Law School Woes

No, I do not regret my decision to enter law school. My desire remains as strong as it was when I decided to become a lawyer after seeing how my parents were punished by the claiming process when they filed whiplash injury claims in the past. It just so happens that there are cases when law school life just becomes too much of a burden and that whatever I do to de-stress my life, nothing seems to work.

They said that your life will change in many ways when you decide to study to become a future barrister. But I never expected that it would demand this much change. I broke up with my girlfriend, I am perpetually broke, I have lost any sense of circadian rhythm, and I am on the verge of falling asleep every time I sit on something solid. There are many instances when I’ve asked myself why I chose to enroll myself into this unforgiving world. But then, again, I think of my parents, their broken whiplash injury claims, and I carry on.

One thing which makes life in law school hard really is the reading requirements. Simply speaking, it’s too much! You can expect to fill at least one bookshelf with the cases, annotations, codicils, and sample exams alone. This does not include the supplementary readings your teachers will obligate you to read, such as essays and books. Some say that you do not really need to read everything but just extract the gist from these texts. But how is that possible without reading them closely and seriously? You cannot really trust abstracts and digests to be right for the simple reason that they are not exhaustive.

And even if they were, your professor will know whether you’ve read the text or not because he will ask you not just what the main gist is, but how the author came to support that main gist. Nor will your professors care about you. Our professors once made my class read a 250-page case about the religion clauses in some of our laws. We discussed it in just one day.

Get Informed about Personal Injury Compensation

The purpose of personal injury compensation is to reimburse for the loss, pain and suffering experienced by an individual from an accident caused by someone else’s mistakes. This is awarded in the form of damages which is categorized into General and Special Damages.

General Damages compensates for the non-quantifiable aspect of the claim. It is commonly known as the pain, suffering and loss of amenity. Loss of amenity is basically the impact of the injury or illness to one’s quality of life or his relationship with others. These are non-monetary changes that an individual needs to adjust after the accident. The physical and emotional pain, loss of enjoyment of life, loss of use, loss of prospects, disfigurement, impairment and loss of companionship can be included in claiming for personal injury compensation.

The physical and emotional pain may not be totally compensated but it can somehow lessen the stress in dealing with other problems brought about by the incident. Loss of enjoyment of life covers for loss of leisure time or loss of enjoyment or a holiday. The loss of use of damaged items like jewelry or a car can be compensated.  Loss of income opportunity is also covered in this category.

A Special Claim for Injuries

Special Damages compensate for the economic loss incurred by the injured person from someone’s negligence. It covers for the loss of earnings, medical expenses, cost of care, transport costs and other out-of-pocket expenses.

Both actual and future losses of earnings are included in the claim. It is evaluated based on the details of one’s employment. Loss of future earnings is quite difficult to compute. The pay increases, benefits and promotion prospects are taken into consideration. Medical expenses include hospital bills, cost of medicines and medical treatment fees. The cost of care covers the care provided by family, relatives, friends or other private agency. Transport expenses include trips to the hospital, visit to the GP, attending appointment with the medical expert and other trips related to the injury. Other expenses that can be claimed include repair or replacement of vehicles, additional utilities costs, items needed for the treatment and special aids and equipment.

It is necessary to provide evidence in seeking for personal injury compensation in the United Kingdom. This requires an expert legal advice from a solicitor so that the right amount can be granted to the claimant. Ask for a legal advice about the details.

Requirements Needed by Injury Claims Lawyer

Personal injury claims lawyer or solicitor needs pertinent information from the client to help process the case in the United Kingdom.

It is necessary for the injury claims lawyer to know about the date, time, place of the accident and details on how the accident happened. Contact details of the person responsible for the incident should be provided. This includes the complete name, address, contact number, mobile number, insurance policy, and vehicle registration number (in case of a car crash). In the same way, the contact information of the witnesses is necessary (complete name, address, contact number and mobile number). It essential to provide the details of the injury indicated in the medical statement from the doctor. The proof of loss of earnings and financial expenses incurred due to the injury are important including the client’s insurance policy

Upon submission of these documents, the legal counsel will analyse the situation and the likelihood of success of the case. He will assess the value of the claim based on the evidence. The approximate time table in processing the claim and funding for the litigation process will be discussed clearly. Additional supporting documents can be included in the list of items.

