Case Histories

Our client was the front seat passenger. He was wearing his seatbelt at the time of the accident and the vehicle was fitted with head restraints. Mr H’s vehicle was in a queue of traffic giving way at a roundabout.

Mr H’s vehicle was proceeding forwards when suddenly and unexpectedly the driver of the vehicle in front of Mr H’s car made an emergency stop. Mr H’s vehicle drove into the rear of the vehicle in front.

Mr H had a gradual onset of neck, upper and lower back pain which became most noticeable the day after the accident. The predominant symptoms lasted for 6 weeks and thereafter the neck and back symptoms became intermittent with gradual improvement. The neck and back symptoms resolved fully within 6 months of the accident. Mr H took 1 week sick leave and undertook light duties for a further 2 weeks.

At home Mr H required assistance with housework during the initial 6 weeks after the accident.

The case was settled for £1,500 general damages and £96.50 special damages.

Our client was driving her car and, whilst stationary and waiting to enter a main road from a side road she was hit by another car from behind, forcefully and unexpectedly. As a consequence of the impact she became shocked and developed pains in her neck and back, though she was able to drive home. She had sustained a cervical and lumber spine whiplash.

The lumber spine injury resolved within two months following the accident and the cervical injury resolved within ten months of the accident.

She received £2,500 for her pain and suffering and £200 for her out of pocket expenses (special damages).

The Claimant was driving his vehicle when it was hit from behind by another vehicle travelling at speed. This shunted the Claimant’s vehicle forward. The Claimants vehicle was written off as a total loss.

The Claimant attended the accident and emergency department complaining of neck and shoulder pain. This was associated with headaches and some lower back pain. He did not take any time off work but continued with considerable difficulty.

The Claimant sustained an acceleration / deceleration injury to his neck and upper spine with a jarring injury to his lower back. The pain and discomfort curtailed his activities for several weeks. The neck symptoms resolved within ten months of the accident. Physiotherapy was recommended to hasten the recovery from the back symptoms which were anticipated to resolve eighteen months after the accident.

The Claimant had also suffered some psychological trauma.

The case was settled for £3,000.00 general damages and £140.40 special damages.

The Claimant was walking on a country lane without a footpath when she was struck by a motor vehicle. She was knocked onto a wall and developed chest pain. The incident caused significant psychological impact as well as injury to her back and knee.

She was referred for Counselling with the back injury settling after 26 months with the knee injury accelerating a pre existing condition by 2 – 3 years. The claim was settled for £6,500.00 general damages.

The Claimant was fixing an electrical cable to a wall in a shop. He was stood on ladders behind a door. Although it was made clear to the customer that no one should use that particular landing, an employee of the customer opened the door towards the Claimant hitting the ladders causing the ladders to slip down. The Claimant fell to the ground still clutching the ladders and consequently the fingers of his left hand were trapped under the metal bars with him and the weight of the ladders on top of the fingers.

He sustained a crush injury to his left hand and his fingers were strapped together and a roll of crepe bandage applied.

Fortunately a full recovery was made within four to six weeks of the accident and the Claimants chances on the open labour market were not affected.

The case was settled for £1,950.00 in respect of general damages and special damages.

The Claimant was driving his scooter when a car emerged from a side street, striking the Claimant on his side. He suffered a minor head injury; acute neck/left shoulder sprain; soft tissue injury to his left elbow; soft tissue injury to the left side of his chest; soft tissue injury to his left hip; and soft tissue injury to his right knee. The residual symptoms from the knee where still present nine months after the accident.

An MRI scan was performed of the knee and it was diagnosed as a sprain of the anterior crusciate ligament with resolution within fifteen months of the date of the accident.

The claim was settled for £3,700.00 general damages and £1,380.00 special damages.

Accidents to cyclists are common, liability can sometmes be less clearly understood, but the normal rules in fact apply.

The applicant had gone into a bar for a drink with her boyfriend. The bar was extremely busy and she accidentally bumped into a young mail. He turned around and the applicant apologised but the mail pushed the applicants boyfriend out of the way so that he could see the applicant. The applicants boyfriend pushed him back and the mail then threw a punch at the applicant landing just above her left eye.

