Miss W sustained a severe sprain to her right ankle as well as other injuries when she tripped over a pothole on Dock View Road in Barry on 28^th February 2013.   After receiving treatment for her injuries at the Barry Hospital, and having to rely on help from family and friends as a result of the injuries, Miss W instructed Martyn Prowel Solicitors to submit a claim in respect of the personal injuries and other losses sustained as a result of the accident.

Martyn Prowel Solicitors wrote to the Vale of Glamorgan Council setting out details of the claim and provided them with colour photographs showing the pothole which had caused Miss W’s accident.   Unfortunately, the Council’s Insurers stated that the Council were not to blame for the accident, suggesting that they had inspected the very road where Miss W had fallen just three months prior to the accident, and that no pothole existed at that time.

Martyn Prowel Solicitors’ Janine Griffiths was not satisfied with the response from the Council’s Insurers and raised a number of issues with them in respect of the documents upon which the Council relied, questioning the categorisation of the road and referring to the Well Maintained Highways Code of Good Practice.    Further, following further research, she was able to establish that the pothole which caused the accident was actually already in existence four months prior to the Council’s last inspection and seven months prior to the accident.    In the circumstances, Janine Griffiths submitted to the Council’s insurers that their inspection three months prior to the client’s accident must have, in fact, been defective.

The Council’s insurers subsequently conceded that the Council had been negligent and in breach of their duty to Miss W.

Martyn Prowel Solicitors then obtained a Medical Report and arranged physiotherapy treatment upon Miss W’s behalf and the claim was then settled within four months of the Council’s insurers admitting breach of duty.

Miss W said, “At first, the Council said the accident wasn’t their fault, and that the pothole wasn’t there when they inspected it last, but Janine wouldn’t give up – she looked into their records and managed to prove to the Insurers that the Council were wrong.   After that, I was medically examined and the claim settled much quicker than I had ever thought it would.   My calls and e-mails always received a prompt response from Janine or a member of the department, and I am really happy with the service I received”.

Martyn Prowel Solicitors’ Janine Griffiths said, “I was delighted to have been able to persuade the Council’s Insurers to reverse their decision in relation to Miss W’s claim following making in depth enquiries and having a good look at the documents which the Council’s Insurers had provided to me. Further, having been able to arrange the physiotherapy treatment for Miss W meant that her recovery from her injuries was achieved much more quickly than it would have been had she waited on the NHS for physiotherapy treatment”.

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Thomas Rees of Martyn Prowel Solicitors stated “this was a fantastic settlement for Mr R. The Defendants Insurers initially contacted Mr R following the accident and had offered him £1,500.00 in full and final settlement of his claim. Luckily for Mr R he did not accept the offer and immediately contacted us. We rejected the offer and arranged for him to be examined by an expert. Mr R had suffered injuries to his knee which will require an operation in the future.  Mr R would not have been aware of this had he not been examined by an appropriate expert. We were also successful in recovering past and future loss of earnings together with the cost of medical treatment.”

Mr R said, “I am so happy I instructed Martyn Prowel Solicitors. I was nearly going to accept their offer of £1500.00.”

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According to research, around 40,000 instances of needle stick injuries are reported each year and the National Audit Office report of April 2003 found that needle stick and sharps injuries accounted for 17% of accidents to NHS staff.

The main risk of a needle stick injury is of course the risk of transmission of infection such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C or Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).    There are of course several other infectious agents which have the potential for transmission through needle stick injury.

The emotional distress associated with waiting for blood test results to be received following a needle stick injury can be, understandably, very traumatic.   Blood tests can take three or six months to be received and, during that time, a victim may not know whether they have contracted any of the viruses or infections referred to above.    Even if a victim is cleared of any blood-borne diseases, they are entitled to claim compensation for the months of suffering which they have endured as a result of “not knowing”.

Martyn Prowel Solicitors have successfully claimed damages for personal injuries arising out of needle stick injuries incurred both within a hospital environment and outside that environment.  If you would like to discuss a potential claim, or have suffered a needle stick injury, please telephone our Janine Griffiths on 02920 475131 who will be happy to discuss the matter with you and consider whether there is a potential claim for damages to be made on your behalf.

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Medical negligence claims arise where a healthcare professional has not provided the proper standard of care to a patient, and that patient has suffered as a result.  It can include such things as causing a delay in making a diagnosis, or making the wrong diagnosis, giving you the wrong or insufficient treatment, not warning you or obtaining your consent in relation to treatment, giving you the wrong or inappropriate medication etc.

If you have suffered injury as a result of negligence of breach of duty by your doctor or healthcare professional, then you may well be entitled to compensation in respect of those injuries.

If you have suffered any injury as a result of negligent treatment then please telephone our Medical Negligence Department on 02920 475139 to arrange a free initial interview.

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Provided that you have assisted the Police in relation to their investigations into the incident, and are able to establish that you were not, yourself, partaking in criminal activity at the time, then you are able to submit a claim.

Unfortunately, proposed changes to the CICA scheme means that fewer victims will be entitled to claim compensation in respect of the injuries that they have sustained.

The Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme has been in existence for several years and the changes proposed will effectively mean that unless a serious injury has been sustained by the victim of a crime, then they will not be able to bring a claim for compensation.  Further, the amount of compensation payable in respect of some higher levels of injury is to be reduced under the new Government plans.

The announcement by Ken Clarke includes a statement that “criminals will not be entitled to claim compensation”.  In truth, this rule already existed to some degree in that awards were previously withheld or reduced to reflect unspent criminal convictions unless there was good reason not to do so.  However, the inclusion of this statement appears to indicate that even if you have been convicted of a “minor” criminal offence, and go on to suffer significant injury as a result of a criminal act against you, then you will not be able to be compensated.  However, the rules have not yet been implemented and there will of course be a period of adjustment where different circumstances will be considered, and precedents set.

We at Martyn Prowel Solicitors are very concerned that innocent victims of crime will lose the ability to claim compensation under these proposed changes.

If you have been the victim of a criminal activity and have sustained injuries as a result of the same, then you should not hesitate to contact Martyn Prowel Solicitors to discuss putting forward a potential claim now, before the new changes are implemented.

If you wish to discuss a potential claim for criminal injuries compensation, then please telephone Natalie Harvey on 02920 475136 for free, no obligation, advice.

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Martyn Prowel Solicitors have a team of Specialist Personal Injury Solicitors who are able to deal with your claim upon your behalf.

We are able to arrange private medical treatment for you as soon as we have received your instructions!  This can save weeks of waiting for GP referrals and hospital appointments, and can save you months of ongoing pain and suffering.

We can act for you on a ‘No Win No Fee’ basis, meaning that there is no cost to you of proceeding with the claim, win or lose.  We will recover our costs from the Defendant’s insurers at the end of the claim if we win.  In the event that we don’t win, there will still be nothing for you to pay.  Plus, you will always receive 100% of any compensation recovered.  That’s guaranteed.

Even if the vehicle which causes your accident is not insured, or not traced, then Martyn Prowel Solicitors can still help you claim compensation from the Motor Insurers Bureau.  The Motor Insurers Bureau is a central fund, funded by all UK motor insurers which provides a means of compensating the victims of road traffic accidents caused by negligent uninsured or untraced drivers.  So victims of hit and run accidents, and victims of uninsured drivers, can still be compensated for the injuries and losses sustained.

If you think you may be entitled to claim damages arising out of a road traffic accident, or have any questions about a potential claim, please telephone Janine Griffiths on 02920 475131 for free, no obligation, advice.

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