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Teenager Unable to Read Or Write Due To Whiplash

By McCarthy Law March 31, 2015 Accident Law, Road Traffic Claims

A teenager lost the ability to read or write following a road traffic accident, in a case which scientists have said is one of a kind.

The 19-year-old had to be taught how to read and right again from a basic child’s level but is now at university.

One Of A Kind

The victim suffered from a serious case of whiplash and hit his head when involved in a car accident. Despite believing that he had escaped the accident unscathed, the teen found that a few hours after the incident he was in pain, and that words on the TV seemed like alien symbols.

In two months, the teen lost all ability to read and write, becoming totally illiterate following the accident. Scientists believe that it is one of the only times such an injury has resulted in a loss of literacy.

A brain scan revealed that the teen had an 8mm cyst on part of the brain linked to memory recall which the accident had caused, meaning that the victim lost the ability to read and write.

Brain expert Dr Lynne Barker said: “It’s extremely rare for someone to completely lose the ability to read and write at the same time.

“It’s normally one or the other, or partial loss of both, and usually only follows serious brain injury. In this case, the patient had sustained minor injuries but there was no pathology to the brain.

“It seems the accident caused the cyst to grow, causing him to lose the ability to read and write very rapidly after the accident.”

The case was published in the British Medical Journal following the victims recovery.

Whiplash Injuries

As stated above, the injuries sustained by the victim are rare in a whiplash accident, however, whiplash can have some serious symptoms. Whiplash is caused by the uncontrolled jerking of the head, leading to the straining and bruising of the tendons and ligaments in the neck. Such an injury can cause extreme pain, inability to move properly, lack of sleep, and even dizziness or headaches. If you suffer from whiplash, it is important that you seek medical help in order to assess your injuries and ensure that no further complications arise from your injury.

Sadly whiplash remains one of the most common fraudulently claimed injuries. By getting your injury checked out you are ensuring that if you choose to make a claim, the extent of your injuries can be verified, and when making a claim, the medical report will ensure it is genuine.

Although whiplash claims often receive negative press, if you are unable to work or your life is hampered by your injuries, can you really afford to not take legal action and get the compensation you deserve?

Cause

Whiplash can occur in almost any accident. However, it is most common in road traffic accidents, especially in rear-end collisions. If you are involved in a road traffic accident, it is important to take as many details as possible in order to hold the person responsible to account. The symptoms of whiplash can take up to 12 hours to develop, however, such symptoms can be exceptionally painful. We believe if you are injured as a result of an accident that is not your fault, then you have the right to hold the person responsible to account.

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If you require legal advice or representation or believe, you have grounds to make a personal injury claim. Contact us today using our online contact form.

Edinburgh To Introduce 20mph Speed Limits Across City

By McCarthy Law March 17, 2015 Accident Law, Road Traffic Claims

April 2016 will see Edinburgh introduce a 20mph speed limit across 80% of the roads in a bid to cut down on speeding and the number of the fatal road traffic accidents.

The proposals come following a 2010 study by the Department for Transport, which found that 5.5% of accidents at 30mph resulted in pedestrian fatalities, compared with less than 1% of accidents at 20mph.

The new system, which will take just over a year to implement is expected to reduce the number of fatal accidents in the UK.

Lesley Hinds, Edinburgh’s transport convener, said: “We’re now on to the next stage in our journey towards making Edinburgh’s residential and shopping streets a lot safer and more liveable.

“Once people have had the chance to feed in any comments about specific streets as part of the speed limit order process, we can move ahead with our phased plan of rolling out the new speed limits from early 2016.”

Dangers Of Speeding

The Scottish capital is following numerous other cities in the UK and Europe by lowering the speed limit.

