Personal Injury Claims Bristol Blog

A woman that was hit by a police car that was responding to a 999 call has been left with “possibly life-threatening injuries”.  The 33-year-old woman, who remains unnamed, was hit at a junction just outside the centre of Bristol city centre last night (Saturday 29 November).  Police were responding urgent reports concerning a man making threats with a knife when the accident happened.

New figures have revealed that police dogs bite an average of five people every week in London alone. Compensation paid out to victims has more than doubled in the last three years, standing at £250,000.  The lawyers representing the victims described the number of attacks as “troubling” and said that the force should be doing more to prevent these accidents from happening.

Suffolk County Council has paid out £70,000 to claimants for pothole damage over the last two years. The figures were released under a Freedom of Information request, which uncovered the sum to be made up of personal injury compensation, vehicle damage, legal fees and other costs.

With screenings playing an important role in the diagnosis and treatment of numerous illnesses, such as cancer, the NHS has recently been criticised for not using the equipment adequately.  The Science and Technology Committee has accused the NHS of “poor communication” on the issue of screenings, with people all over the UK being subject to both misdiagnosis and “overdiagnosis”.

A man from Bedworth has been banned from owning dogs after he pleaded guilty to owning dangerous dogs that caused injury.  58-year-old Jasvinder Chana admitted to owning two dogs that caused injury on two separate occasions, on Monday 11^th August and Wednesday 13^th August.  The victims, a fourteen-year-old boy and a fourteen-year-old girl, were both left with severe injuries following the attacks.

A wave of public anger has overcome the Derby community after a destruction order was placed on a dog forced to bite a shop assistant by its owner.  Tia, a “pitbull or Staffordshire” type dog, was forced by her owner, Jessiah Johnson, to attack a shop assistant in November last year. Magistrates ordered the destruction of the dog following the incident, which has resulted in a public outcry with people arguing that the dog should not be held responsible.

A couple from Bristol have finally been awarded compensation after a holiday organised by Thomas Cook went terribly wrong.  Mark Bidwell and Nicola Greathurst had been on a two-week long holiday at the four-star Bahia Principe Hotel, in the Dominican Republic; a few months before they were due to have a baby.  However, only five weeks into the holiday, Mr Bidwell fell severely unwell with a gastric illness.  He suffered abdominal pain, diarrhoea, lethargy and serious weight loss.

38-year-old Joanna Rose was left with life-changing injuries after a car hit her during her honeymoon in Torrevieja on the Costa Blanca.  She suffered a broken spine, five broken ribs, internal bleeding and serious bruising.  The accident happened when her and her husband were walking along the side of the road and a car hit her from behind.  Mrs Rose is now seeking compensation for the rehabilitative treatment she will require.

A chemical leak has left a man in hospital.  A delivery driver phoned firefighters yesterday morning with the fear that there was a chemical leak inside his vehicle. The van had been delivering a heavy duty acidic de-scaler to a house in Ashbury, near Faringdon, when the incident happened. It is believed that the dangerous chemical leaked out through the packaging and into the delivery van, affecting the driver.

The widow of a former dockyard worker who died as a result of asbestos exposure has appealed for information surrounding her late husband’s working conditions.  Kenneth Strong died at age 80 after battling mesothelioma, a cancer caused by asbestos exposure, for five-months. His wife Jean is appealing to her husband’s colleagues to assist in an investigation into the working conditions of the dockyard.

It has recently been identified by the Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) that the platforms of many train stations slope towards the tracks. A spokesperson from the branch said that the rail industry has not identified this as a problem, despite it having caused numerous accidents.  With reports ranging from a child in a pushchair to a wheelchair user rolling onto the tracks, the majority of the reports laid the blame on the passengers involved.

A recent inspection at a West Haddon care home has made some worrying findings concerning health and safety precautions.  Foxhill Manor Nursing Home currently provides long-term Nursing Care to 34 patients, Respite Care and Day Care 7 days a week; however, the Care Quality Commission inspectors found numerous faulty appliances, scalding tap water and broken windows at the home, all of which could cause serious injury.  Many patients that suffer with degenerative conditions, such as dementia, are treated at the home. With a ‘philosophy’ that “aims to provide its Service Users with a secure, relaxed and homely environment”, the CQC demanded that “urgent action” is taken to improve its safety standards.

New figures have revealed that Police officers receive an estimated £3million in compensation for minor injures every year.  Injuries in the last year ranged from officers falling off bikes to being bitten by dogs.  According to legislation, however, Police forces are only supposed to pay damages if more could have been done to prevent the accident from happening in the first place.  This would involve ensuring that the work environment was safe and that protective clothing suited the nature of the work.

A member of staff at an industrial estate has been taken to court after one of his colleagues sustained serious burns from a plastic bottle filled with sulphuric acid.  Mark Mellard (46) had picked up the plastic bottle on his way out of work, which had been left unattended by the sink, before he felt it burning on his leg.  He disposed of the bottle and washed his leg with cold water. The severity of the burn damaged Mr Mellard’s nerve endings so he proceeded to walk his dog before going to hospital. 

A cyclist has been awarded a six-figure payout after he was left disabled following a hit-and-run accident.  Graham Andrews faced life-threatening injuries following his accident in 2008.  The force of the driver threw him eight feet into the air and he was left on the grass verge, while the driver sped off.  Mr Andrews is now wheelchair-bound and plans to use the compensation money to buy specialist equipment to assist his rehabilitation.

Following Saturday’s accident, which saw a woman viciously attacked by two dogs in Leominster, police have recognised that the number of dog attacks is on the rise.  The attack on Saturday saw the main victim airlifted to hospital, while a further two women were also significantly injured and required hospital treatment.  It was believed that the two dogs were a Bull Mastiff and a Staffordshire Bull Terrier.  The woman remains in the Queen Elizabeth Hospital in a stable condition.

A father-of-six nearly died after doctors repeatedly misdiagnosed his bowel damage for a stomach bug.  Stuart Pashley, from Clay Cross, Derbyshire, was denied treatment by NHS staff on multiple occasions, as doctors continued to diagnose him with a common stomach bug.  One doctor actually told Mr Pashley not to go to hospital as “sickness bugs can close hospital wards and kill people”.

Those who suffer with a brain injury are to face savage cuts to rehabilitation services, resulting in thousands of patients being denied help.  This finding comes as a result of an investigation carried out by the brain injury charity Headway, who worry that the cuts will cost the taxpayer far more money in the long run. 

A cancer patient has been given ‘enormous sympathy’ but no compensation for her cancer caused by asbestos expose in her workplace in the 1970s. 58-year-old Marie McGregor was 15 when she worked in Lewis’s Department Store in Liverpool. She had been employed by the British Shoe Corporation (BSC) which managed a concession there. 

New figures have revealed that the West Country is the most dangerous place to work in Britain.  A report has found that over 6,500 people were injured and 12 people died while working in the South West of England between 2012 and 2013 – a figure higher than anywhere else in the UK.