Pages On: Public Place Accidents

Tourist awarded compensation following aeroplane injury

Posted: 4 April 2016

Posted in: Accidents and Sickness Abroad, Leg Injuries, Public Place Accidents, Public Transport Accidents, Shoulder Injuries, Spine & Back Injuries

A tourist was awarded £3900 in compensation by an airline following injuries sustained when returning from an overseas holiday. The claimant had warned the operator in advance that she had difficulties walking and had requested assistance on boarding and disembarking the aeroplane. However, upon her return from holiday, assistance was not provided. She subsequently stumbled whilst descending the staircase causing her to jar her back and shoulder. She also sustained injury to her leg. No record of types of disability assistance The holidaymaker decided to press for compensation and appointed lawyers to…

Ryanair compensates injured passenger

Posted: 26 December 2015

Posted in: Public Place Accidents, Public Transport Accidents

Flight operator Ryanair have been forced to pay out compensation to an inured traveller following a court case. The company, who deny any blame for the incident, paid 33 year old Ronald Furlong, £28k, following a cup of boiling tea being spilled on Mr Furlong’s lap when passing the tea to another passenger. Ryanair claim that Mr Furlong was not paying adequate attention and was acting in a careless fashion which resulted in him spilling the tea himself. However Mr Furlong claimed that sufficient health and safety procedures were not carried out. He…

Injured man slams housing company after fall injury leaves him unable to work

Posted: 14 November 2015

Posted in: Public Place Accidents

A man from Morden, in the London Borough of Merton, has criticised housing company Circle Housing Merton Priory (CHMP) for being unable to do its job after he fell and severely injured himself, despite making a number of complaints prior to the fall. Andy King initially reported the damage to the pavement outside his property in 2011 – a communal entrance used by himself and three elderly neighbours. The following year, one of Mr King’s neighbours, Len, almost fell after tripping on a pothole, provoking Mr King to go to…

Damaged roads cost council £1m in compensation

Posted: 21 October 2015

Posted in: Pothole Injuries, Road Traffic Accidents

It has been revealed, following a recent Freedom of Information request, that a county council has had to pay out over £1million in compensation to injured residents as a result of poorly maintained roads. A total of 1,228 residents have been awarded compensation by Hertfordshire County Council in the last two-and-a-half years because of injuries sustained through road defects. The payouts have cost the council a total of £1,014,926. Liberal Democrat Councillor Stephen Giles-Medhurst said that these figures suggest that the council has to have a ‘total rethink’ with regards…

Funfair ride supervision must improve after accident left boy burned

Posted: 26 August 2015

Posted in: Public Place Accidents

Botton’s Pleasure Beach in Skegness has been warned it must improve supervision standards after a six-year-old boy was run over by a ghost train. Thomas Russon, from Sheffield, became trapped by a carriage at the funfair, which caused him to suffer serious burns in the incident last month. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) warned the park with an improvement notice demanding improved supervision on the Ghost Train. Thomas’s father, David, had been there when the accident happened. He said that despite welcoming the order, he was disappointed that no…

Will ‘pothole app’ reduce whiplash claims?

Posted: 28 July 2015

Posted in: Bicycle Accidents, Pothole Injuries, Road Traffic Accidents, Whiplash Injuries

With over 1,500 people making whiplash claims in the UK everyday, the government has come up with a new solution to help tackle the problem: a smartphone app. Where the country has endured decades of severe winters and underfunding, potholes have become a huge problem for road users, and councils, nationwide. However, the government has launched a new means of dealing with the problem, through technology.  According to the Association of British Insurers, potholes cost the insurance industry more than £2billion every year, pushing our average price of yearly motor…

Sheffield schools see £2.2million in personal injury claims

Posted: 6 July 2015

Posted in: Public Place Accidents, School Accidents, Workplace Injuries, Workplace Slip

Recently released figures have revealed that schools across Sheffield have received compensation claims totaling £2.2million from injured pupils and teachers in a five-year window. Of this total, £1m was actually paid out, with £54,000 going to a staff member who slipped, and £17,900 to a pupil who was exposed to chemical fumes.   The claims were logged between 2009 and 2014, with Ecclesfield School having the most claims (10 claims, at a total value of £155,275). City School had the second highest number of claims, with nine claims totaling £116,807,…

