Top causes of personal injury claims

Dec. 5, 2012 - PRLog -- There are many causes of personal injury claims and an accident can occur anywhere and at any time i.e. whilst you are at work, walking along the street or in your local supermarket. Some accidents can be avoided and it can be the failure of a third party (potential Defendant) or an action that causes an accident to happen and the risk of injury to increase.

Some of the top causes of personal injury claims are:

Road Traffic Accidents (RTA) – eg Collisions with other vehicles/road users/drivers failing to exercise proper care and skill at junctions/pedestrian crossings.

Accidents at Work

● Not being provided with adequate training at work or the correct Personal Protective Equipment (PPE).
● The negligent act or omission of a co-worker. In certain circumstances an employer can be held vicariously liable for that act or omission.
● Lifting heavy items at work when no manual handling training has been given or proper instruction regarding that item.
● Work equipment which has not been sufficiently maintained or regularly inspected and is defective.
● Employers failing to recognise the potential risk of harm and taking appropriate steps to minimise those risks.

Slips, Trips, Falls

● Raised paving slabs or potholes on the pavement/holes in the road. Spillages in supermarkets or in shopping centres which the occupier has failed to clean up.
● Spillages in restaurants. If a buffet style restaurant it would be expected that an occupier would be more vigilant for spillages.
● The build-up of ice or snow on an occupier’s premises such as a pathway at your place of work.
● Violent assaults - Being attacked by another person(s).  If certain criteria are met than a person may be able to seek compensation from the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority, an organisation that can compensate people who are physically or mentally injured because they were a blameless victim of violent crime.

Dog attacks - Lack of adequate supervision of a potentially aggressive or lively dog in public places which leads to a person being bitten.

Defective products – injuries caused by products that are unsafe or have defective parts.

Sporting Injuries - Over aggressive play by a person(s) during a sporting activity or defective playing surfaces or equipment. Or inadequate umpiring/refereeing.

Every injury will have its own unique set of circumstances that will determine the cause of the injury and means that every case will be different so a person may not necessarily realise that they have been injured due to a breach of a duty or through an act of negligence. It is important that legal advice is sought at the earliest opportunity to ensure that should a possible claim for personal injury arise, evidence can be obtained and preserved.

It is also important to note that there are varying time limits that can apply in relation to making a personal injury claim and these will depend on the type of accident and to whom it happened eg an adult or a child.  

These can vary from 2-3 years from the date of the accident for adults whereas children have 3 years after they reach the age of 18 (so effectively until they are 21) although we do not advise waiting this long to submit your claim.  

Criminal injury claims have a separate set of criteria, firstly you must have co-operated with the police when the attack happened and you only have 2 years from the date of the attack to submit a claim.

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