any sort of problems when we are in the care of medical professionals but sadly mistakes happen that should have been avoided.

When medical negligence occurs it is a very frightening experience. When you visit a medical professional you expect a professional service. Unfortunately this is not always the case. Doctors and nurses see hundreds of patients and like anyone in any profession mistakes can happen and they do. There have been cases where an operation was carried out on the wrong patient. Other cases are when the wrong dose of medicine is given or the wrong medicine all together.

Some examples of the medical areas that can be affected by medical negligence are as follows:

• Cerebral Palsy and Child Brain Injury
• Pregnancy and Birth
• Orthopaedics and Amputation cases
• Surgery
• Cancer
• Cosmetic Surgery
• Ophthalmic and Laser Eye Surgery
• Hospital Infections, known as super-bugs such as; MRSA and C Diff
• Nursing and Care Home Claims
• The incorrect Prescription, Administration and Dispensing of medicine and drugs

If medical negligence occurs and you are able to prove that the standard of care given wasn’t up to scratch then you may be able to make a claim for compensation. It should however be noted that medical negligence claims are extremely hard to win and most legal firms will advise you to take up your complaint with the hospital. This is because pursuing a claim can be lengthy and complex; however there are many accident injury legal teams who specialise in medical negligence, you basically need to shop around when you are looking for a legal team and you should get help from the one who has the most experience.

For more information about making a claim for medical negligence it is advised to contact a legal team to find out where you stand with making a claim for compensation.

Helen is the web master of Accident Consult, experts in all aspects of Medical Negligence claims.

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Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Faulty Product – Can I Claim Compensation?

Have you been injured as a result or a faulty product or has your house been damaged from a faulty product? If this is true then you have a legal and civil right to claim compensation against the manufacturer of the product.

Faulty products can be very serious, lets say you’ve bought your child a new doll of course you give it them and think nothing more of it as you would. But then your child starts choking, the eye has fell out and your child has swallowed it thinking it’s a sweetie. Eyes of dolls for children shouldn’t fall out of course they shouldn’t and so if they do the doll is faulty. A child choking on anything is serious, children have small windpipes and therefore the eye will easily get lodged in the windpipe and cause the child to choke.

It’s the same as if a kettle, toaster; microwave explodes in your home or at work. This accident could seriously burn or cause other injuries to you and others around you. Not only could you get hurt but it could also cause damage to the kitchen or area where it’s used and stored.

Claiming compensation for a faulty product may be daunting especially with large manufacturers but you shouldn’t be as The Consumer Protection Act 1987 protects consumers for incidents like this and helps bring a claim against the manufacturer for their faulty or defective product. Not only this but the Sales of Goods Act may also be helpful as it states that all products sold need to be fit for purpose, of a satisfactory quality and appear and work as they are described. So if your product is faulty or defective it isn’t a product that is in satisfactory quality and work as described.

Before you even begin to make a compensation claim contact the retailer where you bought the product and explain what’s happened, then contact trading standards who are able to offer you free advice. When you begin to make the compensation claim, make sure you still have the product in question as this serves as your evidence, also read the small print on the box or in the instructions to check that it doesn’t state this is something that may go wrong with the product. If it does state this you have very little chance of making a successful compensation claim. When you make a claim make sure you pin point exactly what happened with the product and the defect or faulty part of the product. This will help prove your claim that the product is faulty and caused you a personal injury or property damage.

If there were any witnesses of the accident whether it was a faulty product causing injury to yourself or causing property damage take names and addresses so they can be contacted later in the claim. If you took any photographs of the faulty product, your injuries the property damage this can be used as evidence. The more evidence you have the more likely your claim is to be successful. A final piece of evidence to help you make your compensation claim is to have a medical record of your injuries. You may have had to go to hospital with your injuries or just to the doctor whatever it may have been these medical records will be able to prove your injuries.