Requirements for the Claim

Injury claims lawyer helps in providing evidence needed in processing the claim in the United Kingdom. These pieces of evidence include medical report, statement from witnesses, photographs of the accident, accident report form and proof of income loss and financial loss.

The solicitor assists in obtaining a medical report from an expert. The medical report shows the nature of the injury or illness suffered by the person, symptoms, duration of pain, treatment and recovery period. Exact and specific details are essential in evaluating the amount of compensation. The statement from the witness is also necessary. Sketch or photographs of the accident scene provides a graphic image and should be take in different angles. In case the incident happened in the workplace, an accident report form should be submitted. Proof of loss of earnings and financial expenses such as payslips, prescription charges, hospital bills, treatment fees and other out-of-pocket expenses are important in showing the financial impact of the incident to the individual.

Taking notes and recording it in a journal can help in remembering all the bits and pieces of the impact of the accident.

The expert legal advice from the solicitor is an instrument in obtaining the right compensation.

Claim for Personal Injury: Are You Afraid of Heights?

It’s shocking to see a plane submerged into the water. Planes are for the sky and ships are for the sea. Not unless it’s a car which was recently reported that works on land and deeps into the water. Well, the said aircraft from Indonesia missed the runway and plunged into the water. Some passengers were injured. Good thing that there were no fatalities reported in the accident. Passengers suffer from trauma because of the incident. Although it’s a budget airline, it is still required to comply with highest standard of training of employees, most importantly the pilot. Inadequate training of employees can affect work performance and harm innocent people like these passengers. It’s a simple logic, whether you pay for a budget or an expensive fee, people deserves to be transported to a safe destination. Just imagine the shock of these passengers who are supposed to be on a land but ended up being submerged into the sea. It’s really traumatic. It’s not only the people inside the plane who suffered from stress but also their family and relatives who were so worried about their flight.

Speaking about airplane, a study conducted by British Airways shows that the back seats of an economy class is most popular to passengers. Another interesting result revealed that the right-hand side of the cabin is preferred by those who book their flights earlier. In addition to that, window seats are preferred by those who enjoy the view outside while the aisle seats are chosen by those who want to get out of their areas easily. Well, it’s nice to be given options. But the most important thing is to arrive in your destination safely.

Whatever marketing strategies employed by the airlines, safety should be the top most priority that should be offered to the customers. Convenience, service and on time arrival are equally important and should not be ignored. Accidents involving any forms of transportation are covered by claim for personal injury. This means any injuries while travelling by air, land or sea can be compensated if someone is negligent.

Close-knit Workers Try to Avoid an Accident at Work Claim Only to Save Friendships

My job as a motorcycle mechanic has a lot of risks involved. I recently witnessed a colleague lose several fingers as they got caught in a chain. Before that, I was around when one of my co-workers lost a foot when a petrol tank exploded.

In both instances, the owner of our bike shop was quick to put the blame on my co-workers because by calling them negligent. But then these two mates are twenty year veterans of bike building. As far as I know, they were already designing and building custom motorcycles while I was still a spark in my parents’ eyes.

So to accuse the first guy of being responsible for his own injures was something that took everyone by surprise. But accusing the second guy of the same thing was an even bigger shock because everyone treated everyone else like family.

Being a close-knit shop, both these guys tried to work out a way for the owner to just pay for their medication. In the interest of friendship, they did not want to push for damages from the loss of fingers and a foot.

But as our shop owner stubbornly stood his ground, my mates had no choice but to file for an accident at work claim in order to get medical relief.

