Accident Claims Specialist

Bus driver uses bus as weapon

2012-02-23T02:06:00.000-08:00

For once there is some CCTV evidence of an accident involving a bus. It must be noted however that the CCTV did not come from the bus but from the local council who filmed Gavin Hall using his bus to knock down Philip Mead on his bike after the pair had been involved in a heated exchange. Mr Mead was left with serious injuries and Bristol Crown Court sentenced the bus driver to 17 months in prison for causing grievous bodily harm.

We only hope that CCTV evidence is made available in more cases as it would quickly and easily confirm who is at fault for an accident as it clearly did here.

Accidents On Bikes

BT enters claims market

2012-02-22T08:41:00.000-08:00

BT Claims, a subsidiary of BT, has now applied to become an ABS.

Currently BT Claims deals with non fault accidents involving its UK fleet of BT vehicles but it is planning to expand and provide this service for other corporations with similar size fleets.

On average it deals with 4000 at fault accident claims and 3000 non fault claims annually and is continuing to expand its third party capture system.

This appears to be a surprising entrant to the personal injury market and is an example of how bigger corporations are now seeking to boost their profits by pursuing personal injury claims.

Car Accident Claims

Paul S Rossiter - PSR Solicitors

2012-02-21T07:01:00.000-08:00

Mr Rossiter is a member of the Law Society Personal Injury panel which aims to:

promote high standards in legal service provision
ensure that consumers are easily able to identify legal practitioners with proven competency in given areas of law
help consumers to make informed choices
offer solicitors and firms use of a recognisable brand
provide information for courts, statutory bodies and other professionals
ensure that scheme members maintain relevant standards of competency and expertise, by means of periodic reselection and re-accreditation

Accidents at work

Government summit on whiplash claims excludes the Legal Profession

2012-02-17T06:38:00.002-08:00

The Law Society Gazette has reported that in a much heralded 'summit' on the rising costs of car insurance premiums, the Prime Minister recently met with the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and representatives of leading insurance firms. Mr Cameron continues to blame the rise in premiums on the amount of personal injury claims being brought following car accidents. However there were no representatives present of the claimant legal profession at the talks, only government ministers and insurers were invited. This is despite the fact that in January the Law Society wrote to the Government and requested that they were involved.

Law Society chief executive Desmond Hudson said: 'We wrote to the prime minister over a month ago, but it is disappointing that our offer to work with him and his government in addressing public concerns over whiplash claims has been ignored. There are many options to address, from government, opposition, and others, which need proper consideration. Government should not be limiting itself to tea and cakes with one partisan set of stakeholders - the insurers.'

The Jackson reforms are unlikely to be fully implemented until 2013 and we hope that before then the Government starts to listen to all parties involved in the debate and not just the views of the insurance industry who clearly have a vested interest in the costs of personal injury claims being reduced. This is necessary in order that the changes to the industry are balanced and do not adversely impact on the most important people in the whole process, the people who are injured and have their lives affected by the negligence of others.

If you are interested in reading more on the myth of a compensation culture in the UK then click on the link below which leads to an article from the Independent.

http://www.independent.co.uk/opinion/commentators/johann-hari/johann-hari-if-only-we-did-have-a-compensation-culture-6145049.html

Accidents at work

Cameron on the attack again

2012-02-16T08:43:00.001-08:00

David Cameron has allegedly told insurance companies to slash average car insurance premiums by up to Â£90 in exchange for the Government clamping down on the so called compensation culture.

This is a response to figures showing that there are on average 1500 whiplash injuries every day in England and Wales. Presumably this information is now available thanks to the Portal system which was recently put in place and from which insurance companies are obviously gathering important information from.

There are other proposals to reduce the number of whiplash claims, such as fitting a black box into drivers' cars and ruling that whiplash injuries cannot occur in accidents which involve speeds of less than 10 miles per hour however the main proposal still appears to be to continue to attack injured people and the solicitors who represent them.

Warehouse Accidents

Extension of fixed fees for personal injury claims

2012-02-14T09:29:00.001-08:00

The Ministry of Justice has now announced its conclusions following a review of the current fixed fee regime in place for road traffic accidents with a value of up to £10,000. The first proposition is to increase the limit for the value of the claim up to £25,000 which would then encompass the vast majority of all road traffic accident cases.

