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 »

Fresh Concerns Over DePuy Hip Replacements

Following on from the PIP scandal, new concerns are being raised over DePuy hip replacements.

DePuy replacements consist of metal on metal replacements which were recalled in 2010 due to their extremely high failure rates.

Previously concerns had been raised regarding the loosening of the implants and the risk of metal fragments working loose causing pain and mobility issues.

However, advisors to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) have decided the advice should go further due to concerns that the devices could cause “systemic toxicity” in the body.

Class actions have begun in the USA and claims are increasing in the UK.

Any patients suffering abnormal pain or deteriorating hip function should immediately contact their surgeon and request an MRI scan or ultrasound to check for soft tissue reactions and loosening of components.

They should now also request tests to establish levels of cobalt and chromium in their blood. Increased levels of cobalt and chromium can be toxic to kidneys.

This is a worrying development coming so soon after the PIP publicity which once again calls into question the system of regulation of medical devices.

All patients who have had this device fitted whether they have experienced problems or not should have been recalled for advice.

If patients have any concerns they should contact me immediately on 0161 832 6131 or paula.bridge@ralli.co.uk and I will be happy to advise further.

Latest Dog Attack Highlights The Need For Review

This is a very sad story and my thoughts go out to the little girl and her family.

Full details of the incident are not known and it is unclear at this stage whether the dog had any prior history of aggression or was temperamental but in any case will do very little to dispel the view held my many that such breeds of dog are dangerous.

I personally do not believe it is necessarily the breed and I refer to my previous thoughts following the purported attack on a television star recently – http://tinyurl.com/7vl5xb9

I will not seek to vilify the dog owner but this is an area of the law that to my mind needs review.

Costa Concordia tragedy

I am saddened to hear of the many fatalities and my heart goes out to those families still awaiting news of their loved ones.

Whilst it is too early to know why the ship ran aground, it is clear that a full investigation will have to take place and questions will need to be answered by the Italian authorities.

We need to understand whether this was down to human error or mechanical failures. At the moment there is a lot of speculation and conflicting reports in the press. Once the initially shock wears off, people are going to feel anger that this has happen and wanted to know exactly what went wrong.

The injured survivors are likely to need substantial medical and professional help to recover from their ordeal. Survivors are likely to have long-lasting emotional scars as well as their physical injuries.

I would urge anyone injured or with family members injured in the incident to speak to our specialist solicitors as soon as possible. It is important to contact our solicitors who have specialist knowledge of this area, the law and the specials rules and regulations which apply to accidents on-board ships.

Emmerdale Star ‘Attack’ Highlights The Importance Of Dangerous Dogs Act Review

The review of legislation regarding dangerous dogs, currently enshrined in the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 and 1997 as amended, has been long overdue and pressure is mounting to either repeal current legislation with new, or amend it to make it more effective.

It is hoped new law would seek to impose tighter restrictions on those in charge of dogs, regardless of breed, to ensure that if a dog is dangerous or has history steps can be taken to monitor the same and impose sanctions in the event further incidences occur.  The same should also give the police and local authorities more powers to penalise those in breach to encourage responsible ownership. Read more »

PIP Breast Implant Update: Dissolved Businesses

If the original clinic has closed down then I would recommend those concerned to go to their GP and ask for a scan.

This will enable medical experts to advise whether the implants pose an immediate risk. It is important to remember that advice from the Department of Health has remained consistent that the immediate removal of implants is not necessary.

Of course those concerned need to be sure they have PIP implants and if in doubt they need to try and find their original records. Again this is something we can assist with as many surgeons have kept records of previous operations even though they no longer work for the same clinic.

If the scan shows an implant has ruptured then further action needs to be taken.

If the client cannot return to the original clinic for removal then they will need to consider a referral to the NHS. There is still some confusion as to whether the NHS will deal with patients who have had surgery for non reconstructive reasons.

