Author: Barristers4U

Orthopaedic surgery negligence: do you have a claim?

Orthopaedics is a common area of medicine where medical negligence claims are brought. If you’ve recently had orthopaedic treatment and are less than happy with the result, you may be wondering if you are entitled to claim for damages.

What constitutes ‘orthopaedics’?

The field of orthopaedics includes anything to do with treatments for injuries and conditions affecting the musculoskeletal system, specifically the following:

• bones
• tendons
• joints
• muscles
• ligaments
• cartilage

Common conditions that are dealt with by orthopaedic surgeons include:

• fractures
• hip replacements
• spinal injuries
• knee replacements
• bone tumours
• bone infections
• congenital birth defects

Although the majority of treatments that are carried out are successful, all operations and procedures carry an element of risk. Errors do occur, which can have a massively detrimental effect on a patient’s life, causing pain and suffering, and even preventing them from working.

Common errors in orthopaedics

There are a number of common failings that can lead to long-term health issues for which you may be entitled to claim compensation.

1. X-rays and scans can sometimes be misread. This can lead to a delay in your treatment, potentially meaning long-term problems as conditions get worse.

2. The failure to spot a fracture during an initial consultation can lead to ongoing pain and potentially poor healing of the bone, resulting in the need for more surgery to correct the problem.

3. Poor husbandry whilst on the orthopaedic ward can result in infection post-surgery. This could potentially be life-threatening if the infection is not treated quickly enough.

4. If prosthesis is required following amputation, it must fit correctly. If the prosthetics are not fitted correctly, this can lead to pain and ongoing problems with mobility.

What can you claim compensation for?

You could suffer financially if you have been unable to work since your treatment. This applies whether you’ve had to miss work for a few months or whether you can never work again. Your claim in these circumstances would be for ‘loss of earnings’.

Psychological damages can be claimed, for example if you have suffered depression as a result of malpractice that has left you partially paralysed and requiring adaptations to your home.

You can make a claim for physical suffering if your treatment has left you in continual pain or if you suffered pain unnecessarily for a prolonged period of time, due to the practitioner’s negligence.

If any of this sounds familiar, consultation with experienced direct access barristers should be your next course of action.

Get expert legal help

If you think that you have suffered as a result of medically negligent orthopaedic treatment, a direct access barrister could help you make a successful claim. To find out how our experienced barristers could help, contact us today.

Instructing a direct access barrister when facing a drink driving charge

Facing a charge of drink driving is always a stressful time. The majority of those that face this charge will never have dealt with police before, let alone faced a Magistrates’ Court appearance. A conviction can change your life, so it is vital that you make the right moves when choosing someone to represent you.

Solicitor or Barrister?

The main differentiator between a solicitor and a barrister is that a solicitor is a more general lawyer with the qualifications and skills to deal with all manner of legal work. They do not specialise in any one type of advocacy, but have authorisation to appear in the lower courts. Barristers, on the other hand, are specialist advocates with the training to appear in Crown and High Courts. They are able to appear in all types of court.

Nowadays, direct access barristers are available to the public. Traditionally, there was no way to instruct a barrister yourself; you had to do so via a solicitor. Now, you can contact a barrister directly to have them take on your drink driving case and give them your instructions. This will allow you to have a conference with the barrister before your hearing, as well as for the hearing itself.

Some barristers even have the authorisation to conduct litigation, meaning they can deal with the entire drink driving case for you in addition to the court appearances. Your barrister will attend the court hearing with you if it doesn’t clash with another court case, but if they can’t they will appoint a suitable substitute.

Choosing the right barrister

The best starting point is recommendations. Friends, family or work colleagues may have had a good experience with a solicitor or barrister, and if that person can’t take on your case directly they can usually recommend someone good who will.

An online search, such as on Barristers4U, will help you to find direct access barristers who have a history and specialism in drink driving cases.

When you find a barrister you think would be good, you can contact them. Barristers4U offers free, no-obligation quotes, where you can find out how a barrister will help you and what their experience is in dealing with drink driving charges.

What counts as sexual harassment in the workplace?

An avalanche of sexual harassment accusations has found its way to the limelight recently. A multitude of individuals from politicians to A-list celebrities are at the centre of colourful sexual harassment charges and court cases. But what really counts as sexual harassment in the workplace and what can you do to stop it?

What you need to know

There is a wide range of behaviour that could be labelled as sexual harassment. According to the Equality Act of 2010, it is unlawful to harass employees on a number of grounds. These include race, age, sexual orientation and other factors.