The applicant sustained a cut to her left eye leaving a permanent scar. Her left eye was black and bruised and there was muscle damage to the area above the left eye.

The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) awarded the applicant £1,500.00.

Note: We can act for clients in CICA claims. This allows (broadly) clients who suffer personal injury as a result of the criminal act of another tobe compensated whether or not the criminal has any money (or insurance) to pay himself. The rules can be tighter, and our payment sytems differ, but it is always worth asking if we can help.

The Claimant was a passenger in a taxi. As the taxi was attempting to undertake a vehicle by passing it on the inside lane the other vehicle not aware of the presence of the taxi moved towards the left colliding with the taxi. As a result of the accident the Claimant suffered a whiplash injury to his neck that caused him to experience headaches for one week after the accident. He continued to suffer from neck pain as well as psychological injuries for around two months in that he refused to travel in a taxi during that period.

The Claimant was unable to fish or play football, rugby or basketball for approximately three months and had disturbed sleep for three weeks. The symptoms resolved within twelve months of the accident. The claim was settled in the sum of £2.500.00 general damages and £99.00 special damages.

The Claimant was a driver of a motor car involved in a road traffic accident. He was driving his car in the off side lane closest to the central reservation. Another motor car without warning or indication moved into the off side lane in front of the Claimants car and struck the bonnet on the front passenger side.

As soon as the car was clipped the other vehicle without warning or indication came to a halt which caused the Claimants car to collide into the rear of the other motor car.

The Claimant was wearing his seat belt. As a result of the collision the Claimant was thrown backwards and forwards on his seat. He struck his forehead on the steering wheel but there was no loss of consciousness. Immediately after the accident he was badly shaken and developed an aggravation of his pre existing neck discomfort.

The Claimant had sustained a minor head injury from which he recovered within a period of one week. He also sustained a whiplash associated disorder to the neck. The Claimant had symptoms to his neck from the current accident and his previous accident which lasted for 6 – 8 months. The medical expert believed that the pain suffered during that 6 to 8 months could be apportioned on the basis of 4 – 6 months being caused by the current accident in question.

The Claimant was a driver of a motor car involved in a road traffic accident. He was driving his car in the off side lane closest to the central reservation. Another motor car without warning or indication moved into the off side lane in front of the Claimants car and struck the bonnet on the front passenger side.

As soon as the car was clipped the other vehicle without warning or indication came to a halt which caused the Claimants car to collide into the rear of the other motor car.

The Claimant was wearing his seat belt. As a result of the collision the Claimant was thrown backwards and forwards on his seat. He struck his forehead on the steering wheel but there was no loss of consciousness. Immediately after the accident he was badly shaken and developed an aggravation of his pre existing neck discomfort.

The Claimant had sustained a minor head injury from which he recovered within a period of one week. He also sustained a whiplash associated disorder to the neck. The Claimant had symptoms to his neck from the current accident and his previous accident which lasted for 6 – 8 months. The medical expert believed that the pain suffered during that 6 to 8 months could be apportioned on the basis of 4 – 6 months being caused by the current accident in question.

The Claimants case was settled for £1,350.00 including special damages which amounted to £100.00.

The Claimant was having lunch at a local supermarket cafeteria when she was struck by a shard of material from a piece of crockery which had fallen from an overloaded tray being carried by an employee of the supermarket. The shard struck the Claimant to the rear of her right heal causing a wound and significant bleeding.

She was taken to Casualty where her wound was cleaned and five stitches where inserted. X-rays confirmed that there were no further foreign bodies left in the wound.

The stitches were removed seven days later but after that the wound split open and was infected. Paper stitches were applied and antibiotics prescribed.

As a result of the accident her sleep was disturbed and she experienced a significant lack of mobility.

The medical report confirmed that due to the lack of mobility she was experiencing stiffness in both legs and having to use a stick to get about. Accordingly a short course of physiotherapy was arranged. The Claimant’s symptoms resolved fully within twelve months.

The Claim was settled for £3,000.00 general and special damages.

Liability for the secondary injury lay with the original wrongdoer (the supermarket who had been negligent in its choice of crockery). It wa a foreseeable continuation of the injury that the wound might re-open and become infected.