For those who did have the surgery for reconstructive reasons the Government has helpfully now clarified the position. Read more »

David Cameron to “cut back health and safety”

Health and Safety of workers is paramount and a laudable quality; after all it is the historical implementation and continued application of these standards that save employees lives and separate the British workplace from a Far East “sweat shop”.

Whilst we all agree that the UK economy should remain competitive perhaps the Prime Minister should focus on Government department’s procurement policy for major public projects and the money it wastes rather than becoming the PR representative of the insurance industry.

It is a recorded fact by the Government that the number of fatalities and injuries and therefore claims arising out of workplace accidents has dropped significantly.  The heavily discredited Lord Young confirmed as much in the report the Prime Minister commissioned.  The issue was the fear of litigation as a result of advertising and not the reality.

It is perhaps surprising that the only winners out of all the regulation and targeting of Health and Safety are the Government who as the largest employer in the country and the insurance industry. Employer’s liability insurance is compulsory. The premiums increase, despite the fact that only 2/3 of viable claims are pursued and the number of injuries is dropping.

If the liability for which insurance is compulsory is also further reduced who are the major and only beneficiaries; as call me cynical but I don’t believe that the government or the insurance industry will pass the savings on to the public. Read more »

PIP Breast Implants Guidance

Our guidance is to return to your breast implant surgeon if you are concerned to find out whether your implants are PIP (Poly Implant Prothese) implants. It is important to have them regularly checked.

We have taken instructions from Patients where the implants have ruptured and they have had no option but to have them removed. Some have been able to have further replacements but many simply cannot afford to pay a second set of fees for the surgery.

The difficulty in pursuing the French company PIP, which exported its products to 66 countries is that they have gone into liquidation which has meant they are not in a position to satisfy judgements obtained against them for supplying defective implants.

Therefore we need to look at other avenues and consider pursuing the clinics or indeed the surgeons where these procedures took place.

If you have any concerns and wish to obtain further advice please contact me today on 0161 615 0699 or email enquiries@ralli.co.uk

Fox Says…’Compensation Culture’

“To tackle the compensation culture and address the fear from businesses of being sued for trivial or excessive claims ­we will extend the current scheme that caps the amount that lawyers can earn from small value personal injury claims and reduce overall costs in cases funded by no win no fee¹ deals.

This will help bring down the cost of many cases and deter the speculative health and safety claims made against good businesses that would appear not to have done anything wrong.”

Will the government also act to ensure that Insurance companies identify the saving they make in compensation payments and legal fees and show transparently how it has been used to reduce premiums rather than just increase shareholders profits and senior employee’s remuneration packages?

Abuse of the elderly. Are we really a nation that doesn’t care?

This comes after reading the report a few days ago concerning the ten staff at a care home who appeared in court charged with a string of offences. A number of years ago Ralli launched www.nursinghomeabuse.org.uk and along with our managing partner Martin Coyne, I helped set this up.

In 1993, my Grandmother died in a nursing home.  As a family we had thought long and hard about whether it was a kind thing to do, and eventually we decided that she would benefit from expert care and whilst it was a difficult decision, we found a place where we felt she would be cared for properly.

I won’t detail the exact circumstances here, suffice to say that during the short time she was in the care home, she had a terrible fall and for  3  days (despite my protestations to the staff that she should be in hospital)  she was told to “straighten up and walk properly”, even though it was clear she was in some considerable pain. When the penny finally dropped with the staff that my 93 year old grandmother, a very stoic lady who had lived through two World Wars, had been widowed twice, suffered the death of a child in a dreadful road accident, it was too late.  She had suffered a broken hip and pneumonia had already taken hold of her.   Sadly, she passed away two days later. I never forgot the attitude of the staff in that nursing home, so when Ralli decided to look at this area of work, I was glad to be involved.  I felt that I could somehow make amends for what happened to my Grandmother, by helping other victims of neglect.  Read more »