Claiming Against an Untraced Driver

In England and Wales, those who sustain whiplash in a hit and run accident are protected by the Untraced Drivers Agreement Scheme. This allows anyone injured by an untraced driver to obtain the compensation they are rightfully entitled to.

The scheme is controlled by the Motor Insurance Bureau (MIB), an organisation set up in 1946 to help people harmed by uninsured or untraced drivers. The MIB is funded by all other UK insurers, who cover the cost by adding an average of £40 to each insurance premium. Thus it is ultimately law-abiding road users who enable the MIB to operate.

However, making a claim against a driver who cannot be identified is much more complicated than a ‘normal’ claim. That is why it is so important to seek advice from solicitors who are experienced in dealing with the Motor Insurance Bureau. A legal expert will be able to guide you through the process from start to finish. The first step will be to ensure that the driver cannot be positively identified. If the responsible driver cannot be traced, your legal representative can then make a claim to the MIB on your behalf.

Due to both the complexities involved and the MIB’s duty to keep costs down, claims against untraced drivers can be subject to delays. Therefore such claims can take longer than normal whiplash claims. However, it is important to remember that the MIB’s aim is to ensure people injured at the hands of untraced drivers are properly compensated. This means you can rest assured that your claim will be handled with due care and attention.

Recover Your Compensation

Under the Untraced Driver’s Agreement Scheme, you will be able to recover compensation for your whiplash injuries. This will give you financial recompense for the pain and suffering you have been caused, as well as any finances you have lost as a result of your injury. This can include anything from loss of earnings to travel expenses. The MIB will pay for almost all your claim, so you don’t need to worry about legal fees. However, if you have fully comprehensive motor insurance then you may be expected to claim the cost of damage to your car from your own insurance company. Nevertheless, an expert whiplash lawyer will ensure this does not affect your no claims bonus.

If a patient is suffering a pulmonary embolism, doctors should waste no time in arranging diagnostic tests and treatment. Indeed, it can be a life-threatening condition, and it is estimated that an untreated pulmonary embolism will cause around 10% of patients to die.

The symptoms alone should be sufficient for doctors to suspect a pulmonary embolism. Although they will vary in size, which in turn will determine the severity of a patient’s symptoms, there are certain characteristic signs. These include breathlessness, chest pain and sudden collapse.

Delay in Diagnosing a Pulmonary Embolism

A patient presenting with these symptoms should be sent for further tests, such as a D-dimer test, a CT scan and a ventilation scan. Once diagnosed, medication to thin the blood should be administered.

However, if there is a delay in diagnosis, the consequences can be devastating. In some cases, a pulmonary embolism will lead to a cardiac arrest, thereby causing a fatality. In such tragic circumstances, it is only natural for questions to be raised over the standard of care provided. In particular, it will be necessary to establish whether a delay in diagnosis contributed towards a patient’s subsequent complications.

Unfortunately we see cases in which GPs fail to refer a patient for urgent hospital treatment. Errors can also be made within a hospital setting, with medical professionals failing to diagnose a pulmonary embolism in a timely fashion, or simply failing to make the correct diagnosis at all. In such cases, it may well be that this caused the patient further suffering.

What Action Can You Take?

When a delay in diagnosis causes a patient with a pulmonary embolism additional injury, there may well have been a case of medical negligence. If this has happened to you or a loved one, you should contact a legal expert about making a medical negligence claim.

If you have been the victim of a substandard level of care, you will be entitled to receive compensation for the pain and suffering you have been caused. This is intended to recompense for the injuries sustained, and also aims to put you back in the financial position you were in before the negligence occurred.

With the cold weather really now starting to bite, it is really important for your safety and the safety of any passengers that you make sure your car is given a little extra care and attention right now. I very much see our job at 1stClaims to prevent accidents whenever we can, and to pick up the pieces when we can’t. This article falls into the accident prevention category (and we all know that prevention is far better than cure)!

Think Carefully About Where You Park

This one is one that I write based on my own bitter experience. Last year during one of the snowy periods I parked my car on a side road at the bottom of a hill. When I returned to it later in the day I found that a nice lorry driver had skidded down the icy hill into my car putting a nice big dent in the front wing. Of course he did not do the decent thing but drove straight off, leaving my insurance premium to go up and me to pay a hefty excess. Please learn from my experience and save yourself this trouble. Park away from hills or corners (or preferably stay at home and leave your car safely on the drive.