Our client was a child being carried in his grandmother’s vehicle. She drove into the rear of a stationary vehicle in front of her. To recover compensation for the childs injuries a claim was brought against the grandmother by the child who was represented by his mother (the daughter of the Defendant). The Claimant was six years old at the time and he banged his head and suffered whiplash injuries to his neck, back and shoulders. He also chipped the right lower molar tooth. He attended his GP and was given pain killers and pain relief gel. The whiplash symptoms resolved within four to six weeks and the damaged tooth which was a milk tooth was removed by a dentist. The claimant was unable to sleep for a week and was absent from school for two days.

The claim was settled in the sum of £1,200.00.

Though the claim was against a family member, these issues are dealt with through insurance companies, and little embarassment is usually caused.

The Claimant was a front seat passenger in a motor car. He was wearing his seatbelt. The driver lost control of the vehicle which went up an embankment, knocked over a lamp post and then rolled back into the carriageway.    As a result of the impact the claimant was thrown forwards and backwards within the confines of his seatbelt.  He was aware of an injury to his ribs from the seatbelt and an injury to his neck and upper spine.  An airbag in the vehicle activated.

The Claimant attended the accident and emergency department and following examination was allowed home with advise and analgesics. He sought further advice from his G.P. who felt he may have fractured his ribs.  He was given analgesics. He received no further treatment.

The Claimant was off work for six weeks. During that period he had problems with his chest wall and had difficulty initially being able to lift or carry.

The Claimant had sustained soft tissue injuries to his neck and right chest wall. The Claimant had been suffering for two years and two months and the claim was settled for £2,400.00 general damages and special damages, the latter amounting to £685.00.

Our client was pulling a loaded pallet truck. It was piled high with wood and he was looking over his shoulder when a hook on an overhead conveyor belt caught his right eye and dragged him on his tip toes for approximately eight seconds.

He was able to yank the hook off but experienced pain and bleeding around the right eye immediately following the accident. He was shocked and nauseous. He fell to his knees with pain but was able to inform his boss who took him to Hospital.

An x-ray of the eyes showed no abnormality. Eye ointment and antibiotics were provided and the Claimant was discharged two days later. He was unable to work for four weeks and then assigned to easier jobs for a further two months.

The Claimant had difficulty and discomfort when washing his face and seeing through the eye for a period of one month.

The Claimants had sustained a soft tissue injury to his right eye. There was a laceration to the upper lid with associated swelling, bruising and head aches. The symptoms were most severe for the first two weeks but the Claimant recovered within three months.

The claim was settled for £2,500.00 general damages and £190.00 special damages.

The Claimant was walking across a car park with a tarmac surface. The tarmac dipped and the Claimant tripped on the edge of the dip landing on his right knee. He was taken immediately to hospital where X rays were taken. He was diagnosed as having sustained a badly sprained ankle. The Claimant was unable to go to the gym, play football or visit the pub for approximately 3-4 weeks. During that period he had difficulty sleeping due to the pain in his ankle.

One year after the accident the Claimant continued to suffer with problems with his ankle. The symptoms included swelling, soreness, an inability to run, and inability to kick the ball properly and on a day to day basis the ankle felt weak. An intensive course of physiotherapy was recommended in order to strengthen the ankle. One and a half years after the accident the Claimant had made a full recovery.

The Claim was settled for £3,250.00 general damages and £612.00 special damages.

The Claimant was a seat belted back seat passenger in a car which was involved in a road traffic accident. The car struck the kerb of a roundabout which burst a tyre causing it to go up an embankment and collide into a lamp post.

The cause of the accident was the driver of the car travelling to fast.

Immediately after the accident the Claimant was badly shaken and concerned about her pregnancy as she was six months pregnant at the time. She was taken by ambulance to hospital complaining of abdominal pain. Following assessment she was referred to the maternity ward for a heart trace of the unborn child and the tracing was normal.

After a period of observation and a raghus intra muscular injection to prevent any possible adverse reaction between the unborn baby’s blood and the maternal blood that can occur following an accident when a mother is rhesus negative. The following day the Claimant developed pain and stiffness to her neck, lower back and headaches. It was believed that the abdominal pain was caused by a soft tissue injury to the anterior abdominal wall from the seat belt. These symptoms settled within four to six weeks after the accident.