The second proposition is to extend the fixed fee regime to employers' liability and public liability claims although there are no exact details at this moment in time.

If the system can work well PSR Solicitors welcomes this advance however there are currently still problems with the system that is in place and we believe it would be sensible to resolve those problems before extending the system to other areas.

Accidents Claims

We are here to help you and your family

2012-02-14T05:07:00.000-08:00

We understand that if you are involved in an accident where you suffer injuries, no matter how small, it can be a very traumatising experience. There can be effects on the injured party together with their surrounding friends and family. There can also be effects in relation to work and if the accident involves a vehicle then there can be problems in relation to alternative transport.

PSR Solicitors are specialist personal injury practitioners. We only undertake this type of work which allows us to concentrate fully on representing our injured clients and their families. Our aim is to take away any stress and headaches and deal with everything that we can allowing you to concentrate on recovering.

To this end we recover compensation not only for the injuries suffered but also for loss of earnings, travel and medical expenses and in relation to road traffic accidents, we can take care of the vehicle and arrange for an alternative vehicle to be provided. As such we offer a complete package.

Not only do you receive 100% of your compensation, we will also pay you Â£300 directly as soon as liability for the accident is admitted.

Please feel free to contact us on 01244 810830, via our website www.psrsolicitors.co.ukor alternatively on our out of hours mobile 07737 137 358.

PSR Solicitors are here to help you and your family.

PSR Solicitors - we are here to help

Top Gear controversy shock

2012-02-13T01:54:00.000-08:00

Last nights Top Gear once again courted controversy when Jeremy Clarkson stated that people who claim for whiplash injuries should be shot!

This followed on from a statement that the Government has set the speed limit at which whiplash claims cannot happen below, as 6.25 mph. A strange figure indeed.

Its not for us to say that Mr Clarkson is advocating Government policy but he is close friends with David Cameron who himself has launched numerous attacks on the "Compensation Culture".

Of course not every collision is of sufficient impact to cause an injury and that is one of the factors solicitors assess when considering a compensation claim. We think that the Law of Tort works well enough after developing over hundreds of years without having a popular TV program attempt to influence the current one sided debate.

Accidents involving trains, trams and buses

Criminal injuries compensation update

2012-02-10T07:58:00.000-08:00

The Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (CICA) have backed down under the face of a judicial review and have agreed to pay compensation direct to solicitors rather than to the injured person.

The issue with the changes proposed by the CICA was that, as no legal costs are payable by the CICA and solicitors take a percentage of their client's damages, if the money went direct to the injured person then in some cases the injured person would not pass on the solicitors costs element.

The only reason for proposing this change would appear to be to once again deter solicitors from becoming involved in injury claims which would in return lead to a reduction in the amount of claims brought and the CICA would then have less compensation to pay out. This is yet another example of proposed changes in the law benefiting anybody except the injured party.

Criminal Injuries Compensation Scheme

Manchester 10km run

2012-02-09T01:51:00.000-08:00

On the 20^th May this year Mike Dutton, an expert Personal Injury Solicitor with PSR Solicitors, will be competing in the annual Manchester 10km run. This takes place around the streets of Manchester City Centre and goes out into Salford and the surrounding areas. It is one of the largest organised 10km races in the UK and is attended by both elite athletes and, like our own Mr Dutton, the not so elite.

Many thousands of pounds are raised for various charities each year by the competitors in the race. This year Mike has decided to run the race on behalf of MIND, the leading mental health charity in the UK which carries out invaluable work in helping people who suffer with mental health problems and their families. If you would like to find out more about MIND and the fantastic work they do then please visit their website here http://www.mind.org.uk/.

Mike has assured us that, despite his job, if he does fall down at any point during the race then this will be down to exhaustion and will not lead to a claim against the Council for any defects in the highway!