More than a third of all serious road traffic accidents involve one driver speeding, with rash decisions often being made, and a car being more difficult to control when travelling at high speeds. Speeding can cause more serious accidents especially in urban areas. Edinburgh is one of the most populated areas in Scotland, and like Glasgow is open to numerous cyclists and pedestrians. By introducing the new rules, the council are hoping to reduce the number of fatal accidents

Rob King, director of the organisation 20’s Plenty For Us, praised the move by the Edinburgh Council to reduce the speed limit. He said: “The thing that makes it attractive is the number of boxes it ticks.

“Of course, there are benefits in terms of road safety – particularly to cyclists, children, the elderly and disabled people.

“I also makes the area much more pleasant to be in, and the consequences to drivers are minimal because journey time in cities is dictated by how often you stop rather than the speed you travel at.”

He added: “Edinburgh’s plans are ambitious in terms of the size of the area affected, but if you look at some of the UK’s iconic cities, London, Manchester, Liverpool, York, Oxford, Bath and others have all rejected the idea of default 30mph limit.

“There’s a growing consensus that 30mph just isn’t fit for purpose in a built-up area.”

Implementation of the Scheme

The installation of the new speed zone has been delayed by three months in order to allow those opposed to the new scheme time to raise objections to the correct channels. The move has been opposed by taxi drivers as they believe it will remove any incentive to get a taxi, with environmental groups also opposing the move due to the higher number of carbon emissions.

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If you have been involved in an accident as a result of negligence, or in a collision with a driver who was speeding, you will be able to make a personal injury claim. Contact us today for expert representation and advice through our online contact form.

Trampoline Park Health and Safety Waiver “Unenforceable.”

By McCarthy Law March 3, 2015 Accident Law

A trampoline park in Edinburgh made thousands of customers sign a waiver that may be “unenforceable” under Scots Law.

The waiver was signed by customers at the Ryze trampoline park when it opened in Edinburgh last month. In the three weeks of operation, the park was subject to more than 100 accidents. The park has been shut temporarily following an investigation by health and safety officers over licensing issues.

Injuries In The Park

There have been seven serious injuries in three weeks since the park opened its doors, with broken bones, head injuries and even one customer suffering a broken neck as a result of injuries sustained at the park.

Despite the claims from some that the injuries were caused as a result of negligence, and that staff were not properly trained to deal with serious injury, Ryze believe that the high amount of incidents were due to the high demand for the park.

Case Lawrence, from Ryze, said: “This injury incident rate is right in line with what we see in the US and what we would expect here.

“It is actually better than the industry norms, and we always see the incident rate decline after the first few months as the novelty wears off and people become more familiar with the rules and, frankly as our staff gain more experience and training.”

He added: “We do all we can to make the park as safe as possible. Each of our parks, including Ryze Edinburgh, is built according to ASTM standards, which is the best standards and practices established for running trampoline parks by the industry in the US.

“We have never had an injury that was caused by the equipment or layout of the park. Like other active pursuits, injuries come from landing awkwardly or interacting with another jumper.”

Waiver

Thousands of people signed a waiver removing liability from the organisers in the event of injury, however according to expert solicitors said waiver may not be compliant with Scots law.

In the Edinburgh Evening News, a solicitor stated that any attempt to remove liability from activities like trampolining is “void” and “completely meaningless”. This is due to the fact that a waiver would be redundant if injuries were caused as a result of negligence and a failure in the duty of care of organisers.

A spokeswoman from a legal firm said: “Most of us, at one time or another, will have taken part in an activity that involved signing a waiver: rock climbing, trampolining, sky-diving, for example.

“This will normally take the form of a long legal declaration that says that the organiser has no responsibility for any injury or death that occurs during the activity. You are left with the impression that if anything goes wrong, you have no legal rights.

“But you do. These waivers form a contract between you and the activity organiser.

“This means that any contract term which attempts to exclude or restrict liability for death or personal injury is void and unenforceable. It is completely meaningless.”

Despite the claim, Ryze believes they are on sound legal ground.

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Regardless of if you have signed a waiver or not, if you have suffered an injury as a result of negligence, you will be able to make a personal injury claim. Contact us today to get your claim underway using our online contact form.