If you make a claim, it will be handled by the Employment Tribunal. The time limits are strict and the harassment has to have taken place in the last 3 months. If you feel you have been sexually harassed, you must report it as quickly as possible for it to be valid.

Under section 26 of the Equality Act, sexual harassment is misconduct related to sex. If it has the purpose or effect of ‘engaging in unwanted conduct of a sexual nature’ or violating the victim’s dignity then it is counted as harassment.

Common scenarios

If someone has purposely tried to harass you or done something that makes you feel the effect of harassment then you may have a claim. Here are a few common scenarios that can be disputed in court.

1. Unwanted touching over or under clothes.
2. Banter resulting in you being targeted due to gender or gender preferences.
3. Unwanted sexual advances by an employee or boss.
4. Viewing of pornographic images in your presence.
5. Spreading of rumours about your sexual life.
6. Unwanted comments or sounds in your direction such as wolf-whistling or kissing sounds.

What to do?

Sexual harassment and any other kind of harassment is illegal in the workplace and should not be tolerated. If you feel like you have been harassed, then you should immediately seek out legal help. Direct access barristers are a great source of free legal advice. Send us a message and we will walk you through the next steps. Laws exist to serve everyone and we all deserve excellent legal aid.

How can a barrister help me with a settlement agreement?

If you are an employer or employee that is party to a workplace dispute, you might be considering instructing a barrister to advise you on a settlement agreement.

Why would an employer offer a settlement agreement?

Employers might offer a settlement agreement to bring an employment dispute to an end. If you are an employer that is concerned about an employee bringing a claim against you at an employment tribunal, a settlement agreement can be a useful way of ensuring they do not. Settlement agreements are legally binding and prevent the employee bringing a claim for disputes or conduct outlined in the agreement.

Having a watertight settlement agreement in place can protect the reputation of your business and also save the additional time and cost that you could incur if you were to go to an employment tribunal. It is essential to get expert legal advice to ensure your business is adequately protected from potential employee claims, and an expert employment barrister is the most qualified to assist you.

What should an employee look for in a settlement agreement?

If you have been offered a settlement agreement by your employer, you do not have to accept the agreement right away. In fact, it is actually a legal requirement that you have had independent legal advice with regards to the settlement agreement otherwise it will not become legally binding.Often, employers will offer to pay the legal expenses associated with seeking legal advice on a settlement agreement.

Your barrister will seek to get you the best deal possible, including a monetary settlement, a good reference, a preferable termination date if your contract is to come to an end, and any other benefits you believe you are entitled to. The financial amount you might expect to receive should be in line with: what an employment tribunal would be likely to award you if you were to bring a case before it, length of service, your position, the difficulty of getting a new role and the length of time you can expect to be out of employment, along with other factors which might affect your overall financial position.

Settlement agreements can be a useful tool for both employees and employers, and expert legal advice is essential in getting the most out of a settlement agreement. To discuss how our barristers might help you get the most out of a settlement agreement, contact our direct access barristers now.

How much could a barrister help me claim for a motorcycle accident?

If you have been involved in a motorcycle accident that was at least partially the fault of someone else, you might be wondering whether you are entitled to compensation and how much you are able to claim. This post looks at how your barrister and the court will value your claim, in order to give you an idea of how much compensation you might be entitled to for your injury.

Calculation of compensation

Most personal injury cases do not proceed to court and are settled between the parties for a fair amount of compensation. Your lawyer will look to value your claim in line with what would be awarded to you by a court, and seek to recover this amount from the other party’s insurers.

In order to make a proper evaluation, your lawyer will need to obtain information from you, as well as all of your medical reports and notes. Valuing motorcycle injury compensation can be challenging, but the right legal professional will fully consider the points below in order to get the maximum amount of compensation you are entitled to.

Factors that are considered

How severe was your injury?

The extent of your injuries will have an effect on how much you could be entitled to. The injuries sustained from motorcycle accidents can vary substantially, as can the amount of compensation you could be awarded.

Minor fractures attract around £1000, whereas compensation for the most serious injuries, including paraplegia, can attract awards of up to £350,000. When making your claim, your lawyer will obtain an expert medical opinion on how your injuries might impact your life, in order to make an accurate assessment of how much compensation you are entitled to.

How have you suffered loss?

The court will also award compensation for all of the ways in which you have suffered loss financially. This includes loss of earnings and loss of future earnings. If your injuries will affect your capacity to earn in the future, your lawyer will calculate how much this could be worth. In order to do this, your lawyer will consider how old you are, your line of work and your capacity to carry out another job.

Obtaining a quote from one of our direct access barristers is completely free, so contact us at Barristers 4 U today to find out how we can help you claim compensation for your motorcycle injuries.

