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.

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 »

Nursing Home Abuse Victims Should Be Given A Voice And Their Dignity Back

Paula Bridge – Personal Injury Consultant

The Daily Telegraph reported yesterday that “a year-long inquiry into standards of care for the elderly at home has uncovered “appalling” evidence of pensioners being deprived of food and drink, handled roughly, humiliated and even robbed.”

This is another example of the forgotten age.

Elderly vulnerable people don’t seem to have had a voice in recent years and the treatment displayed by some, not all carers have been tantamount to criminality.

The lack of training and resources for home carers has meant that some have as little as fifteen minutes to check on a resident and prepare a meal. The pressures this causes has led to communication and basic humanity failings.

Ralli has received numerous examples of abusive behaviour of elderly patients in nursing and care homes; this unfortunately is a familiar theme. Families do need to stand up for their relatives and give them a voice; it is the only way the system will ever change.

It is important to highlight the appalling failures in the standard of care and where appropriate report the offenders to their governing body. Read more »

Ralli Renews Membership to Injury Lawyers 4U scheme

Our continued contribution to the scheme allows us to help many innocent victims of accidents make claims for personal injury compensationfor another year.

The scheme, now in its 11th year aims to provide the best possible legal advice for innocent victims of accidents of any nature and help them receive compensation for their injuries. The scheme operates under a strict ‘No Win No Fee’ policy, so if the claimant doesn’t win, they won’t pay a penny.

The scheme allows injured members of the public to be connected with specialist accident injury lawyers quickly and effectively.

A response to ABI claims of ‘excessive’ personal injury costs

Maria Penny - Personal Injury Solicitor

In repsonse to the Law Society Gazette article Personal injury solicitors rebuff ABI claims over ‘excessive’ costs

I am astounded at the comments made by the ABI.

The entire system of handling low value RTA cases has been overhauled so as to implement a fixed costs system which will not take account of “claims management companies… racking up high legal costs”.  If a claim is worth less than £10,000 to include general damages (the compensation for the actual injury) and special damages (other financial losses excluding vehicle damage) and settles without the need for litigation base profit costs have been limited to a nominal figure agreed following consultation between Claimant representatives and the insurance industry. 

We have all had to change our system of work to accommodate the new process to include in most cases new IT systems and staff recruitment/retraining. The cost of the same has not been recoverable and has had to be swallowed by individual firms at a time when some practitioners are struggling to survive.  I would not be surprised if the cost of updating their own systems and processes is a factor which has driven up premiums. Read more »

Not just something and nothing

Jenny Stevenson (Personal Injury Solicitor)

According to the Manchester Evening News, compensation claims have cost Greater Manchester taxpayers more than £7.4 million in the last year. Read more »