Check Your Care Tyres

With ice on the roads your tyres need to be in top condition to do all that they can to stop you from sliding into a car that stops suddenly in front of you. You need to make sure that you have plenty of tread on your car tyres. However, this is not all, you also must check to make sure that there are no bulges in the side walls of your tyres which can cause a blow out. These are often caused by driving into large pot holes in the roads, and at this time of year with the ice cracking open the road surfaces there are far more potholes. Ensure that the tyre pressure is set to the right level on each tyre (the wrong tyre pressure can shorten your stopping distances considerably).

You also need to ensure that your spare tyre is inflated to the correct pressure in case you need to use it.

Above all, remember that if you do have a blow out on a motorway, you must immediately get all of your passengers out of the car using the doors closest to the embankment of the motorway and get as far away from the car as possible. Many people are killed while waiting on the hard shoulder; it is one of the most dangerous places to be.

Windscreen Wiper Care

The next thing is to make sure you have plenty of wiper fluid in your winsdcreen wiper tank, including the right amount of washer anti freeze to prevent it from freezing. Good visibility is vital to ensure that if anyone is forced to break sharply in front of you that you will be able to stop in time too.

Clean Your Lights, Front And Back

With all of the salt and mud on the road at this time of year your car lights can quickly become dirty and become far less effective. Keep some kitchen towel or tissues in the car and give them a wipe before each journey to ensure that you can see and also be seen.

Drive More Carefully

The most important tip is probably the most obvious one too! If it is snowing or icy you really do need to drop your speed right down. If you are late for work or an appointment whoever you are meeting will understand, and you are certainly better arriving late than the alternative!

Winter Care Care Items To Keep In Your Boot

If the worst case scanario does happen and you are trapped in snow, you should keep the following items in your boot during these colder months:

• A snow shovel to dig yourself out if you need to;
• Warm coats and blankets in case you become trapped in your car;
• High energy food supplies and plenty of water;
• A spare battery for your mobile phone or a portable charger (your phone battery might run out along with your car battery too so a spare could be invaluable for you);
• A tow rope (for your own or another vehicle if your or they become stuck in the ice); and
• A torch

I hope you use these winter car care tips to keep you safe this winter.

Around 10% of surgical procedures carried out in the NHS will involve high-risk surgery patients. However, a recent report has revealed that these patients make up 80% of surgery-related deaths.

Evidently, high-risk patients will be more prone to suffering difficulties. They may be deemed high-risk because of various health conditions (including as diabetes or heart disease), while age and weight can also be a contributing factor. When a patient has such problems, it is reasonable to presume that he will face an increased chance of surgery-related complications.

Nevertheless, the National Confidential Enquiry into Patient Outcome and Death who carried out the research described the findings as “disturbing”, indicating that something other than additional health issues is to blame.

Unacceptable Standards of Care

The expert panel reviewed 20,000 surgical cases across 300 hospitals, of which almost 4,000 patients were identified as being high-risk. In-depth reviews were then carried out on 829 cases, of which 43% involved poor or inadequate standards of care.

Therefore four out of 10 high-risk surgery patients are receiving a substandard level of care. But in what ways are medical professionals failing high-risk surgery patients?

Firstly, the report found that a fifth of patients who underwent planned procedures were not seen in a pre-assessment clinic. Only 22% were then sent to critical care after surgery, with the remaining patients sent to other wards. The failure to provide appropriate care both before and after the operation falls short of acceptable standards. Higher death rates were recorded in both groups.

The expert panel also found that high-risk patients were not being informed about the increased chance of complications occurring, while less than a tenth of patients had their ‘at-risk’ status recorded in their notes.

Katherine Murphy, of the Patients Association, said the report was “shocking”. She added: “the NHS needs to be far more open and transparent about the risks patients are exposed to.”

NHS medical director Prof Sir Bruce Keogh said: “The vast majority of operations performed by the NHS are safe and successful, but all patients, especially those at high risk, should receive good care and all the information that they need about their treatment – anything less is simply unacceptable.”

Have You Been Affected By Medical Negligence?

If you or a loved one has been affected by the actions (or inactions) of medical professionals, you should contact a legal expert as soon as possible. This is because you could have been the victim of medical negligence. A solicitor who specialises in this area of law will be able to advise you further. However, if you have suffered due to unacceptable standards of care, you will be entitled to claim compensation.

The unofficial protocol states that an ambulance should be relieved of a patient (either by a doctor or nurse) within 15 minutes of arrival. But research carried out by the BBC has revealed hospitals are failing to take charge of emergency patients within an acceptable amount of time.