On the balance of probabilities the Claimant sustained a whiplash injury to her neck and a soft tissue injury to her lower back. It is believed that she recovered from these symptoms within six to nine months of the accident. The migraine headaches resolved within two to three months of the accident.

The claim was settled for £2075.50 in respect of general and special damages.

The Claimant was seven years old at the time of the accident. He was playing football with some of his friends and went to retrieve the ball but caught his head on the bottom of a jagged edge of wiring that protruded into a missing panel around the football court.

As a result of the accident the Claimant sustained a laceration to the top of his head with blood pouring out of the same. He attended casualty with a two and a half inch long gash in his scalp which was glued together. He is now left with a two and a half inch scar in his scalp.

The Claimant stayed off school for seven days. He continued to be embarrassed by the presence of the scar on his scalp. The scar remained tender and caught whilst combing the hair which was likely to persist.

The claim was settled for £3,100.00 inclusive of special damages which were claimed at £144.00.

The claimant was a passenger in a motor car that was stationary on a slip road waiting to enter a roundabout. The Claimant was wearing her seat belt. The Defendants vehicle drove into the rear of the vehicle that the Claimant was a passenger in. As a result of that collision the Claimant sustained injuries to her neck and upper spine and a jarring injury to her back. The injuries caused a four year acceleration of a pre existing degenerative condition. The Claimant underwent sixteen sessions of physiotherapy.

The Claim was ultimately settled for £5,300.00 general damages and £400.00 special damages.

This case demosntrates a factor well known to lawyers. There are two rules, ‘You take your victim as you find him (or her)’ and the so alled ‘egg-shell skull’ rule. The combined effect is in an accident which might not be expected to injure someone of full strength, if the victim is already in a weakened condition, so that the accident causes greater damage than it might otherwise have done, that victim is properly entitled to compensation for the further injury in fact caused.

The claimant was a passenger on a bus. A vehicle collided with the bus throwing the claimant and other passengers out of their seats and the claimant hit the right side of her face on the bar of the seat in front of her. The offending vehcile did not stop. The claimant suffered bruising to her face but it was not significant. She also incurred a soft tissue injury to her cervical spine which had been caused by the sudden forward acceleration and deceleration causing the strain of the muscle ligaments.

The claimt had initial inconvenience and suffering including pain from the injury and had to be off work for one day. She continued to have pain when sitting at her computer for long periods of time and when carrying and lifting. A short course of physiotherapy was recommended.

The initial symptoms lasted for a few weeks and the majority of symptoms resolved over a period of 6 months, although the claimant was left with pemanent mild residual symptoms. The offending vehicle could not be traced and therefore a claim was made to MIB.

The claimant’s out of pocket expenses amounted to £695.20 and the total claim was settled for £3,750.00.

The MIB is the Motor Insurer’s Bureau. Part of every car insurance premium goes to the Bureau, who then pay out for personal injury losses suffered by victims of uninsured drivers. As we can see for this case, the scheme covers also cases where the driver is untraceable.

The claimant was working on the back of a lorry unloading pallets. One of his colleagues pushed a pallet towards him with a fork lift truck, and his right foot was trapped and crushed between the two pallets.

Remarkably the claimant only suffered a soft tissue injury. A fracture was suspected but was in fact not present.

The claimant was discharged from hospital on crutches which he used for four weeks following the accident. He had to take pain killers for two weeks, and was off work for eight weeks. He returned to duties without any problems other than some nervousness when working on the back of lorries unloading pallets. The main symptoms subsided after eight weeks although the claimant was left with residual aching in cold weather for between 18 and 24 months.

The claim was settled for £2,000.00 for pain and suffering and £1,250.00 for out of pocket expenses.

Note: Employers have very stringent duties to provide a safe place of work and a safe way of working. Whilst some fault must still be identified, injuries suffered at work are usually recoverable. Employees should not be concerned at making a claim against their employer, since employers have to maintain insurance policies to cover such claims.

