Cyclist deliberately injured in ‘hit and run’

I cannot imagine how terrifying this must have been for Gareth.  It is difficult to believe someone would do this on purpose but in this day and age you simply never know.  Maybe the driver lost control or swerved to avoid something in the road then panicked when the accident occurred leaving Gareth in the road.  Ultimately unless the driver is traced we may never know.

Thankfully someone had the presence of mind to retain the registration plate of the vehicle concerned and it will not be difficult to trace the car if the registration is correct.  DVLA searches allow for a vehicle to be traced to the registered keeper at any point in time and databases exist to trace insurance details and the police will pursue such lines of enquiry as a matter of course.  Of course, issues may arise if the vehicle was displaying false plates, but CCTV in the area should also be viewed to see if footage of the incident exists.

Gareth is able to claim compensation, should he wish, for the damage to his bicycle and his injuries sustained, whether or not the vehicle is traced.  Criteria to claim will apply if the vehicle is untraced and therefore time is of the essence.  If it is later found the vehicle was used as a weapon towards Gareth, i.e. driven at him on purpose, a claim for criminal injuries can also be considered as an alternative but in most cases a civil claim as against the relevant insurer or, if uninsured or untraced, the MIB (Motor Insurers Bureau) is a better option.

In some respects Gareth is very lucky.  I have handled cases for people involved in similar incidents which unfortunately involved catastrophic injuries which left the injured party with lifelong symptoms and difficulties.  I sincerely hope the driver is traced and Gareth can at the very least have some answers.

Back To 1976 – The Best Year Ever?

I have to say that I smiled when I heard that.  And then I started to drift back and I smiled even more.  I really do think that 1976 was the best year of my childhood years.

In 1976, I was 13 years old and my life couldn’t have been better.  I was the second child of Ron and Frances Buckley.  My dad was a farmer and my mother cleaned at the school that I attended.  My older brother Stephen had left school the year before with a stack of grade A O-Levels (when exams were hard…)

In 1976 I didn’t have a care in the world, it was the much talked about “long, hot summer” and all I had to worry about was whether it was going to rain or not, (it didn’t of course!), if I had 37 pence on a Tuesday (this was so I could go to the local record shop and buy the single of my choice!), whether I’d done my maths homework (I usually hadn’t…) and I looked forward to my 14^th birthday at the end of summer.   I used to love getting cards in the post, I knew that in two of them at least there would be postal orders – from my Nanna and my Great Auntie. A first class stamp in 1976 (a posh one with a picture on, was 8 ½ pence.   That is how uncomplicated my life was.  Read more »

1976 – The Best Year Ever?

It started at the beginning of April and lasted until October of the same year.  Warm sunny days every day – no rain.  I had started my legal career as an Articled Clerk in Manchester in the January of that year.  I was lucky to get Articles – life was pretty grim in Britain.

High rate income tax was 83% and investment income carried an extra 15% making a total tax rate of 98%.  Accountants would say that earning more than £14,000 a year was pointless.  Some people chose to leave the country! Inflation was 25%.

My car was a Morris Traveller and I lived in a one bed flat in Didsbury.  “I’m Mandy – Fly Me” by Manchester group 10CC was top of the charts.

Partners’ cars in those days were usually Rovers or high spec models from Longbridge with badges like MG or Wolsey.  Younger lawyers drove a Mini or a Datsun Cherry .  There were frequent strikes and products were shoddy and unreliable. Read more »

Tougher Community Sentences Need Clarity

The main legal text on sentencing runs to five large volumes together with updates and is a very complex legal tome.

It is a very difficult area and one which has been described as an “art rather than a science” how do you then strike the right balance, each case has to be dealt with on its particular merits and aggravating and mitigating factors.

Quite often people do not understand the concept of “basis of plea” you can be guilty of an offence but on different facts than those put forward by the prosecution for example the prosecution may say you punched someone then kicked him when he fell to the floor, your plea may be I punched him once but accept that the force I used was more than reasonably required. It is still assault, the injuries may be the same but the sentence could well be different.

Matters are frequently reported on the prosecution opening which will sound far worse than the actual basis of plea and therefore it can appear that “soft sentences” have been given.

The progression to GPS as a form of tougher sentence is interesting and new therefore we have not been able to assess how it would work in the practical world.

What types of offences would it be used for:-

• “Domestic Violence” perhaps where the Prosecution wish to keep a defendant away from a victim?
• Public Disorder to keep a defendant out of a town centre
• Theft/Burglary to stop a defendant from going to a particular area

How is it to be funded, who is going to monitor it and is it really going to be a publicly acceptable alternative to custody or an expensive addition to the sentencing armoury of the court?

What are going to be the penalties for breach of the GPS order and if someone disputes it where will the burden of proving that the breach took place lie?

Will a GPS wearer have to show he was where he said he was or will the company who fitted it have to prove beyond reasonable doubt that he was not where he says he was?

There is clearly a long way to go yet in terms of implementation and what the public thinks of it as an idea.

‘Bullied’ Breast Implant Patients Need Options Not Pressure

To then have the anguish of feeling that they have somehow put themselves in danger by allowing a defective product to be placed within their bodies is often more than than they can cope with.

They are already vulnerable and the last thing they need is to be preyed on by the same industry that offered them the “solution “ in the first place.

All too often it, despite popular belief, it is the more vulnerable person who opts for cosmetic surgery. The clinics are aware of this and to be using labels like “freak“ and “deformed “ is appalling as well as totally unprofessional.

The cosmetic industry is under the spotlight and the clinics should be doing everything they can to reassure their clients both past and future.