Hit by an uninsured driver? Here’s why you need to get a barrister

It is bad enough being in a car accident, but when it isn’t your fault and the other party is also uninsured then this is the worst-case scenario. Believe it or not, in this case you can often be left with nothing in terms of compensation for your accident, the damages and any injuries, even though this should be covered by your own insurance. Here we explore why you might need to seek the help of direct access barristers if an uninsured driver hits you.

Insurance companies

Insurance companies are in the business to make money and they won’t want to pay out for damage caused by an uninsured driver. In their eyes, this is not the responsibility of your insurance policy. The insurance company will often seek to pass the onus on to you to prosecute the driver, but in most cases, such prosecutions lead nowhere due to a lack of assets and capital on the part of the offender.

How can a barrister help?

When you contact your insurance company you want to be sure that you present the best case possible immediately. If you fail to give the details in the best form at first, this can often hinder your case at a later stage. A barrister will be able to assist you in the best outlining of the incident and will be able to guide you through the legal loopholes of your insurance document too. Most importantly, the barrister will be able to help you understand your rights and will be able to set these out clearly for the insurance company.

The power of a barrister

While an insurance company will try to wiggle out of paying for damage caused by an uninsured driver, they will not break the law. Having a barrister on side is invaluable for this because they can clearly set out the requirements and present them to the insurance company. In the vast majority of cases, an insurance company will pay out as soon as they receive a legal letter, simply because the losses in a court case will be greater to them.

If you’re in an accident with an uninsured driver then you should contact public access barristers right away. Get the best advice and save yourself from losing out on the claim you deserve.

Can I make a medical negligence claim?

If you have suffered an injury at the hands of a medical professional, the consequences can be devastating. It may not only have had a drastic effect on your life but the lives of your loved ones as well.

However, you may be unsure as to whether or not you can make a claim against the person that has caused you harm. Medical negligence claims can be complicated, but this post gives a brief outline of the requirements of bringing a claim for medical negligence.

What happened to you?

Medical negligence is different from other types of personal injury claim, as there are many ways in which you or a loved one might have suffered an injury as a result of a medical professionals actions – or failure to act. For example, if you were not cared for properly in the hospital or in a care home and you suffer illness or injury as a result, you might have a claim for medical negligence.

We have experience in handling all types of medical negligence claims including; cancer misdiagnosis, wrong limb amputation claims, cerebral palsy claims, birth injury claims, care home negligence, late diagnosis claims, surgery claims, GP misdiagnosis, cosmetic surgery injuries and wrong prescription claims.

When did it happen to you?

Medical negligence claims generally have a strict time limit of three years from the date of the injury, or the date you discovered the injury. This means you should always seek specialist legal advice as soon as possible if you wish to make a claim. However, because of the complicated nature of medical negligence claims, determining when this three-year period begins can be challenging. For example, in misdiagnosis claims, you may have been wrongfully diagnosed four years ago, but the misdiagnosis only came to light 12 months ago. Generally, in these circumstances, the time restriction will begin when you discovered that you had been misdiagnosed.

Did you endure pain and suffering/ actual loss?

You can only make a claim where you have endured pain and suffering, and actually suffered loss as a result of the medical negligence. You are unlikely to be able to make a claim where the negligent treatment has not had any effect on your life. However, our direct access barristers will be best placed to discuss with you how you might have suffered loss as a result of medical negligence.

Contact our medical negligence direct Access Barristers today

To discuss your claim with our direct access barristers with complete confidentiality, call us now . We look forward to helping you get the compensation you deserve.

Photo: Valium B by orsorama licensed under Creative commons 2

Who pays compensation where collisions involve driverless cars?

Driverless cars have generated a lot of interest of late, with a number of vehicle providers carrying out test runs on public roads and insurance companies reviewing their motor insurance products with a view to accommodating the change to automated transport.

The benefits of driverless vehicles have also been well reported. For example, driverless vehicles will reportedly reduce pollution and, quite importantly, are expected to remove human error leading to fewer road traffic collisions.

While driverless cars may remove human error, they introduce risks of their own with machine error being one key issue. There are tricky questions about who pays compensation when driverless cars cause injury or damage. This is because traditional laws on vehicle-related accident sought compensation from drivers and their insurers on the basis of driver fault where a driver’s negligence had caused injury or damage.

Proposed new laws

The UK Government is seeking to address this issue by introducing new laws which could make it easier to seek compensation directly from insurers of driverless vehicles when insured vehicles cause injury or damage.

The Government introduced the Automated and Electric Vehicles Bill to the House of Parliament in October 2017, though it is yet to be passed as law.