 

Call For Fatal Accident Inquiry Into RAF Crash

By McCarthy Law February 17, 2015 Uncategorized

An MP has called for a fatal accident inquiry following an RAF crash in Moray which left three airmen dead in 2012.

Two RAF Tornado jets crashed over the Moray Firth in July 2012 resulting in the death of three crew members.

Fatal Accident Inquiry

Moray MP Angus Robertson has written to the Lord Advocate calling for a fatal accident inquiry after is was revealed that the aircraft did not have collision warning systems installed, a safety that was recommended and brought in to numerous RAF aircraft in 1990.

A Fatal Accident Inquiry attempts to establish the cause of death, the circumstances which led to death occurring and take the necessary steps to prevent any future incident occurring in the future.

Mr Robertson said: “I believe these developments further strengthen the case for a fatal accident inquiry and should be taken into consideration in the pending decision.

“The families and loved ones of those involved in the fatal collision in July 2012 must get answers and an FAI is the best way of putting to an end this sorry saga of delays and dither at the MoD.”

“Twenty years after ministers recommended that these systems would save lives they remain largely uninstalled.

“To make matters worse the MoD have revealed recently that a collision warning system for the Typhoon remains in the concept phase with absolutely no timetable for when or even what system will be put in it.

“The MoD’s cavalier approach to safety has now been well documented and the situation is totally unacceptable.”

Liability

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has admitted liability for the crash in Moray and have started to fit crash warning systems to all Tornado jets.

A Military Aviation Authority (MAA) report last year found 17 factors contributed to the deaths with inadequate safety measures being one of the main reasons for the collision.

The MoD stated that following the MAA report they have taken as many recommendations as possible on board in order to prevent another future accident, with safety measures being “reviewed as a matter of urgency, with substantive progress being made”

A Crown Office spokesman said: “The procurator fiscal has received a report in connection with the deaths of three men.

“The investigation into these deaths, under the direction of Scottish Fatalities Investigation Unit, is ongoing and the families will continue to be kept updated in relation to any significant developments.

It awaits to be seen if a fatal accident inquiry will be held into the incident with the matter now at the discretion of the Lord Advocate.

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If you require advice or legal representation regarding a fatal accident, our team of expert solicitors can help you. Get in touch today by calling our Glasgow-based team on 0141 337 6678 or use our online contact form.

Potholes Cost Councils £600 a Day

By McCarthy Law February 3, 2015 Accident Law, Road Traffic Claims

Latest figures from the RAC Foundation have revealed that Scottish Councils paid over £220,000 last year in pothole compensation claims, with councils across the UK paying out £3 million overall.

Potholes are one of the main reasons for damage to cars and accidents on the road occurring, with claims due to injuries and damage to vehicles costing each council in Scotland on average £600 a day.

The figures, which come from a Freedom of Information request, showed that the value of an average compensation claim was over £280. The statistics also revealed that there were over 2,500 more claims relating to damage and accidents as a result of potholes this year than in the previous 12 month period.

Glasgow Top in Scotland

Glasgow had the most amount of claims in Scotland, with rural Dumfries and Galloway being the second most likely area for a pothole compensation claim to be made with a rise of over 300 claims in a year. .

In total Scotland saw 4,511 claims, with 1,126 of them proving to be successful.

“Tip of the Iceberg”

Professor Stephen Glaister, director of the RAC Foundation, said that the figures were likely to be “the tip of the iceberg”.

In a statement he said: “Many drivers will be put off by the time involved in claiming and many councils do their best to deter claimants coming forward. The fundamental problem lies with central ­government. ­They are simply not giving councils enough money to keep their road networks up to scratch.”

Tackling The Problem

Despite having the second highest number of claims in Scotland Councillor Colin Wyper believes that the council is dealing with the problem and getting closer to fix the issue. He said: “I think the council is beginning to win the battle.”