Knowing that their skills lay in bike building and not in law, each one hired a lawyer through a No Win No Fee arrangement. By not having to pay for anything, my mates were able to channel their salaries in to recovering from their injuries as the case took its course.

The cases they filed were eventually settled but the damage to their friendship, as well as to the company morale, was permanent. Prior to these two injuries, we trusted each other. Now, everybody kept looking over their shoulder.

While everyone was relieved that my two mates recovered from their physical injuries, everyone was saddened as the break to our emotional bonds never recovered.

We eventually left the company because things were not the same anymore. Hopefully the new companies we joined will be different and no one will need to file an accident at work claim in case of an injury.

Despite Advances in Technology, the Danger of an Accident at Work Still Exists

As far as I am concerned, I have always felt that there was something romantic about working in a mine.

My father worked in a gold mine, and his father worked in a coal mine before that. So it was no surprise that I ended up carrying on with the family business.

And while working in a mine generations ago was not only downright dangerous, it was backbreaking work. This is the reason why a lot of old songs about working in mines proliferated during this time; mining is one of those things that have turned in to a legend, just like working on the railroad was.

Today’s mines, while still dangerous, are not as physically demanding as the days of my grandfather. During his day, people would use shovels, pickaxes, and even hammers just to extract coal from deep within the earth.

In my father’s time, advances in chemistry had them working with toxic chemicals to make gold extraction much faster. And in addition to shovels and pickaxes, they carried around buckets of dangerous liquid with them.

Given the working conditions my father and grandfather went through, it is understandable why many of their miners succumbed to injuries due to an accident at work.

Looking back at what they had to go through, I am fortunate that technology has improved that heavy machinery has made life a lot easier for me. What my grandfather could do in a week with a pickaxe, I am now able to do in a day with my jackhammer. And what would take my father months to do with a shovel, I can do in hours with modern hydraulic diggers.

And while the productivity of my generation of miners has skyrocketed, the dangers we face are still the same. Cave-ins, noxious fumes, and even people being struck by vehicles still form part of the risks miners face today.

And just like my father and grandfather before me, the only way to avoid getting in to an accident at work is to keep you wits about you. Stay alert, never hesitate, and move fast when needed.

With this in mind, I hope to live just as long as they did, which is into their nineties and pass on what I have learned to the next generation of miners.

The Compensation from a Work Accident Claim is the Only Thing I will Leave my Family when I am Gone

I have always considered myself a careful man. As far as my diet is concerned, I eat a balanced one by consuming as many vegetables with my meat during meals. I drink milk and take a two glasses of wine a week to keep stomach and heart in good shape. I also exercise three times a week to make sure my muscles are in tip top shape. I do not smoke nor do I take any prohibited substances. I also avoid even the smallest amount of fat by cutting it off before consuming my food.

I am equally careful at work and have never been in any accident. Needless to say, I never needed to file any work accident claim as I am as safe as they get.

So I was in shock when my doctor told me that I have lung cancer and that it is incurable. After the initial shock disappeared, I was so angry because I had taken care of myself all these years.

Had I known that I would end up dying this way, I would have done all the bad stuff my friends have been doing. I would have eaten more red meat, smoked like a chimney, and go binge drinking. I might have lived longer; and if I didn’t, would have had more fun in life.

Seeing that my lifestyle and genes did not indicate any lung cancer, my doctor delved in to my work history more closely. And at one point, he found that I had been exposed to high levels of lead, fibreglass, and asbestos. The exposure was traced to my summer jobs in construction during my younger days.

According to my doctor, the levels that I was exposed to were so toxic that I was fortunate to have lived this long. And while I understand he may be trying to get me to cheer me up, I just did not feel fortunate.

He then informed me that I had three years to file a work accident claim from the moment I learned of the injury. So even if my exposure was twenty years ago, I still had the opportunity to secure damages to pay for treatment.

I briefly considered whether I should still file a case as I doubt I would survive to see it ruled in my favour. But with a wife and grandchildren to leave behind, I see that they will, at least, benefit from my leaving them too soon.