When introducing the Bill, Transport Minister John Hayes said, “We want the UK to be the best place in the world to do business and a leading hub for modern transport technology, which is why we are introducing the Automated and Electric Vehicles Bill in Parliament and investing more than £1.2bn in the industry.”

(Source: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/boost-for-electric-and-driverless-car-industry-as-government-drives-forward-green-transport-revolution)

What changes are being introduced

Under the proposals, motor vehicle insurers will be liable to pay compensation when a driverless vehicle they insure causes an accident while “driving itself” which results in death, personal injury and/or property damage.

Insurers will not have to pay compensation if the driverless vehicle is uninsured at the time of the accident. Insurers can also avoid liability or limit the amount of compensation they are liable to pay if an injured person is partly at fault for the accident.

Source: https://services.parliament.uk/bills/2017-19/automatedandelectricvehicles.html

Barristers4u are specialists with experience in a wide range of motor-related incidents. Contact us today to see how we can help you.

Why instruct a criminal barrister over a solicitor?

If you are facing serious allegations, including those of sexual assault, serious road traffic offences, fraud or other white collar offences, a direct access barrister might be the solution you are looking for. Normally, barristers may only be instructed by solicitors; however, direct access barristers allow you to instruct them directly, saving you time and money whilst obtaining a premium service. But how exactly could a direct access barrister help you? This post looks at some of the ways in which one of our direct access barristers could offer you a superior service to a regular lawyer.

Criminal law expert barristers

Many of our direct access barristers are criminal law and procedure experts. They have worked on some of the most complex criminal cases, and when the going gets tough, they are not afraid to fight for you. Instructing a direct access barrister over a solicitor will generally provide you with access to a professional with more experience in the courtroom and greater understanding of the case law which might help win your case.

Strategy

Criminal barristers will begin working on your case from the outset, aiming to understand as much about the circumstances surrounding the case as possible. Your barrister will then develop a high-level strategy to ensure every avenue is explored, taking advantage of every opportunity to get you the results you need. When it comes to serious criminal cases, drafting an excellent defence statement is crucial. Only a specialised criminal barrister will understand the intricacies involved in ensuring your statement works in your favour.

Insight

As a criminal barrister is specialist and experienced, they will have a full understanding of what is required in the courtroom to win your case. This includes niche case knowledge, specialist evidence requirements, and even how best to present your specific circumstances. This will include making a robust statement of mitigating circumstances and any exceptional hardship you might experience as a result of a custodial sentence.

Why choose a criminal barrister over a criminal lawyer?

Your reputation and your liberty are important to you and your family. It is essential you get the best strategy, advice and representation you can. Amongst our directory of barristers are some the most experienced criminal law case experts, determined to help each and every one of their clients keep their licence. Don’t just instruct any legal professional, get in touch to find out how we can help get you the best.

How video conferencing can help you find the best barrister

There are a whole host of different reasons why you might be needing to call on the services of a qualified, accredited barrister. From divorce barristers to civil dispute barristers and employment law barristers, hiring a top-class professional to fight your corner is key. But what if the barrister you feel is perfect to use is at the other end of the country?

With video conferencing technology such as Skype, this is no longer a problem. Here are a few reasons why this technology can mean using the barrister you want, rather than the closest:

Removes any location based problems

In the past, if you wanted to use a barrister that was based at the opposite end of the country to you then it would be most inconvenient. It would involve long trips in person whenever any meetings were called for that would be extremely time-consuming and costly.

With video conferencing, this is no longer the case. Technology such as Skype is freely available to most now and means you can use your tablet, mobile phone or laptop to stay in touch with your barrister remotely, wherever you may be located.

Flexibility

Another great bonus of video conferencing is that it gives you a real flexibility when instructing a barrister to act on your behalf, especially if the dispute or court case is prolonged. By using video conferencing to keep in contact with them, you have the flexibility to go about your normal life. If you travel around the country each week with work or have a two-week holiday to go on then staying in touch in this way makes it simple.

Regular meetings

Even if you are based close to the barrister you will be using, face to face meetings in person can be tricky to arrange on a regular basis. Fitting a meeting in during the 20 minutes you are free in-between other work pressures is much more possible when you use video conferencing to do it and avoids having to travel to the barrister’s office. This in turn will mean you stay in touch more regularly with your barrister in some cases.

As you can see, video conferencing can be a superb way to keep in touch with a barrister for many people. Here at Barristers4U, we have a selection of 1,000+ qualified barristers in England and Wales and can help arrange secure video conference meetings with the one you select. All the barristers we list offer a free quote and superb value for money.