He added: “It took them a long time to get anything done but in the last six months I’ve noticed a lot of repairs being done.”

A council spokesman said: “It’s important to note that Dumfries and Galloway has the third longest roads network in Scotland, with 4,151km of roads to maintain. That is almost five times that of Renfrewshire and 2.3 times that of Glasgow.

“A service-wide review of road maintenance operations started in 2012 to change our working methods for carriageway repairs to a first time permanent basis wherever possible.

“This new approach, combined with investment in training, plant and equipment and significant capital investment in road surfacing has resulted in better repairs and a reduction in the number of defects on our roads.

Premiums Down

The move comes despite car insurance premiums falling due to a crackdown on personal injury claims and fraudulent whiplash claims. Research from the AA found that as a result of the clampdown, on average premiums fell by 10%.

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If you have been injured in a road accident as a result of potholes, or as a victim of someone’s negligence, you may be able to make a personal injury claim. Contact us today to get your claim underway using our online enquiry form.

Childcare Should Be Shared Equally According to Majority of UK Parents

By McCarthy Law January 20, 2015 Family Law Advice

A new survey into family law has found that the vast majority of people in the UK believe childcare should be split equally between both parents.

The survey, which questioned over 2,000 adults living in the UK, found that 53% of those questioned believed that caring for your child was an equal responsibility of parents. The poll, which was conducted through Opinion Matters by the government also found that 22% of those asked believed that each couple was unique and should be able to base the time spent caring for their children on their circumstances.

Changing Male Attitudes

The survey reflected the changing attitudes of the British public, with more than half of all males questioned believing it was important to spend an equal amount of time caring for their child, with 50% of females agreeing that splitting time was important. Six out of ten males also felt that by spending time caring for children equally it would create a strong bond, with 40% believing that it would benefit their relationship with their partner as it would allow them to go back to work.

25% of the general public believed that the care of the child should lie solely with the mother, highlighting the changing attitude in UK society.

Shared Parental Leave

The survey was conducted ahead of the shared parental leave policy which is to come into effect on 5th April this year. Shared parental leave grants parents 50 weeks of leave, 37 of which are paid, to care for their newborn child. The policy aims to aid new fathers who do not always get a similar time off work to new mothers, and aid families in raising young children.

Shared parental leave will allow parents to take time off in blocks to care for their child, allowing another parent to return to the world of work. The paternity leave will be agreed with employers allowing them greater time to plan work loads as well as give parents more time with their children. In the Opinion Matters poll 75% of fathers questioned stated they would have taken shared parental leave had it been available to them at the time, with two thirds of those surveyed stating they’d take it.

Four out of five expectant parents or those who were planning to have children claimed they would take shared parental leave when the time came for them to raise their child.

Flexibility for Families

Employment Relations Minister Jo Swinson said:“This survey shows people are rejecting dated stereotypes about the roles of men and women. Parenting is a shared endeavour and couples want more flexibility when they are adapting to the demands of a new baby.

“Shared Parental Leave will let couples choose how to share their childcare responsibilities in whatever way works best for them, and enable both parents to spend time developing that vital bond with their baby in the early stages.”

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said: “This Edwardian notion that women should stay at home while men go out and support the family has simply no place in this day and age.

“We know that mums and dads want more flexibility and choice when it comes to juggling their home and work lives.

“That’s why we’ve introduced Shared Parental Leave so that parents can make their own decisions about how to raise their family, whether it’s giving women the choice to go back to work earlier or men the opportunity to spend more time with their children.”

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If you require advice on any aspect regarding family law, or if you need representation over childcare or shared parental leave, contact us today using our online enquiry form.

Motion Launched to Ban Smoking in Cars With Youngsters

By McCarthy Law December 17, 2014 Family Law Advice, Road Traffic Claims

An MSP has launched a bill to prevent adults from smoking in cars whilst children are present in the vehicle.