Pupil wins £250,000 in compensation for serious injury

Posted: 29 May 2015

Posted in: Foot Injuries, Personal Injury, Public Place Accidents, School Accidents

A Leicester pupil has been awarded £250,000 in compensation after suffering life-changing injuries. Details of the payout made by Leicester City Council were released following a Freedom of Information request. However, the authority has declined all further comment and it is therefore unclear who the child was, how old he or she was, what school the incident happened at, and the extent of the injuries. A council spokesman, however, did state that the compensation covered loss of future career aspiration, suggesting the severity of the child’s injuries. Last year saw…

Cumbrian Mountain Rescue Team kept busy

Posted: 14 April 2015

Posted in: Personal Injury, Public Place Accidents, Shoulder Injuries

Patterdale Mountain Rescue Team has rescued a seriously injured woman after she plunged 50ft down a Cumbrian fell.  The woman, who has not been named, suffered serious head injuries caused by the fall on Glenridding Dodd, on the south side of Ullswater. The fall was caused when ground gave way beneath her feet, and occurred on Saturday. An air ambulance was despatched and the Rescue Team lowered the patient on a stretcher using ropes. The woman was then flown to Carlisle to the Cumberland Infirmary. Dislocated shoulder and broken ankle Also on Saturday,…

Safety fence put up after drowning death

Posted: 19 March 2015

Posted in: Public Place Accidents, Wrongful & Accidental Death

A safety fence has been put in place along part of the River Ouse following yet another fatality. 20-year-old Megan Roberts, a York St John University student from Wetherby, West Yorkshire, went missing after a night out in 2014. She and two other students died in York’s rivers last year. Megan went missing on a Saturday night out in January, and was discovered dead on Sunday near the Ship Inn at Acaster Malbis. At the time, North Yorkshire Police thought that she had attempted to go home alone after being separated…

Woman suffers life-changing injuries in paragliding accident

Posted: 9 March 2015

Posted in: Accidents and Sickness Abroad, Personal Injury, Spine & Back Injuries

A woman from Gateshead is battling for compensation after suffering a serious spinal injury during a tandem paraglide in South Africa. The accident happened when Diane Bewick was on holiday in South Africa in 2004. It was heard in the Supreme Court of Appeal in South Africa on Monday (9 March) that she crashed into a cliff face, which left her paralysed from the waist down. Ms Bewick will require care and rehabilitation for the rest of her life. It was heard in court that the accident happened when the…

£1m payout to injured pupils in Worcestershire

Posted: 4 December 2014

Posted in: Public Place Accidents, School Accidents, Spine & Back Injuries

Pupils across Worcestershire received more than £1 million in compensation in 2013. A Freedom of Information request uncovered that last year alone, a total of six claims were made against the county council, and a significant amount of compensation went to a middle-aged pupil who fell on a school trip in 2009. The council said it would not disclose any information regarding the individual claims, over fear of identification, but said that they were all valid claims. A total of £1,091,082 was paid out to pupils aged 5-18 between 2011…

Knocked down pedestrian claims accident caused brain damage

Posted: 25 November 2014

Posted in: Foot Injuries, Head and Brain Injuries, Pedestrian Injuries, Public Place Accidents, Road Traffic Accidents

A 42-year-old factory worker claims she suffered serious brain damage after being knocked down by a motorist in 2012. Iwona Sobelewska, from Poland, said she was ‘run over’ by Michel Alfred Threlfall in the car park of an off-license in Blackburn two years ago. It was heard at London’s High Court that Ms Sobelewska had suffered a severe head injury and a broken ankle in the accident. It was heard in court that Ms Sobelewska had no recollection of the actual accident, but was certain that she had been hit by…

Over 1000 children injured every month during school runs

Posted: 27 September 2014

Posted in: Pedestrian Injuries, Public Place Accidents, Road Traffic Accidents, School Accidents, Wrongful & Accidental Death

New figures have revealed that every month around 1,100 children suffer serious and fatal injuries on their way to and from school. Road Safety Analysis carried out the research, with figures showing that one third of all child deaths and serious injury happens during the school run times. These times cover between 7:30am and 9:00am, and between 3:00pm and 4:30pm from Monday to Friday. The figures from 2011/12 found there to have been more than 800 serious and fatal injuries suffered by children during the ‘school run’ times. It is believed…