Our client was a young man. He was in his car, properly fitted with seatbelt and head restraints. He was stationary at a roundabout and whilst waiting to go on, the defendant drove into the rear of his car. Our client was thrown violently backwards and forward within the confines of his seatbelt.

He sought telephone advice from his GP almost 2 weeks later, and was prescribed a 10 day course of anti-inflammatory pain killers. He again consulted his GP after that 10 day period had elapsed.

Immediately following the accident the Claimant was shaken feeling dizzy and nauseated for 48 hours. Within 48 hours he began to experience central lower back pain and stiffness. A single session of physiotherapy was recommended. The Claimant’s symptoms resolved within 6 to 8 weeks of the accident.

The Claimant recovered £1,000 general damages and £236.20 special damages.

Note: Even apparently minor accidents can give rise to a proper claim.

Our client was travelling in the rear near side passenger seat of a taxi. She Claimant was not wearing a seatbelt and no head restraints were fitted, but there was a “dog guard” behind her. Her taxi had stopped in traffic when it was struck in the rear by another car. She was thrown forwards and then backwards and banged her head against the dog guard. Although she had no immediate pain she was shocked and a few hours later she awoke and got up with pain and stiffness over her neck, thorasic and lumber spines and the back of her legs and the back of her arms.

She saw her GP at the earliest opportunity, which was a few days later and was diagnosed with a whiplash injury. A couple of weeks later she was referred by her GP to the A and E department, and her diagnosis was confirmed. She had physiotherapy to the whole of her spine with more emphasis being made on her neck than her lumber region. The physiotherapy lasted 8 weeks and helped her symptoms.

She did not take any sick leave but returned to work on light offic eduties. Even 2 years later, she still had symptoms which included a very stiff neck some discomfort and difficulty turning her head when she was driving, pain on lifting heavy items and a constant nagging pain together with a clicking of her neck on some days.

The Defendants who collided with the Claimant’s vehicle was not insured and therefore a claim was made to the Motor Insurers Bureau. She recovered £6,500 general damages and £132.60 special damages.

Our client was a lady who was a car passenger in a motor car. The vehicle approached a bend where a van was parked and the Claimant’s vehicle overtook the van. On doing so another motorcar approached at speed and driving in an erratic fashion approached the Claimant’s vehicle.

The driver of the Claimant’s vehicle stopped hoping that the third party vehicle would not collide with them. However the third party vehicle lost control and collided with the Claimant’s vehicle head on.

It transpired that the third party was uninsured and a claim was made to the Motor Insurers Bureau.

The Claimant sustained a whiplash injury to her neck with the main symptoms resolving over 6 weeks.

The Claimant also sustained lower back pain and the symptoms were intermittent for approximately 10 months following the accident.

The Claimant received £2,200.00 general damages and £265.93 special damages.

Note: Our client was wearing her seatbelt. Her damages would have been reduced if she had not been wearing it. She would have been contributorily negligent.

Our client was riding his bicycle on a bridge. A lorry attempted to overtake him but collided with him throwing him from his bicycle. He was wearing a cycling helmet.

He Claimant sustained soft tissue injuries to his right arm, right buttock and leg and continued with symptoms for a period of 1 month after which his symptoms had resolved. The Claimant was away from work for 1 week.

General damages for pain and suffering were settled at £1,250.00 and special damages in respect of out of pocket expenses which included loss of earnings, travel expenses to and from the hospital and damage to the bicycle and cycling clothing were settled at £430.70.

This another example of a smaller claim. The no-win-no-fee system allows us to achieve a proper payment for such accidents.

Our client worked for an automotive supplier. During the course of his employment he sustained a crush injury to the right index finger pulp which lead to a fracture of the end of the terminal phalanx.

Following the accident the Claimant noticed blood coming through his safety glove and his hand became numb and he felt faint. He attended hospital where a diagnoses of open fracture distal phalanx right index finger was made. The finger was cleaned and the wound was repaired with steri strips a mallet finger splint was applied and the Claimant was prescribed antibiotics and discharged.

The Claimant’s finger was painful, swollen and he had difficulty moving his finger. The condition gradually improved and it took 3-4 months for the main effect of the injury to resolve.

He was away from work for 6 weeks and when he returned he was placed on light duties for about 2 months.