If the bill passes motorists could face fines of up to £100 for smoking in cars and exposing youngsters to fumes. The bill, which has been launched by Jim Hume looks to improve the health of youngsters. He said “A shocking 60,000 children each week are exposed to second-hand smoke in vehicles.”

“This bill is about guaranteeing that children in Scotland can have the freedom to go on and lead healthy lives if they choose to.”

Wide Support For Motion

Dr Peter Bennie, chairman of the British Medical Association Scotland, said: “Smoking in vehicles is a source of concentrated second hand smoke, and as children are still developing they are at particular risk.

“The evidence for extending smoke-free legislation is compelling and we would encourage the Scottish Parliament to support the introduction of a ban on smoking in vehicles with children present.”

The bill will apply to any driver in a car with a passenger younger than 18 years-old.

The proposal has been greeted by many Scottish politicians and could be in place before the Scottish election in 2016. The ban has been supported by charities such as Cancer Research and the British Heart Foundation.

“Undermine Rights of Parents”

Despite the popular bill, some have criticised the move by the Scottish Government stating that it undermines the rights of parents.

Dr Stuart Waiton, has opposed to the move saying: “There’s a trend towards interfering in the family now. There’s a worrying trend towards undermining the rights of parents and undermining people’s privacy.”

Ruaraidh Dobson from the British Lung Foundation disagreed saying : “I think this is a very sensible, very moderate measure, that’s been shown to protect children from dangerous second-hand smoke.

“We all know second-hand smoke is bad and is particularly dangerous for children: they’ve got smaller lungs and breathe faster than adults.”

Countries such as Australia, Canada and South Africa have already passed legislation that prevents parents smoking in cars with youngsters.

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If you require legal representation in matters of family law, guardianship or have need advice regarding a road traffic accident, contact us today using our online enquiry form, or call us on 0141 337 6678

Former Cabinet Minister Appeals for Compensation Regulation

By McCarthy Law December 3, 2014 Accident Law, Road Traffic Claims

According to Lord Hunt of Wirral, victims of reckless or negligent driving should have their treatment funded by insurers rather than a large cash out payment in a bid to end the UK’s “whiplash culture.”

The suggested amendment to the Social Action, Responsibility and Heroism Bill from the former Cabinet minister and lawyer Lord Hunt proposed that courts stopped damages for minor injuries and instead paid out for treatment for the victim if the driver that had been found guilty of negligence covered treatment for the victim.

The Tory peers proposal would cover cases where a claimant had suffered “a loss of function of 15 per cent or less”.and focus on the recovery of the victim.

Lower Premiums 

Under proposals suggested by Lord Hunt, insurance premiums could be lowered for drivers with rates falling by at least £30 for all drivers, as it would result in treating injuries rather than compensating for damages.

Research presented in the committee stage of the bill showed that 94% of accident claims in the UK claimed for minor whiplash when involved in a vehicle incident. In comparison, research indicated that this number was in stark contrast to those in Europe, with whiplash claims making just 3% of claims in France.

The amendments to the bill would also be crucial in targeting the crash for cash scams which according to insurers Aviva, have risen by over 50% in the last year.

Crash for Cash

Lord Hunt of Wirral said: “There has been a significant increase in the number of so-called crash for cash scams faced by insurers.

“Particularly troubling is the increase in the number of induced accidents where fraudsters deliberately target innocent motorists to cause an accident.”

He added: “”We have a whiplash culture because we have not taken the same stance as a society that other European countries have taken to avoid these claims in the first place.

“In other countries you have to prove a level or percentage of disability before you can even make a claim.”

Despite plans being in place to attempt to combat crash for cash, Lord Beecham said that the reforms proposed by Lord Hunt were necessary to deal with the “abuses of the current system” but in the long term would fail to make a lasting impact on the insurance market.

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If you’ve been involved in an accident that was not your fault, or have suffered as a result of negligent driving, you may be able to make a compensation claim. For more information contact our lawyers today using our online form.

