Author: Mark Reynolds

The NHS has announced major incidents within a number of their hospitals across the UK. These major incidents, caused by mounting pressures on NHS staff, lead to an increase in clinical negligence, as understaffed departments struggle to cope with increasing patient demands.

What Is a Major Incident?
Hospitals declare a major incident when they are finding it difficult to provide sufficient levels of care to their patients. This usually happens when demand is exceptionally high, or levels of staff are unusually low.

The measure enables them to seek extra help from outside their own hospital. For example, extra nurses may be brought in from another NHS authority. Once a major incident has been declared, the hospital are authorised to limit the flow of patients into the hospital. Routine operations and non-urgent outpatient appointments are often rescheduled, ensuring sufficient beds are available to patients who arrive at the hospital as a matter of urgency.

Which Hospitals Have Been Affected?
According to the news, major incidents have recently been declared in a number of hospitals across the UK, including the following locations:
• Gloucestershire
• North Yorkshire
• Surrey
• Staffordshire

What is Clinical Negligence?
Clinical negligence arises when medical professionals fail to provide adequate levels of care to their patients. When NHS services are stretched, particularly when they are understaffed or the demand increases, mistakes are more likely to occur. These mistakes can be relatively minor, but, in some cases, can significantly impact the life of the patient involved.

There are many types of clinical negligence that may arise. When hospitals declare a major incident, and routine appointments are delayed, this means diagnoses of major illnesses are often delayed. In some cases this is fatal, as the delay reduces the amount of time available for treatment as the illness progresses.

Every year thousands of workers are injured in accidents at work. In 2013 in the UK alone, 78,000 workers experienced a workplace injury and over one million workers suffered from a work-related illness. If you’ve had an accident at work or suffered from a work-related illness, find out how compensation could help you.

Why You Should Seek Help

Injuries and work-related illnesses can have a severe impact on you and your family’s life. In addition to experiencing pain and suffering, you may also find there are real financial consequences. Lost earnings, the cost of medical treatment and other related expenses soon add up, and you may find yourself seriously out of pocket. In such circumstances, compensation can really help. Not only will it ease the financial burden of an injury or illness, but it can help to take away the stress and worry too.

Claiming Compensation

In the workplace, your employer has a duty of care for your health, safety and welfare. This means they must ensure that your working environment is safe and that you’re protected from injury and illness. If you have suffered as a result of a workplace injury or illness that was not your fault, you may have a case for compensation.

Who Can Claim and For What?

It’s important to note this duty of care applies to you regardless of your employment status. So even if you’re self-employed or a casual worker you still have the right to make a claim for compensation. Work-related injuries and illnesses take many forms and are caused by many things. From inadequate staff training to exposure to faulty equipment, if your injury or illness was caused by your working environment you could have a claim for compensation.

To find out more about making a claim for compensation, call us at Mark Reynolds Solicitors. Remember we’re here to help you.

Suffering an accident at work can be very traumatic and if it leads to making an accident claim then it pays to do things by the book so that your case is a strong one. In the event of an accident, here’s a quick checklist of actions you need to take:

1. Report the accident to your employer – it sounds obvious but lots of accidents happen every year without this being done properly. The accident should be reported to the person who looks after health and safety matters in the company and if you don’t know who that is, then ask your manager. Ensure that the accident gets reported in the employer’s accident book. Your employer is legally obliged to have an accident book.

2. Seek medical attention – whether your accident requires the attention of your GP, a visit to casualty, or a visit to a medical specialist you should always ensure you seek medical attention even if you don’t think your injuries are that serious. Problems can escalate with injuries so it pays to get attention and in doing so; a medical record will be kept which may be important later.

3. Obtain witnesses – if your accident was witnessed by anybody then make sure you obtain their names and contact details. Evidence may be required later from any witnesses to your accident.

4. Photographs – it always helps if you can take photographs of where the accident happened and especially take photos of what may have caused the accident.