I am pleased to say most are but unfortunately some have had to have the gentle reminder from solicitors, such as ourselves, that their clients are victims who through no fault of their own are now in a really difficult position as to the way forward.

Whatever they choose will have an impact both mentally and financially for them. They need to be provided with their options and the consequences so they can make an informed choice, not pressure.

If you are struggling with the after effect of cosmetic surgery and do not feel your clinic is being supportive then please contact me on 0161 832 6131, email paula.bridge@ralli.co.uk or follow us on Twitter @RalliSolicitors.

A Word About Insurance…One Big Convenient Excuse?

I passed my driving test in 1980, the year that Pac-Man was released, the Rubik’s cube became popular and John Lennon was assassinated.  In this year TR7s, Ford Cortinas, Ford Escorts were the  cars of the day.  I passed my test in a navy blue Chrysler Sunbeam (not before I had almost driven my driving instructor to distraction and drink, I might add!). The first car I was insured to drive in was a Ford Cortina – a dark purple monstrosity of a thing, the steering was so heavy I had muscles in my arms that Fatima Whitbread would have been envious of.

In 1982 I got married, Michael Jackson released Thriller, the Mary Rose was raised after 437 year under the sea and the Falkland Islands were invaded.  The purple Cortina made its way to the scrap yard and was replaced by a little cream Talbot Avenger.

Time marched on and in 1985, the year that the hole in the ozone layer was discovered and there was famine in Ethiopa, I gave birth to my first child.     We brought our daughter home from hospital in  dark blue Peugeot 205.  I’d had a ticket to see Bruce Springsteen that year and couldn’t go due to being with child!

In 1989, the Berlin Wall fell, The Bangles had a number one with Eternal Flame and I gave birth to a son.  He was brought home in a silver grey Peugeot 405.

In 1990, the year that Nelson Mandela was finally freed, England were knocked out of the world cup (again) and John Barnes rapped his way through the brilliant World in Motion, I bought a petrol blue Ford Fiesta and started working part time for a small law firm. Read more »

Chisora and Haye Brawl Highlights The Importance Of Reputation Management

Jamie Donald, Amateur Boxer, Manchester

As the fallout from the Chisora and Haye press conference brawl continues, the events highlight not only the issue of criminal ramifications but reputation management.

For many sports professionals their reputation is the most valuable and important asset.

What happened at the Chisora v Klitschko post fight press conference significantly harms the fighters’ reputations.

Klitschko watched on like a sober doorman as Haye and Chisora behaved like two drunken thugs.

Their behaviour was similar to that prior to the fight, which saw Chisora slapping his opponent across the face and spitting water in the face of his brother. While the Klitschko brothers showed significant restraint, Chisora was fined $50,000 from his purse.

The actions by two British fighters in Germany is somewhat embarrassing not only for themselves but for British boxing as a whole.

I doubt the German public will welcome them with open arms if they wish to fight there again. Both fighters are facing the prospect of being banned. Read more »

As Jones Once Said “Don’t Panic”

In my experience the biggest difficulty in establishing a business continuity plan is the tendency to attempt to make it too complicated. It’s a dull subject, preparing something you hope you’ll never use, so human nature dictates its hard to be enthusiastic about it.

A good plan should be brief, simple, and sensible. It shouldn’t attempt to cover everything. Practicing the Law is not simple, and its difficult to be brief, because you do have to cover everything. A business continuity plan is therefore bound to go against a lawyer’s traditional way of thinking.

For example, immediately post disaster what’s the number 1 priority? I would say its communication. Briefing your PR agency is absolutely critical, and it is essential that those staff you need to operate, based on skill set as opposed to status, know where to assemble. Its equally important that the rest of the staff know to stay at home. Read more »

Legal Aid Bill: The Media Whitewash

Whilst the government is getting a well deserved thrashing in relation to the proposed assault on the NHS, and the Welfare Reforms, there is much less noise and also much less support in the media in relation to the Legal Aid Bill currently making its way through Parliament. Bearing in mind that the Bill involves the issue of legal fees it is unsurprising that the majority of people at best don’t know and/or don’t care about this issue, as not only is it a dry and seemingly removed subject from our everyday lives, but also as the image of lawyers is historically so negative in the media.

I would hazard a guess that the large majority of the British public who have come into contact with lawyers at some point or another would no doubt admit that their solicitor was perfectly agreeable and even did a good job. However, there is still an underlying urban myth promoted by the media that lawyers are somehow slightly tawdry and only out for their own interests. I am sure that there are such lawyers out there, but the same could be said of any group of people in any walk of life. Read more »

The Legal Aid Bill – Everyone Affected

At the centre of these changes are the proposed changes to how no win no fee agreements operate. Simply, this allows a Client to enter into an agreement with a lawyer or legal team that if they don’t win the case there will be no charge to them but if they are successful the costs incurred by their legal team will be recovered from the other side. Therefore, these no win no fee agreements are backed by policies of insurance to cover the Opponents’ costs if the Client loses.

John Prescott is right; Part 2 of the Legal Aid Bill (“the Bill”) as proposed is going to affect a lot of people. Widely published as dealing what are said to be excessive costs in personal injury cases, the Bill as drafted has wide ranging consequences for any individual or company looking at bringing a case of any sort in the civil courts.

There have been a number of suggestions surrounding the Bill of what should happen with these agreements. These include the banning of being able to recover insurance premiums from a losing Opponent, Defendants not being able to recover their legal costs if they are successful (except in certain cases where the Claimants’ case was very weak) and an increase in damages of around 10% to partly pay for these costs. Read more »