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Types of Personal Accidents and illnesses

1. Road Accidents

2. Environmental Health & Pollutants

3. Industrial Illnesses and Diseases

4. Industrial Accidents

5. Clinical Negligence

6. Serious Injuries

7. Product Liability

8. Armed Forces

1. Road Accidents

You may be unlucky to be involved in a road traffic accident that was not your fault. If this is the case, then you may be entitled to make a personal injury compensation claim.

If you are a passenger in a vehicle; which is involved in a collision, your personal injury compensation claim would be made against the insurance company of the person responsible for the accident, whether that is the driver of the vehicle you were travelling in or a third party driver (or both if necessary).

If you are a pedestrian, a motorcyclist, a pedal cyclist or a driver, your personal injury compensation claim would be made against the insurance company of the person responsible for the accident.

In general, the most common type of injury resulting from a road accident is a whiplash injury caused by the sudden jarring of the neck on impact. Many other different injuries are possible, however, including damage to knees impacting the steering wheel, and wrist sprains, for example.

If you think you have a claim, click here

2. Environmental Health & Pollutants

Claims in this category of personal injury are split into two main areas

Environmental Health Claims or Toxic Torts; Hazardous Substances

Environmental Health Claims or Toxic Torts have often involved leaks of hazardous materials. For example, claims have involved instances in which industrial waste has been pumped into the sea, rivers or the air. Similarly, personal injury compensation claims have also been made following radioactive and chemical leaks and instances of noise pollution.

Hazardous Substances claims have involved some of the following topics

Asbestos related illness
Arsenic poisoning
Bacterial Food Poisoning
Benzene Related Illnesses
Carbon Monoxide
Chemical Poisoning
Chromium-Related Illness
Cigarette Smoke
Acid poisoning
Dioxins
Arsenic poisoning
Lead Poisoning
Mercury Poisoning
Mesothelioma
PAH Claim Advice
PCB Exposure
Perchlorate-Related Illness
Pesticides
PVC Exposure
Radiation
Soil contamination
TCE and MTBE exposure
Teflon
Toluene Health Effects
Welding rod fumes

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3. Industrial Illnesses and Diseases

Sadly, it is not uncommon for people to develop an illness or disease after coming into contact with a harmful substance in their workplace. If your employer has exposed you to a harmful substance and you have developed an illness or disease, you may be able to make a personal injury claim. Exposure to asbestos and pneumoconiosis from coalmining are probably the mostly widely mentioned in the media.

It is your employer's legal duty under the UK Government’s Health and Safety legislation to protect you from hazardous substances and hazardous situations whilst you are in work to minimise the risks of you developing an Industrial Illness or Industrial Disease.

If your job brings you into contact with dangerous chemicals, for example, your employer should have already investigated the possibility of replacing the dangerous chemicals with less harmful ones and ensured that you have the minimal amount of contact with them as possible. If your employer has concluded that there is no way around you working with the dangerous chemicals, they should then provide you with protective clothing to wear. Again, it is your responsibility to wear the protective clothing once it has been provided.

Similarly, if your working environment is very noisy, it is your employer's duty to reduce the noise to an acceptable level or, if this is not possible, to provide you with ear defenders to prevent Industrial Deafness or Noise Induced Hearing Loss. As long as your employer provides you with these ear defenders, it is your responsibility to wear them.

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4. Industrial and Miscellaneous Accidents

Fordlegal Solicitors can recover compensation for your accident at work if it can be proved that someone is at fault. Typically this would be your employer, but occasionally it may be a fellow employee or another company working at your place of work.
The major categories of accidents at work include

Accidents at Work for Members of the Armed Forces
Workplace Manual Handling
Workplace Slips and Trips
Construction sites
Other Workplace Accidents

Ford Legal Services can also help you with immediate, up-front payments to cover loss of earnings, healthcare costs or the practical changes needed in your home if you are disabled.