Information provided by all of the UK’s 11 ambulance services showed they were having trouble handing patients over. Paramedics said they are often left waiting with patients in hospital corridors or even in the ambulance, therefore preventing them from attending other 999 calls. Sometimes an A&E department will be so over-run that it must close for a short time, diverting ambulances to other hospitals.

A Nationwide Problem

With data taken from across the country, it is evident that this is a nationwide problem. London is the worst at achieving the 15 minute target, as it is missed in around 45% of cases.

Queens Hospital in north-east London was the worst performer, where over half of arrivals this year have faced delays in excess of 15 minutes. In the East of England, the target is being missed in 40% of cases, while in the East Midlands, West Midlands and South Central there are delays in 30% of cases.

The Great Western Ambulance Service is the only to demonstrate a clear improvement every year, although over a quarter of patients still face delays when being transferred from the care of paramedics to the care of the hospital.

Jonathan Fox, of the Association of Professional Ambulance Personnel, spoke of his concern. “There are some horrendous delays being experienced – waits of over an hour aren’t unheard of,” he said. “It means we can’t get out to attend other patients as quickly as we should and that is a risk.”

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley also commented on the findings, saying: “Hospitals need to ensure they have proper plans in place to deal with high demand.”

Have You Suffered Because of Delays?

If you or a loved one is rushed to A&E only to face delays, we understand how angry and upset you will be feeling. However, if this delay in itself causes injury, then the consequences will be all the more traumatic. For example, a patient who has a perforated appendix must be treated immediately – any delay could lead to serious complications. If this has happened to you, you need to contact a medical negligence solicitor today, as you could be entitled to take legal action regarding the substandard level of care you received.
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The trouble I have with this statement is that we should be proud that our health and safety system has lead to a reduction in the number of injuries suffered by employees at work. The building and engineering trades have been made a lot safer by much of the health and safety procedures and processes that are in place to protect employees.

When I first started practising personal injury law in 1989 I frequently saw many horrendous injuries sustained in work places. Statistics confirm that these numbers have dropped significantly which, if you ask anyone who has suffered a severe injury at work, is a very good thing. I am keen to ensure that this good work is not undone by what the Government sees as ‘excessive’ health and safety legislation.

Cameron went on to say “Talk of ‘health and safety’ can too often sound farcical or marginal. But for British businesses – especially the smaller ones that are so vital to the future of our economy – this is a massively important issue. Every day they battle against a tide of risk assessment forms and face the fear of being sued for massive sums. The financial cost of this culture runs into the billions each year.”

“So this coalition has a clear New Year’s resolution: to kill off the health and safety culture for good. I want 2012 to go down in history not just as Olympics year or Diamond Jubilee year, but the year we get a lot of this pointless time-wasting out of the British economy and British life once and for all.”

Now the term culture is often branded about by the Government. They refer to the compensation culture or health and safety culture regularly, yet when Lord Young, instructed by David Cameron to investigate the so called ‘Compensation Culture’ was asked to prove that it existed, he could not. He admitted it was a perception rather than a reality, in other words it did not exist. Yet the Government still brandish the term about as if it is a fact. That frustrates me.

As a small business myself, I understand the comments about excessive form filling, yet the Government has to be really careful in ensuring that anything they take out of the health and safety system does not endanger the lives of employees. The legislation was put in place to protect the employee who was often asked to carry out very dangerous tasks by the employer, and told that they would lose their job if they did not do so.

Anything that can be done to reduce ‘unnecessary’ paperwork is a very good thing, but the Government has to be 100% certain that the legislation they are removing is really ‘unneccessary’ and is not doing good work in protecting vulnerable employees.

Do You Need Our Help?

1stClaims are ready and waiting to help you with a free, no-obligation discussion. Simply call us free on 0800 2888 693 and we will be delighted to help you.

Reasons that people sue the NHS for medical negligence compensation in Scotland include misdiagnosis of serious illnesses (such as cancer), incorrect medication being administered, delay in x-rays or x-rays not being performed at all, mistakes being made during childbirth, misjudgements during caesarean sections, failed vasectomies and failed sterilisations.

If think you have been the victim of medical negligence in Scotland you should gather together all the facts and seek advice from an experienced medical negligence solicitor in Scotland as soon as possible. You should keep records of any appointments where your condition has been discussed. When you have chosen a medical negligence solicitor to act for you to sue the NHS in Scotland, your solicitor will apply for a copy of your medical notes and x-rays and will discuss with you the chances of pursuing a successful claim. Your solicitor will also arrange for you to be examined by an independent medical expert who will assess your condition and comment on whether, in his opinion, any negligence has taken place by the NHS in Scotland.