Accidents in public places

Jackson reforms delayed until at least 2013

2012-02-08T09:28:00.000-08:00

It is unlikely that anybody within the legal profession is surprised at the announcement from the Government to put back the civil reforms until April 2013. The ideas to reform this area of law have become increasingly complex as both sides have raised arguments which appear to be unresolveable. There is little doubt in our minds however that the person on the street, the general public, are the people who will certainly lose out whatever shape the reforms eventually take. As such we would hope that this delay allows refinements of the proposed reforms so that the only winners are not insurance companies themselves.

Warehouse and Forklift accidents

Client Response

2012-02-08T01:34:00.000-08:00

I would like to thank you and your team for all the hard work you have put into this case and winning the case for me,god forbid if i have any accidents that are not my fault i shall be in touch and will also put your firms name forward to my friends.

Once again a very big thank you to you and your team.

We are here to help you and your family

Trainee solicitors to be exploited?

2012-02-03T09:34:00.000-08:00

The Solicitors Regulation Authority has begun a consultation as to whether or not to scrap the minimum wage for trainee solicitors. The current rate, Â£16650 (outside of London) has been frozen for the past 2 years but is now possibly going to be scrapped altogether.

Several groups have warned that such a move would lead to the exploitation of trainee solicitors who may, in order to gain qualification as a solicitor, have to work for very little or even nothing.

This seems to be a move backwards and is a further sign of just how desperate the economic conditions currently are.

Office Accidents

Insurance Industry Lobbying exposed by the Guardian

2012-02-01T01:48:00.001-08:00

Following a Freedom of information request the Guardian have reported that representatives of insurance companies were allowed extensive access to Civil Servants involved in drafting the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill.

Papers obtained by the Guardian show that the head of litigation funding and costs at the Ministry of Justice, Robin Wright, who is responsible for developing the proposals in the Bill, gave the Association of British Insurers regular updates on the content of the controversial Bill.

It has been disclosed that in May 2011 the Government were in talks with the Insurance Industry over plans to force Claimants to pay their costs even if they win their case. The Civil Justice Council who are responsible for investigating these proposals were only informed of this in July 2011.

Evidence has also emerged that ministers were being lined up to attend at various events held by the Insurance Companies in the run up to the Conservative Party Conference last year.

These revelations do lend weight to the fears expressed in the House of Lords, the Law Society and by organisations, such as the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers, that the proposed cuts to Legal Aid, and changes to the funding of Civil Litigation, are not in the interests of Justice but rather are to appease the large and influential insurance industry, allowing them to make even larger profits whilst the ordinary citizen will find it harder to be able to turn to the Courts to access Justice as the cost of doing so could well be prohibitive if the proposed changes are passed into Legislation.

Compensation Claims

We are quality Solicitors

2012-01-31T08:21:00.000-08:00

PSR Solicitors are the leading personal injury specialists in North Wales. We deal with all types of accident claims: Car accidents, accidents at work, slips trips and falls. We operate a 'no win no fee' system and we guarantee our clients 100% of their compensation.

In addition we are currently running a bonus scheme where we will pay the sum of £300 to each new client once liability for their claim has been accepted.

If you want quality solicitors, look for PSR Solicitors.

What's my claim worth?

2012-01-30T08:57:00.001-08:00

Health and Safety Executive starts to charge for advice

Under a new proposal named 'Fee for Fault' the Health and Safety Executive will charge for letters and notices where in the past they would provide them free. The approximate cost for a letter will be £750 and for a notice it will be £1500. The Government states that its aim is to raise £45 million each year commencing in April 2012.

This seems to be yet a further sign of the Government changing things that were working fine in the first place.

Construction Site Accident Claims

Lexcel renewal

2012-01-27T08:05:00.001-08:00

We are proud to confirm that PSR Solicitors has had its Lexcel accreditation renewed following the annual maintenance visit. This ensures that we offer our clients the very best levels of service.

PSR Solicitors - Personal Injury Specialists

Dangerous dogs under attack

2012-01-27T04:07:00.001-08:00

Following the attack on a 6 year old girl by a Staffordshire bull terrier last week which is likely to have left the young girl maimed for life, further calls have been heard for a reform to the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991.

Hospital admissions for members of the public suffering bite injuries have increased over 100% over the last 5 years.