Health and Safety Standards Not Being Met in UK Construction Sites

By McCarthy Law November 18, 2014 Accident Law

40% of construction sites are failing to meet basic health and safety standards according to a report from the Health and Safety Executive.

The report found that 40% of construction sites received notices for poor standards or dangerous practices with 313 prohibition notices and 235 improvement notices issued.

Preventable Accidents

The vast majority of notices were distributed despite the vast majority of dangers being preventable with the report urging proper planning and management to prevent further accidents.

Inspectors had to stop work with immediate effect on over 200 construction sites purely due to potential hazards for workers, with the most common danger coming from a lack of health and safety equipment and practice for employees working at height.

Continue to Educate 

HSE’s Chief of Construction Philip White said: “We need to continue to educate industry through initiatives like this and encourage a change in behaviour on small projects where over half the industry’s fatal accidents still occur and many workers become seriously ill.”

35% of notices were served for health issues with workers potentially being exposed to harmful chemicals when working.

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If you need advice or legal representation we can help, contact McCarthy Law. To speak to one of our friendly Glasgow-based lawyers, please call 0141 337 6678 or complete our online enquiry form.

Police To Redefine “Unfit Drivers” In New Proposals To Reduce Road Fatalities

By McCarthy Law November 6, 2014 Road Traffic Claims

Proposals are being made by police in Scotland potentially banning people from driving if they are considered to be too old, or if they suffer from medical conditions in a bid to make the roads safer.

Senior officers claim the roads could be made safer if drivers with conditions were made to surrender their licences if ruled unfit to drive following an assessment.

Currently, licence holders are required to inform the DVLA about several conditions, such as epilepsy, sleep apnoea, diabetes and glaucoma, and are obligated to concede their licence if a doctor rules it no longer safe for them to be behind the wheel. These proposals question whether these laws extend far enough.

Chief Inspector Logue said Police Scotland might need to be more aware and proactive about stopping those who they believe are impaired from driving. In response to several cases of road fatalities she made the following statement: “We need a new, innovative way to deal with this and we are working on this at a command level. A lot of people killed on our roads are down to driver error or unfitness to drive. This may be down to medical issues.”

Although the proposals aim at progressing the desired goal of eliminating road accident deaths, the limitation of people’s freedom and flexibility through driving needs to be treated with the sensitivity it deserves.

Road safety charity Brake supports the idea urging the UK government to introduce compulsory eyesight tests for road users after a survey discovered 1.5m drivers in the UK had never had their eyes tested, despite research showing 2,900 casualties were caused by poor eyesight each year.

This appears to be the issue with road fatalities – people are unable to objectively assess whether they their abilities truthfully enable the to perform driving functions. Even if sensible evaluation can be made how many people would voluntary surrender their licences, sometimes their only method of connecting them to work, friends or family?

Mccarthy’s, as specialists in road traffic claims, handle a significant number of cases where impairments are ruled as the source of the incident and, as such, reform in regulating when a party is forced surrender their licence may reduce these incidents.

Age Scotland are concerned that proposals risk unfairly targeting the wrong category of motorist, with the ‘caricature’ of ‘bad’ older drivers meaning that road safety may be used as justification to limited later in life drivers.

However, simply targeting a particular group, such as the elderly, does not appear to be solution to this issue. Research by the RAC Foundation suggests drivers over the age of 75 make up 6% of licence holders, but account for only 4.3% of deaths and serious injuries. In comparison, drivers aged 16-20 makes up just 2.5% of road users, but 13% of those killed and seriously injured.

The AA agreed that it would be wrong to generalise about older motorists. A spokesman said: “With drivers it’s difficult to do a broad brushstroke”.

This comment possibly offers the key to the successful implementation of the proposals: assess the ability of the individual and not the broad demographic they belong to.

Road Traffic Claims Lawyers in Glasgow, Scotland

At McCarthy Law, we can give advice on all aspects of road traffic accident claims. Contact us today by calling 0141 337 6678 or by filling out our enquiry form.