A point to remember, if the retailer or manufacturer offer you a replacement for the product that was faulty or defective that caused you injuries or your property some damage, the retailer or manufacturer will dismiss your compensation claim if you go ahead after you’ve accepted a replacement.


Jene Pedder is the Webmaster of Accident Consult who specialise in Personal Injury Compensation Claims.

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Wednesday, January 02, 2008

Claiming Compensation for a Pedestrian Injury

More and more cars are and other vehicles are on the roads each year and so Britain’s roads are getting busier and busier. The roads are continuously being repaired, altered and new roads being built but this doesn’t help the fact that there are over 30 millions cars on the road today. Therefore more and more pedestrian and road traffic accidents are happening.

Around 33,000 people are injured every year on Britain’s roads; it’s a shocking figure and a figure we all need to look at carefully. Everyone needs to be aware of the amount of injured people each year, this may help people slow down on roads and be more aware of pedestrians on zebra crossings or just walking on the pavement.

As a pedestrian walking or jogging on the pavement and walking across a pedestrian crossing are the most likely places where a pedestrian is injured. On a Friday, Saturday or Sunday you are more likely to be involved in a pedestrian traffic accident between the hours of 3pm and 8pm. There are more accidents when a car is doing the speed limit of 30mph or less as this speed limit is usually in place in built up areas, around homes and public places like the supermarket and shops.

Children are the higher risk of being involved in a pedestrian accident as they have less traffic knowledge as well as being physically and cognitively less developed. Hitting a child pedestrian whilst driving a car, the child is likely to die if the car was travelling over 30mph.

The speed the car was travelling when the car hit the pedestrian is very important. If the car is travelling at around 30mph the pedestrian has a 95% survival rate but this drops dramatically if the car is travelling at 50mph to 60%. Finally if the car is travelling at 70mph the pedestrian only has a survival rate of 20% which is very low. At any speed the pedestrian is likely to receive severe injuries, from head injuries to broken bones to internal injuries.

As a pedestrian you need to take precautions for you and the people around you, always use the pavement and if there isn’t one walk facing the traffic that’s coming towards you, always look left, right and left again before crossing a road, try and use pedestrian crossing and traffic lights when crossing a road, but make sure the cars are stopped before you cross.

Making a compensation claim for a pedestrian accident is simple especially if you were taking the precautions as stated above. If you were walking on the road through moving traffic your claim is made more difficult as the blame could be on you. If you took the precautions and it was the driver’s fault not paying enough attention, not noticing you at the pedestrian crossing, whatever it may be you have a legal and civil right to claim compensation for the pain, suffering, medical bills and loss of earnings you may have suffered.

As a driver you should be aware of pedestrians walking on pavements, standing at pedestrian crossings or walking across and well as at traffic lights. It’s your responsibility to keep your eye out for pedestrians and notice them.

If you’ve been involved in a pedestrian road traffic accident and have suffered injuries from this why not make a compensation claim, it’s what you deserve.



Jene Pedder is the Webmaster of Accident Consult who work on a No Win No Fee basis and specialise in Pedestrian Compensation Accident Claims.

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Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Hurt your back lifting at work – Claim Today

Are you in agony with your back, have you injured it lifting products, metal whatever at work. If so you may be entitled to claim compensation against your employer.

Back injuries in the work environment are fairly common, and back injuries can be a tricky part of the body to get better due to fractures and sprains causing permanent weakness in the persons back.

All work environments may involve some lifting and if this is true then every employee should do some manual handling training. This will involve being shown how to lift a variety of different objects from the floor, trolley and lifting from higher shelves. Any manual handling training should be recorded on your training record. If your employer doesn’t give you the training necessary for the job you’re doing and you do hurt yourself lifting an object off the ground, you may be able to claim compensation for the suffering you may have been caused, the medical costs and bills and also any loss of earnings.