5. Keep your own record – this is always good practice. Keep your own written record of what’s taken place including tools and equipment you were using, the specific job you were doing at the time of the accident and your job responsibilities in general. This will help your memory later and it will definitely help your solicitor if you intend to take matters further.

6. Never admit fault or settle without legal advice – employers may want to settle with you to avoid court action. You should always seek advice first from a solicitor and don’t admit any fault because this will damage your case.

For more advice about filing an accident claim at work and to discuss your case with us, then please get in touch.

In an employment tribunal situation, it is not uncommon for a last-minute settlement to be made. On the one hand, this can be a good thing, especially if you can come to a mutual agreement with your employer and it saves you both the hassle of going through the hearing. On the other hand, it can be fraught with problems, especially if you have nobody representing you.

Before the hearing starts a representative of the employer may approach you to try and reach a settlement. If you have a representative then they will handle this discussion on your behalf and ensure that your best interests are represented. If you don’t have a representative then this kind of situation can you leave you on the back-foot and totally unprepared for the negotiation.

It is easy to get intimidated in this type of scenario and have pressure put on you by the employer to withdraw your case or settle. At no point should you agree on a settlement without knowing the full implications and if you do reach an agreement then it is imperative that you ask the tribunal to record the terms of the settlement. By doing this you will have a recorded document of the settlement and you will be able to hold your employer to account if they don’t carry it out.

If you are in the process of taking your employer to a tribunal then it is in your best interest to seek legal representation. At Mark Reynolds Solicitors we have many years experience in representing employees and we will guide and support you throughout the process. And in the event of a last minute settlement being made, we will ensure that your best interests are represented and that any settlement that it made is worked to your advantage. Contact us now to discuss your case with us.

Mark Reynolds Solicitors were delighted to have been part of last year’s Will Aid scheme and have raised a grand total of £2875 for the charity.

Will Aid was founded in 1988 as a nationally run initiative designed to raise money for charity by harnessing the skills of Solicitors to help those in need. Solicitors waive their fees for will writing and people are instead encouraged to give a donation to Will Aid.

Since it was launched it has raised over £17.2million, with last year seeing £1.6million in donations.

Will Aid divides donations between nine charities: Action Aid, Age UK, British Red Cross, Christian Aid, NSPCC, Save the Children, SCIAF, Sightsavers and Trõcaire.

Making a Will is an extremely important step in anyone’s life but many people do not like the thought of doing so and instead prefer to put the task off. Here at Mark Reynolds Solicitors, our friendly and approachable Lawyers are experienced in dealing with such sensitive matters and will ensure the process is as painless as possible.

If you are interested in either making your first Will or if you need to make a new Will to reflect changes in your life, then please do not hesitate to make an appointment at any one of our offices in Leigh, Liverpool, Runcorn or Warrington by telephoning Laura Campbell on 01942 260 228.

Protected parties and children involved in clinical negligence and personal injury cases will not be named publicly unless it’s absolutely necessary, ruled the Court of Appeal this month.

Previously, personal injury and medical negligence claimants were automatically named unless they formally applied for anonymity and submitted it to the Press Association news agency. Now the Court of Appeal has reversed the procedure, meaning claimants aren’t named unless it is completely vital.

The landmark decision protects children and vulnerable adults against potential harassment from both the press and the public. Default anonymity will now be routine practice, except in rare circumstances where the court isn’t satisfied or if anonymity is inappropriate for the individual case.

The Court of Appeal commented, “There was a force in the argument that in the pursuit of open justice the court should be more willing to recognise a need to protect the interests of claimants who are children and protected parties, including their right and that of their families to respect for their privacy.”

Mark Bowman, medical negligence and personal injury partner at European firm Fieldfisher, stated, “It is fantastic to know that as a result of our appeal that not only my client but claimants all over the country will now be able to pursue medical negligence or personal injury claims without the fear or worry that at the end of their claim, their name and address will be plastered all over the internet for all and sundry to see,’ Bowman added.”