Medical negligence cases can be rather complex but generally you have three years from the date upon which the negligence act or omission of the NHS professional treating you is indentified as being the cause of your injury or illness, in which to pursue a claim.

If you think you have been the victim of medical negligence in Scotland it is important to obtain advice from a medical negligence solicitor in Scotland as soon as possible. Our

1stClaims solicitors based in Scotland are experts in the field of medical negligence and are waiting to help you. Call us free today on 0800 2888 693 for a free, no-obligation consultation.

The circumstances that result in patients deciding to sue hospitals for medical negligence compensation are numerous and varied. They range from mistakes being made during childbirth and caesarean sections, headaches that are not taken seriously and turn out to be undiagnosed brain tumours, misdiagnosis of cancer, x-rays not been carried out promptly or at all, failed vasectomies and failed sterilisations leading to unwanted and unplanned pregnancies.

If you can prove that the injury or illness you are suffering from has been caused by the negligence of the medical professionals who were treating you then you may be able to pursue a successful claim for compensation. You should keep a record of all of your medical appointments and make an appointment with an expert medical negligence solicitor. Your medical negligence solicitor will advise you on your chances of pursuing a successful claim and will guide you through the process of suing a hospital. Your solicitor will also apply for copies of your medical notes and x-rays and will arrange for you to attend upon an independent medical expert.

It is important to realise that medical negligence claims often be very complex. Generally, you have three years from the date upon which the negligent act or omission by the medical professional is indentified as being the cause of your illness or injury, in which to bring a claim.

Our 1stClaims solicitors are experts in pursuing medical negligence claims and are ready to help you and answer your questions. Call us today for more information about how to sue a hospital and for a free, no obligation consultation – 0800 2888 693.

This is where I hope 1stClaims can help you. As a former solicitor myself, I have taken time to make sure that the solicitors we work with really care about what they do. There might be 10,925 law firms out there, but I promise you that of that number, not all of them are equal in their skills or in their desire to do an amazing job for you.

I don’t just select solicitors based on their ability to do a great job. That to me is clearly vital, but I expect them to be experts in accident claims, and to really do a great job for you. However, I know that many people do not use a firm of solicitors that often, so contacting one for the first time to make an accident claim can be a daunting experience. Therefore, I make sure that all of our solicitors are not only specialists, but that they are really easy to talk with. I do not want you to feel intimidated or feel like a number. I have taken time to choose the best solicitors of the 10,925, so you do not have to do anything else. After all, if you have suffered an injury in an accident, the last thing you want is to spend days calling many different solicitors to see who is the best one to help you!

So if you do need help making an accident claim, please call us free on 0800 2888 693 and speak with one of my specially selected, very friendly solicitors. You will not be disappointed!

This morning a white van was driving towards me, and I could hear a car coming in the opposite direction also. The white van could see me, and see that I had nowhere to go, but I was not going to stop him on his very important journey. After all, the extra 5 seconds he saved must have made his day. He carried on driving, forcing me to mount what there was of a bank to avoid being taken out by him, whilst his passengers shouted obscenities at me.

Now that is ok for me, I am big enough and ugly enough to take care of myself, but a similar thing happened with my 11 year old daughter. She was on her bike whilst my wife and her parents walked behind. A car hurtled past without giving more than a few inches of space. If my daughter had wobbled on her bike at that point she would have been taken out by his car. My father in law waved his arm out to the side to suggest the driver should have given more space, so the driver slammed on his brakes, got out of his car, and shouted that the speed limit is 60mph and he was only doing 55mph! This was a businessman justifying his reckless driving by saying he was driving within the speed limit.

What has happened to common sense? Surely if you see a child on a bike you have to make some allowance for the fact that he or she may swerve a little. When there are pedestrians too doesn’t it make sense to slow down, even just a little?

Section 125 of the Highway Code states:

“The speed limit is the absolute maximum and does not mean it is safe to drive at that speed irrespective of conditions. Driving at speeds too fast for the road and traffic conditions is dangerous. You should always reduce your speed when;

• the road layout or condition presents hazards, such as bends
• sharing the road with pedestrians, cyclists and horse riders, particularly children, and motorcyclists
• weather conditions make it safer to do so
• driving at night as it is more difficult to see other road users”

Forgetting what the law says and common sense, causing death by dangerous driving can carry a 10 year prison sentence, along with the social stigma of having killed someone.

I know we all lead busier and busier lives now, but please think about pedestrians and children when on single track roads. Please kill your speed limit on these single track roads, not a person.

1stClaims, Preventing Accidents When We Can, Picking Up The Pieces When We Can’t