Compensation shock after man lost leg

Posted: 6 August 2014

Posted in: Leg Injuries, Personal Injury, Public Place Accidents, Road Traffic Accidents, Spine & Back Injuries

The wife of a taxi driver that lost his leg in an incident is shocked at the outcome of her husband’s case. Jeremy Mayers (63), the owner of company ‘Fab Kabs’, was crushed while loading a suitcase into the back of his taxi in Pontypool in January. The driver of the vehicle that caused the damage, Laura Llewellyn, received six penalty points and a fine of £115 after pleading guilty. Mr Mayers, a father of two, had to have his right leg amputated from the knee down and his back pinned…

Families launch legal battle after their children are injured in bus crash

Posted: 31 July 2014

Posted in: Bus Accidents, Leg Injuries, Neck Injuries, Public Transport Accidents, Road Traffic Accidents, School Accidents

The families of multiple schoolchildren injured in a bus crash in County Durham last month have launched legal action for their extensive injuries. The crash happened on the 3rd of June between one double-decker bus, operated by Go North-East, and a single-decker bus run by Stanley Travel in Shield Row Lane, near the junction of the A693. Both of the drivers and 28 schoolchildren were taken to a nearby hospital by 13 ambulances. Both of the buses had been taking schoolchildren to their schools when the crash happened: one to Tanfield School…

Pensioner’s pothole fall claim dismissed by council

Posted: 24 July 2014

Posted in: Arm Injury, Pedestrian Injuries, Pothole Injuries, Public Place Accidents

The daughter of pensioner and fitness instructor Trixie Offord, Sheryn Ross, has warned people of Bucks County Council’s pothole policy after her mother suffered serious injuries and received no compensation. Mrs Offord was hospitalised after tripping on a pothole while walking back to her home in Hampden Road, Chalfont St Peter. She was treated for a broken wrist and several injuries to her face and nose. Sheryn Ross assisted her mother in claiming for compensation but was told by a solicitor that the council had checked the pothole two weeks prior to…

Council pays out over £330,000 in school injury compensation

Posted: 18 June 2014

Posted in: Finger Injuries, Foot Injuries, Public Place Accidents, School Accidents, Workplace Injuries, Workplace Slip

A recent report has found that Lincolnshire County Council has paid out over £330,000 in compensation to those injured at school. With claims ranging from a trapped thumb to a book falling on a child’s foot, the “compensation culture” argument has been raised in relation to many of the council’s payouts. The figures were released as part of a BBC Freedom of Information request which looked at the figures from 2008 to 2014. One teacher was awarded with £4,000 after they “almost fell” when a stool broke. Other successful claimants included…

Worries over safety at Cambridge Airport

Posted: 8 June 2014

Posted in: Accidents and Sickness Abroad, Public Transport Accidents

A recent investigation has made some worrying findings regarding staff and passenger safety at Cambridge International Airport. The BBC investigation gathered evidence from leaked emails and two whistleblowers, which both highlighted major concerns about the condition of the airport’s equipment and the state of the runway. Furthering this, findings also revealed that air traffic controllers were working excessive hours and that under-qualified staff were being used due to staff shortages. One former airport worker told the BBC that problems at the airport had been ongoing for many years. Between May and September…

Cyclist “could’ve been killed” in pothole crash

Posted: 27 April 2014

Posted in: Bicycle Accidents, Head and Brain Injuries, Pothole Injuries, Public Place Accidents, Road Traffic Accidents

A cyclist from Bellfields said that he “could’ve been killed” when he was flipped off his bike after hitting a pothole when cycling home from a friend’s house. Tony Webber suffered serious facial damage in the accident and has criticised the state of the county’s roads. He had been cycling home from his friend’s house in Grange Road last Tuesday when the accident happened on Sloughton Road, near Stoke New Cemetery. He had not been wearing a helmet at the time of the crash, but doctors said that the force of the…

Councils payout £2.5m in personal injury compensation

Posted: 14 April 2014

Posted in: Neck Injuries, Pedestrian Injuries, Personal Injury, Public Place Accidents, Spine & Back Injuries

Two Devon councils have paid out a total of £2.5 million in personal injury compensation over the last four years.  Between 2010 and 2013, Plymouth City Council paid out £2.1m and Torbay Council £400,000 to claimants who suffered personal injuries. These claims ranged from injuries resulting from tripping on pavements, to one claimant who fell into a harbour. The figures were released as a result of a BBC Freedom of Information request. The highest individual payout between the two councils was £105,000. Devon County Council, however, refused to respond to the information request. Plymouth…