“It is only right that the public should know that a defendant has had to pay out substantial compensation to an injured claimant, but there is no public interest in knowing who the claimant is or where he or she lives.”

Have you experienced a personal injury or clinical negligence? Get in touch with Mark Reynolds Solicitors today to see how we can help you.

Our client was involved in a road traffic accident where the insurers were looking to sweep his accident under the carpet and offer £1000.00 in settlement. We obtained suitable medical evidence from an experienced Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon and obtained in excess of £4,500.00 for our client.

Further to this, our client’s damages cheque arrived only 74 days after submitting his claim to the defendant’s insurer.

While case law suggests that any defect under an inch is not actionable, the Council’s disclosure came back which suggested they did not repair a defective area of the pavement mentioned in a previous inspection.

We issued proceedings against the Council on the basis that the accident happened on a busy suburban road in Liverpool and no matter what the depth of the defect, our client had a genuine accident.

We obtained in excess of £8,000.00 for our client. While the Council may say they took ‘such care as in all the circumstances was reasonably required’ (see: s.58 Highways Act 1980), it does not always mean that they actually did.

– Robert Hughes

 

Unfortunately, accidents at work are fairly commonplace with many resulting in long absences at work and in some extreme cases, fatalities. We have compiled this list of the usual suspects:

Trips and slips – this is one of the most common scenarios with slippery reception areas, toilets and factory floors being the main culprits.

Falls – falling off ladders, scaffolding, platforms and stairwells are the biggest problems in this category.

Back and Neck injuries – usually associated with heavy lifting and lack of training.

Cuts – sawing equipment and machinery with moving parts tend to be the main issues here.

RSI (Repetitive Strain Injury) – sometimes referred to as Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, this is often associated with repetitive use of computer keyboards but it covers any activity that involves repetitive motion of the joints.

Burns – chemical burns tend to be the main culprit here, particularly in factories and laboratory settings. Burns are also common with welding torches, equipment overheating and in workplace kitchen and café settings.

Toppling accidents – this happens when there is inappropriate stacking of materials and unsecured shelving. This scenario can often be extremely dangerous depending on the materials involved.

Impact/Crash injuries – accidents involving company vehicles, tractors, cherry-pickers and not following average speed guidance in workplace settings are common issues.

Loss of hearing – problems caused by constant exposure to loud noise usually in industrial settings is the main problem here.

Inhalation of fumes – breathing in dangerous chemical and fumes usually in industrial settings can be a problem. Adverse skin and eye reactions to chemicals/fumes can also be an issue.

The above list is not exhaustive but they are the most common problems that we get to hear about and become involved with. If you have had an accident at work and you need advice about what to do next then please get in touch on 0800 002 9577.

Sometimes the relationship between an employer and employee can get so bad that there is no solution other than for them to go their separate ways. The employer has no legal grounds that would justify the sacking of the employee and the employee feels strongly that, through no fault of their own, the issue with the employer cannot be resolved but they don’t want to suffer the financial difficulties of suddenly losing their job.

In these scenarios, a compromise agreement between the two parties is often the best solution to an unhealthy situation. Essentially, the compromise agreement brings the employment to an end based on a signed agreement by both parties.

The compromise agreement is a legally binding document that usually offers the employee compensation for agreeing to a set of conditions. These conditions need to be agreed by both the employer and employee, signed off, and assurances given that this will draw an end to the matter.

Compromise agreements make the process of ending somebody’s employment as smooth and swift as possible, ensuring that the employer will not face any legal action in the future. From the employee’s perspective, it gives them a way out of the situation with an agreed financial package that compensates them for the loss of their employment.

Compromise agreements can sometimes be difficult to negotiate and reaching a satisfactory conclusion for all parties can be problematical. This is when it pays to engage the services of a legal practice such as Mark Reynolds to support you throughout the process.

If you’re an employee who is in the throes of trying to reach a compromise agreement with your employer and you need advice and support then please get in touch and tell us about your situation. We would be happy to help.