2 years after the accident the Claimant complained about aching in his finger with exposure to cold and tingling at the finger tip when the weather was warm. The medical expert believes that the situation would improve for about 3 years but may not disappear completely.

The Claim was valued in the sum of £1,400.00 for general damages (pain and suffering).

Proposals now being put forward on behalf of insurers would make it very much more difficult for such clients to pursue a claim. the relatively low value of a claim does not mean that it can be presented by somebody without training, experience and research resources.

Our client was elderly. As he walked through the pedestrianised area of his local town center, he tripped over a man hole cover which stood clear of the surrounding flagged area by over 1 inch.

Court proceedings had to be issued. We asserted that the local authority had allowed the manhole to become and remain raised; they permitted the flagstones surrounding the manhole to remain missing; they failed to replace the missing flagstones; they failed by means of signs or notices or bollards or barriers to warn pedestrians of the raised manhole cover; they permitted the continuance of a danger, trap or tripping hazard, that they permitted pedestrians to use the pavement when it was unsafe to do so, they exposed the Claimant to a foreseeable risk of injury, they failed to carry out adequate systems of inspection and maintenance and failed to maintain the highway contrary to section 41 of The Highways Act 1980. (phew!)

Our Claimant succeeded. he had sustained soft tissue injury to the left wrist and shoulder, an occult rib fracture, and an acceleration of a rotator cuff tear by a period of 3 to 5 years. He was awarded £5,750.00 for general and special damages.

Our client was a young man who worked as an assistant manager in a shop.

He was a passenger in a motor car sitting on the back middle seat with a lap strap seatbelt. The car was not fitted with head restraints in the rear. he was attending to some paperwork when the car collided with the rear of another vehicle at a roundabout.

Although he was not immediately aware of an injury, about two weeks later he became aware of pain around his right shoulder blade radiating from his neck and also sharp pains in the center of the front of his chest.

He attended his general practitioner on 2 occasions and was prescribed pain killers and anti inflammatory tablets which he took for approximately 2 months. His GP referred him for physiotherapy and he was shown how to exercise and provided with advice on massage therapy.

He did not take any time off work. However he experienced difficulty when lifting heavy boxes. The Claimant regularly helped his father with DIY projects but found that he was very restricted in his ability to undertake heavy tasks such as garden re design and internal building projects.

The Claimant’s main leisure pursuit was basketball which he was unable to play due to the accident. The Claimant had suffered a soft tissue injury of the cervical spine; a probable right scapular muscle tear; and an intermittent anterior chest wall pain possible due to referred pain from nerve route irritation. The Claimant’s symptoms completely resolved after 16 months.

Our client received £2600 general damages and £49.80 special damages.

Our client was being driven home by his ex-girlfriend when a third party lost control of his own vehicle and spun into ourclient’s path. The front of the claimant’s car collided with the side of the third parties vehicle. The claimant attempted to brace himself against the dash board and in doing so bent his fingers back causing injury to them.

The claimant also suffered a whiplash injury to his neck and lower back which resolved within one year of the accident. The fractures to the middle and ring fingers of the left hand were expected to resolve within six months after the accident without any residual deformity.

A further consequence of the accident was that the claimant suffered a fear of cars and nightmares.

It transpired that the defendant was not insured and therefore a claim was made to the MIB (Motor Insurer’s Bureau).

The claim was settled in the sum of £2,700.00 for pain and suffering and £286.90 in respect of out of pocket expenses.

Again, this shows that an accident where the other side is not insured can still be claimable.

Our client recovered £7000 for a whiplash injury. This was despite the fact that he was a passenger in a works hired van being driven by an unauthorized workmate. Originally the employers and hire company all refused to deal with he claim as there was no insurance cover. Legal authority suggested otherwise and compensation was therefore ultimately recovered.

Note: A defence which looks convincing may not always prevent a no-win-no-fee claim. Liability is not always obvious at first. It was the employer who had to pay for his liability as an employer for the act of his worker.