£68k paid-out to children injured at school

Posted: 6 April 2014

Posted in: Public Place Accidents, School Accidents

Newly released figures have revealed that North Yorkshire County Council has paid-out a total of £68,000 in compensation to children injured at school. The figures were gained under a Freedom of Information Act request, which found that £26,000 was paid out for slips, trips and falls, £12,000 paid out as a result of PE accidents, and £6,800 as a result of faulty equipment.  The figures represent the compensation claimed from the council, which does not include schools in York, over the past five years. North Yorkshire County Council comprises 373 schools,…

Gym staff member injured by angry weightlifter

Posted: 31 March 2014

Posted in: Criminal Injury and Assault, Gym & Leisure Centre Accidents, Leg Injuries, Public Place Accidents, Workplace Injuries

A member of staff at Nuffield Health gym was injured on the leg after a man threw down his dumbbell when closing time was announced. Lee Maxwell had been doing bicep curls when staff-member Donald Brown announced to the gym that it was due to close. Mr Maxwell was holding a 60kg dumbbell before throwing it down in anger, hitting Mr Brown on the shin and causing him serious injury. The case was taken to Somerset Magistrates Court where Mr Maxwell defended his case, arguing that he did not intent to hit…

Teacher slips on ketchup sachet and suffers serious personal injuries

Posted: 16 March 2014

Posted in: School Accidents, Workplace Injuries

A teacher has been awarded £230,000 after slipping on a tomato ketchup sachet in a school corridor. The Essex high school teacher suffered serious personal injuries after the fall in March 2008. He only claimed for the accident in March 2011 — eight days before the three-year time limit on making a personal injury claim. The teacher’s payout was part of the £1m paid-out in compensation to teachers injured between 2011 and 2013. A Freedom of Information request found that Essex County Council agreed on a settlement of £230,000 in April last…

Schoolboy awarded £15,000 in compensation

Posted: 12 March 2014

Posted in: Hip Injuries, Public Place Accidents, School Accidents, Workplace Injuries

An Essex schoolboy has been awarded £15,197 worth of compensation after a teacher threw a DVD case in the classroom and cut his eyebrow. The plastic DVD cover accidently hit the boy, causing him to sustain a “tiny cut to the eyebrow”. The boy’s family succeeded in securing a five-figure pay-out from Essex County Council. The council said that the teacher had not meant to throw the case with such force, and had only been trying to pass the DVD to a pupil but “unintentionally threw it with more force than expected and…

Family sue over injuries sustained at Apollo Theatre

Posted: 9 February 2014

Posted in: Head and Brain Injuries, Public Place Accidents, Shoulder Injuries, Spine & Back Injuries

A family of six that sustained serious personal injuries in the ceiling collapse at the Apollo Theater in December has launched a legal claim for compensation. The Edwards family was amongst the seventy-six injured audience members who had been watching ‘The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time’ at the time of the accident. Debris began to fall on the audience, leaving many people with serious injuries. Account manager from Tufnell Park, Gareth Edwards (31), suffered three fractured vertebrae, a broken shoulder blade and bruising on his brain in…

Shrewsbury explosion victims receive compensation

Posted: 1 February 2014

Posted in: Personal Injury, Public Place Accidents

Following the Shrewsbury gas explosion in 2010, the 11 injured have received compensation. The gas explosion occurred on the 3rd of January at the corner of Bridge Street and Smithfield Road, leaving 11 people with severe burns and injuries. An investigation was carried out by the Health and Safety Executive shortly after the accident, and found that the reason behind the explosion had been a gas leak. Nobody was held responsible for the incident, as there was no evidence of safety legislation being breached. One sufferer, 23-year-old Sarah Pearse, described the settlement as…

999 errors resulted in baby’s death

Posted: 30 November 2013

Posted in: Medical Negligence, School Accidents, Wrongful & Accidental Death

After a 999 call-handler made fatal errors when answering a phone-call regarding a choking baby, the nine-month old baby tragically died as a result. Millie Thompson started choking while being fed Shepard’s pie at her nursery in October 2012, after which a nursery-worker phoned for assistance. Instead of categorizing the phone-call as urgent, ambulance worker Aaliyah Ormerod asked the caller the scripted questions and then failed to remain on the line to listen to the baby’s breathing. It was heard at an inquest that Ms Ormerod should have alerted a…