Here are some tips to help you avoid back injuries whilst manual handling objects:

• Your employer should make sure you undertake manual handling training

• You should take care when you do lift something to stop yourself from hurting your back

• Before you lift any object consider
o The weight of the object
o Can you use a trolley or another item to help you without needing to manual handle the object
o Do you need help with moving the object, ask if you do
o Work as a team if you do need help, get someone to watch you lifting it also
o Do you need any protective clothing on for example, gloves which protect your hands, steel capped boots to protect your feet etc?

• When you do lift the object you should:
o Use the correct lifting technique for the size and location of the object
o Lift the object in stages, take it from the floor to your knees then lift into the carrying position
o Make sure the object is level with your waist when moving and hold it close to your body
o Don’t have the object obstructing your view so you can’t see where your going
o When you come to set the object down, lower the object to your knees and then place on the floor keeping your feet apart and your back straight

Never over reach or twist as this is a common cause of serious back injuries, if you follow the instructions above they will help you be able to manual handle objects without the need to cause yourself back injuries.

If unfortunately you’ve already injured your back at work lifting objects, a solicitor who specializes in personal injury and work accidents will be able to help you claim the compensation you deserve.

A No Win No Fee solicitor will take on the case if the accident was in the last three years and that they think you have a very good chance of claiming compensation from your employer. If you are successful in claiming compensation you will receive the full amount and your solicitor will gain their legal fees from the other party’s insurance company. If you are unfortunate not to win they won’t get paid a penny. So what you got to lose, claim Today!


Jene Pedder is the Webmaster of Accident Consult who work on a No Win No Fee Basis and specialize in Back Injuries at Work.

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Tuesday, December 11, 2007

Road Traffic Accidents – How should you Proceed?

If you’ve been involved in a road traffic accident in the last three years which wasn’t your fault and you’ve suffered as a result of this accident you have a legal and civil right to claim compensation.

Road traffic accidents are a daily occurrence in the UK, too many people are driving too fast and recklessly and of course some of those drink and drive too. Drink driving has been happening for years now and now restrictions are in place most people are sticking to these which is 80 milligrammes(mg) of alcohol for 100 millilitres(ml) of blood which is around 2 pints of normal strength beer (4% or below) for a man. If you do drink alcohol and intend to drive your limit is:

• 4 units for men
• 3 units for women

The main people prosecuted for drink driving are males 9 out of 10 being male and only 10% of under 21’s are prosecuted, the peak age of being convicted is aged 27. If you are involved in a road traffic accident with a drink driver remain calm and call the police if you can. The police will be able to then take breath test samples from you as well as the other driver for analysis.

There are also many other different measures which may cause a road traffic accident these include:

• Wet roads
• Snow and Ice
• Speeding
• Lack of concentration
• Faulty car

If you’ve been the injured party in a road traffic accident, the police usually are called and will need to take statements from all parties as well as any witnesses. These statements will play an important part in your compensation claim when you proceed with the claim.

From this car accident you may have received multiple injuries to the head, neck, back, legs, arms as well as internal injuries but you may have been lucky and received only a broken leg or a few cuts and bruises. If your injuries have caused you pain and suffering you may have had to see a doctor and of had to pay medical bills and treatment costs. If this is true you have the right to claim compensation from the other party to pay for these costs. As well as this the compensation may include loss of earnings. You may not have been able to go to work which means you can’t afford to pay your bills. Whatever costs and suffering you have had from the road traffic accident you can claim compensation for these.

Many road traffic accident solicitors’ now work on a No Win No Fee basis meaning that you don’t have to pay a penny in legal fees. Your solicitor will only take on the case if they believe it has a very good chance of winning; due to the fact if you don’t win they don’t get paid. The only costs you may need to pay are getting doctor reports and any other information you may need to pay for. If your case is successful you will receive the whole amount of compensation awarded to you, your solicitor will get their legal fees from the other party’s insurance.
Jene Pedder is the Webmaster of Accident Consult who works on a No Win No Fee Basis and specialise in Road Traffic Accident Claims.

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