Our client was a 17 year old youth walking along the road when he was was struck by a vehicle. He suffered a fracture of the right femur and other minor injuries. The hospital notes confirmed that at he time of the accident and when examined in hospital he was intoxicated. The defendants said that he was so intoxicated that he was not taking proper care as he crossed what was a major road, and denied liability stating that he was the author of his own misfortune on the basis that he was drunk and staggering across the road leaving the defendant no opportunity to avoid him. The defendants were adamant in their stance.

We were successful in this case although Mr D. compensation was reduced by 60% due to his contributory negligence. The reason that we were successful was that the courts regard motor cars as being the equivalent of a “potentially dangerous weapon” and those who are in charge of such a weapon should take extreme care particularly in respect of pedestrians. However pedestrians must also take care for their own safety and that is why the compensation was reduced. The injuries that Mr D. sustained were worth £7,000 before the reduction.

Note: It is sometimes said that the no-win no fee system only allows cases very certain very sure of success to proceed. This claim shows that this is not always true. It is very important to understand however that the decision about whether we will take on a case must be our decision based upon our assessment of the chances. We do reject some cases which we consider to be too risky.

Our client was offered a lift in a car which unbeknown to her was stolen. As a result the driver was obviously not insured. Despite this we recovered £4,900.00 for her whiplash injuries.

Note: Again, cases can succeed despite not being straightforward. Our client recovered her losses because she did not know anything was wrong.

Our elderly client tripped over a raised paving stone when entering his local market. We recovered £5,750.00 for his injuries and we were able to arrange for his injuries to be treated privately, speeding up his recovery.

Note: Claims are not always about pocketing a lot of money. Genuine injuries deserve genuine compensation. Different elements are important for different people.

Mr R. was driving his car. While stationary in heavy traffic and without warning he was hit from behind by another vehicle. He was thrown first backwards and then forwards in his seat. He was dazed and shaken and had immediate pain in the back and in the neck. He attended hospital by ambulance where x-rays were taken. An MRI scan was subsequently performed and luckily a fracture of the vertebrae was disproved. He remained in hospital for four days. He was in a neck brace and lying flat for the first 48 hours. He was off work as a building surveyor for three weeks. He returned to work doing light duties. It transpired that the defendant driver was uninsured. The claim was therefore redirected to the Motor Insurers Bureau. The claimant made a full recovery within two years. The claim was settled for £4,750.00 general damages and £1,100.00 special damages.

Note: The MIB scheme is one we all pay for through our own car insurances. It provides for recovery for personal injuries suffered even if the other driver in an accident was uninsured.

Miss X fell down the unsafe stairs in her flat and through a glass panel. She suffered a pelvic injury, cracked ribs, cuts and bruises to her face and depression. We successfully recovered £18,250 for her pain and suffering and a further £3,250 for her out of pocket expenses.

Notes: Some buildings are just unsafe, and a landlord can be liable for any injury caused.

It cost Miss X nothing to pursue the case. Nor was she at risk. We bought insurance to cover her potential liability to the defendants if she lost, and the risk born by us of losing was covered by a sum added to the costs paid by the defendant.

Our client severed his achilles tendon when he stepped onto a pane of glass in his employer’s shed on his first day at work. He recovered £9,000.00 for his pain and suffering and recovered his loss of wages whilst off work too.

Note: Employers have a simple and clear duty to provide their employees with a safe place to work. Injuries at work are often a source of claims.

Our client, a rugby player, injured his leg when he stumbled over an uneven kerbstone. He recovered £25,000.00 and his considerable loss of wages in full.

Note: ‘Slip and Trip’ claims are common. Your local authority or highway authority are under an obligation to keep highways safe.

Our client fell down a steep drop on some council wasteland whilst attending a community sports meeting. He severely iinjured his leg and was unable to continue work as an engineer. He recovered £80,000.00 for his pain and suffering and has now paid off his mortgage and is retraining to become a teacher.

Note: A serious personal injury can destroy a life. A successful claim can do something to retrieve te situation, and sometimes even inspire a major change in life.

ur client was a young boy who cut his head on some wire fencing which had been broken by vandals. He was trying to retrieve his football. He was very conscious of the scar he had been left with. We recovered £3,000.00 for him.

Note: The amount of damages can vary hugely. Only a lawyer with access to a full range of materials can properly assess how much should be claimed.