Rally car crash injures spectators

Posted: 13 October 2013

Posted in: Car Accidents, Public Place Accidents

After a rally car spun off the track into a crowd of spectators at the Regency Stages Rally in Somerset, four people have been injured. The accident occurred at the Royal Bath and West Showground in Shepton Mallet, where the one-day event took place. Organised by the Weston-super-Mare Motor Club, 60 rally cars came from all over the county to compete across 10 stages. The event saw around 200 spectators at the event, three of which happened to be a father and his two sons who were quite seriously injured…

Leicester woman severely injured in New York taxi crash

Posted: 22 August 2013

Posted in: Accidents and Sickness Abroad, Leg Injuries, Pedestrian Injuries, Road Traffic Accidents

23-year-old Sian Green, from Leicester, was seriously injured after being hit by a taxi in New York City on Tuesday. The British tourist had part of her leg severed when the cab reportedly mounted the kerb in Manhattan, and crashed into Ms. Green. The family has thanked a celebrity doctor and a passer-by for saving her life with the use of a mere dog lead and belt. Mehmet Oz – a well-known doctor in the US – had been filming in the area at the time of the accident, and was able…

Sports Injury Compensation Claims

Posted in: Public Place Accidents, Sporting Injuries

Sports are supposed to be an enjoyable pass time, however this can be ruined by a serious injury, particularly where the injury has been caused by negligence. Whilst some injuries are unavoidable, especially in contact sports, participants have a duty of care to ensure that they do not prejudice the health and safety of other participants. Whilst most sport injuries are as a result of contact between participants, injuries can also be caused by the use of defective equipment as well as by or to spectators. Make a Claim for…

Food Poisoning Compensation

Posted in: Food Poisoning, Public Place Accidents

Estimations published by the Food Standards Agency claim that over five million people suffer from food poisoning in the United Kingdom each year. This value may be even higher given the fact that cases are not always reported and it is therefore difficult to get an accurate figure. However, it is clear that there have been a large number of successful food poisoning compensation claims, with common claims against restaurants, hotels and supermarkets. If you have suffered from food poisoning it is important to speak to a Sheffield personal injury…

Boy falls through roof of Rank Hovis Mill factory

Posted: 28 June 2013

Posted in: Falls from Heights, Personal Injury, Public Place Accidents

A teenage boy fell through the roof of a disused Rank Hovis Mill factory in Ramsgate yesterday, and is now critically ill in hospital. Thought to be 13 years old, the boy and his friend had been playing on the roof of the disused building when the roof gave way under his feet. He was taken by air ambulance to the Royal London Hospital, where he is now being treated for rather severe injuries. A spokesman from the Kent Fire and Rescue Service said that the boy had fallen around 20ft…

School trips are not inherently risky in comparison to schools themselves

Posted: 6 February 2013

Posted in: Public Place Accidents, School Accidents, Sporting Injuries, Wrongful & Accidental Death

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) is encouraging teachers to embrace outdoor activities after discovering that more accidents take place in schools than on trips. Injuries from leisure activities show that children are far more likely to get hurt playing football or rugby at school than going on a school hiking trip, for instance. Statistics also show that accidental deaths are very rare on school trips – with one child dying each year, on average, in the UK. These figures are set against the 7 – 10…

Injuries in Public – Slips, Trips and Falls

Posted in: Public Place Accidents

If you have suffered an injury in public as a result of an accident that was not your fault then you could be entitled to make a claim for compensation against the negligent party. The negligent party can be anyone who has responsibility for either that person or the place where the accident occurs. This could be the council if the accident happens on the road or pavement or occupiers in the case of a supermarket, gym, school, library etc. Injuries in public are often caused by the simplest of…

Accidents Abroad Solicitors

Posted in: Accidents and Sickness Abroad, Public Place Accidents

If you have an accident abroad, not only will it spoil your holiday, but it may leave you with financial and legal problems to deal with. Legal problems abroad can be complicated and expensive, and you need to make sure you are fully informed about anything you decide to do to claim back costs or compensation if you have been injured in an accident abroad. Whatever your circumstances, you can ask guidance from our team of specialist personal injury solicitors** based in Sheffield who will help guide you on the…