Miscellaneous accidents is the catch all for claims that are less common or do not fit neatly into one or other of the previous categories

Accidents in a public place
Accidents at Home
Bad Faith Litigation – Insurance Claims
Criminal Assault
Criminal Injury
Fatal Injury Cases
Sports Injury Compensation

Please remember that there are strict time limits in place, so please do not delay contacting us. If you think you have a claim, click here

5. Clinical Negligence

Whilst the United Kingdom has a globally respected NHS system, errors do occasionally occur to create clinical or medical negligence. If you are injured as a result of this negligence you may be able to make a personal injury claim for compensation. In extreme cases, death of a loved member of the family may occur

Below is a list of the most common types of clinical negligence;

Birth Injuries
Misdiagnosis
Surgical errors
Medical Establishments issues, for example MRSA
General Clinical Negligence Issues

Please remember that there are strict time limits in place, so please do not delay contacting us. If you think you have a claim, click here

6. Serious Injuries

If you or a loved member of the family suffers what insurers refer to as a ‘catastrophic injury’ life will probably become much more demanding. Brain injuries, spinal injuries, severe burns or amputations are ‘life-changing’ events where 24-hour care may become a necessity. These types of catastrophic events often mean the end of a working life and require major financial support to rebuild that life.

Often special equipment is required and your home may need to be adapted. Months of rehabilitation may follow the accident that caused your serious injury, and some re-training may become necessary too. If you think you have a claim, click here

7. Product Liability

Consumer and industrial products sometimes fail to work properly or as designed, causing minor or significant injuries. Thalidomide, a birth pain drug in the 1970s caused massive medical problems, for example. Similarly, unwanted glass in a meat pie can have severe consequences.

The major categories include the following

Pharmaceuticals
Bio-Mechanical Devices
Cosmetics
Consumer Products

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8. Armed Forces

Sadly, members of the armed forces who suffered personal injuries as a result of their service before 1987, are unable to make a claim for their injury due to the Crown Proceedings Act, which did not allow this. This Act is still affects many ex-servicemen and women today - for example, those who were exposed to asbestos during their time in the military prior to 1987, that have now gone on to develop an asbestos related condition.

Happily, the good news is that the rules have now changed and any member of the Armed Forces who is injured or exposed to asbestos during their service at home or abroad after 1987 can now make a personal injury claim for compensation. If a Personal Injury Solicitor can show that the Army, Royal Air Force or Royal Navy were negligent, a personal injury claim can now be dealt with in the same way a member of the public would make a claim against their employer.

With regard to road traffic accidents where someone else is to blame, members the UK Armed Forces can have the same help from Fordlegal Solicitors as a civilian. We will be able to help you make a personal injury compensation claim for the injury you have sustained whether your accident was caused by another member of the armed forces or a member of the general public.

If your accident happened whilst you were abroad and the third party driver was another member of the armed forces, then your personal injury compensation claim will still be very straight-forward and can be dealt with by a personal injury lawyer in the UK. If the accident was caused by a member of the public abroad; however, this is not as straight-forward and you would require personal injury compensation claim advice from a personal injury lawyer based in the country where the accident happened. This is due to the fact that laws and procedures for making claims vary from country to country.

However, one major exception for members of the armed forces involved in road traffic accidents is that they cannot claim compensation for an injury they have sustained, which was caused as a direct result of an ongoing conflict they are dealing with. For example, if your car accident was directly related to conflict in Iraq or Afghanistan, say, you cannot claim compensation for your personal injury. As it can often be difficult to say whether or not an accident is really connected to a conflict, our solicitors will be able to advise on the specific facts of your case.

Finally, UK Health and Safety legislation now applies to the Ministry of Defence as with any other UK company. The MOD has a legal responsibility to protect its employees, contractors and visitors. For example, the MOD must, inter alia

• Provide the necessary machinery and tools to complete armed services jobs
• Ensure machines and tools are maintained to a safe condition
• Ensure that the workplace is kept in a safe and tidy condition
• Provide employees with suitable workstations and chairs
• Floors and corridors clean and free from hazards
• Ensure no obstructed doors or gates
• Training in lifting heavy objects
• Provide all safety wear required to complete tasks, including goggles, hard hats, ear guards, dust masks, safety gloves, safety boots or high-visibility jackets

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