In our opinion there should be more action from local Police forces to crack down on anti-social behaviour as any legislation to control dogs such as micro-chipping and dog licences, will not target the people and the dogs that are responsible for the majority of these attacks.

Dog bite injury

Listening to music can be fatal

2012-01-25T09:49:00.000-08:00

The University of Maryland in America has reported that in the 5 years leading up to 2011, 81 Americans died in accidents whilst wearing headphones. These accidents involved collisions with either road vehicles or trains caused by the person being cocooned from outside noise such as the sound of an approaching vehicle or even a warning horn.

Be careful out there!

Death by music

Law Society calls for David Cameron to talk to them.

2012-01-24T02:17:00.000-08:00

David Cameron has expressed a desire to speak with the insurance industry regarding health and safety regulations of personal injury claims. For some unknown reason he has however decided that he does not wish to speak to the other side of the industry and this is yet again another example of the Government siding with the powerful insurance companies over solicitors and their injured clients.

Health and safety legislation has been responsible for lowering the number of injuries and deaths suffered by employees at the hands of their employers. Such employees are often in a David and Goliath relationship and it is therefore essential that the Government continue to regulate the employers as nobody else has the power to do so.

Support for employees

Transport Select Committee findings on whiplash claims

2012-01-19T02:37:00.000-08:00

The Committee has released its first report highlighting that there has been a 70% rise in motor insurance claims over the last 6 years despite there being a 20% drop in the number of injuries alleged to have been caused. These two figures are being used to illustrate and support the insurance industry's claims of increases in compensation claims. In fact it has been alleged that whiplash claims accounted for over 70% of all personal injury claims.

This has led for calls for a revamp in how evidence is presented for such whiplash claims and the insurance industry would like further evidence from potential claimants as to how they have been injured and to the effects that the injury has had on their lives before they receive compensation.

This adds further fuel to the fire that such claims are increasing the average road user's insurance premium. The AA has revealed that average insurance prices for car insurance rose by 15% over the last year averaging out at Â£971.00.

To add some balance to all of this the Transport Select Committee also raised concerns about the paying of referral fees and it is pressurising the Government to ban the payments of such fees between solicitors and claims management firms who buy such cases from the insurance companies themselves. The Committee would however like a wider ban to stop insurance companies receiving fees from other parties such as car hire firms and garages.

It is good to see that MPs have acknowledged that the insurance industry greatly profits from personal injury claims whilst it also, on the other hand, continues to attack personal injury solicitors and their clients. It is the hypocrisy of such an approach that causes concern.

Pedestrian compensation claims

Both Tory and Opposition Peers criticise the Proposed cuts to Legal Aid.

2012-01-18T02:48:00.001-08:00

The cuts to Legal Aid that have been put forward by the Justice Secretary, Ken Clarke, in the Legal Aid, sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill continue to be strongly opposed by the Lords.

Tory Peers Lord Tebbit and Lord Newton have both voiced their concerns over the planned cuts which would remove the right to obtain legal aid from a huge range of areas - including clinical negligence, debt, housing, welfare, employment and family disputes - including some domestic violence cases.

Both Lord Tebbit and Lord Newton are lending their support to the campaign to prevent the removal of a right to legal aid to children in clinical negligence disputes.

It is reported that the majority of Liberal Democrat Peers will be voting against the amendments put forward in the Bill. The Bill is now at the report stage in the House of Lords and will be subject to a number of debates in the coming weeks. Critics of the Bill are now increasingly hopeful that the stance against it being taken by the Lords will cause the Coalition Government to make serious amendments to the Bill in order to get it passed into statute.

About PSR Solicitors

Mini - good and bad news

2012-01-17T06:38:00.001-08:00

Mini is set to recall upto 30,000 Cooper S and JCW models in the UK, over a water pump fault that could cause a fire.

A spokesperson for BMW stated that there had been four cases of such models catching fire although no one was injured.

The good news?? - Mini revealed record sales of nearly 300,000 models worldwide in 2011.

Contact PSR Solicitors

Law Society attacks motor insurance industry

2012-01-17T01:47:00.000-08:00

The Law Society chief executive Desmond Hudson has gone on the offensive against the insurance industry following its continued lobbying of the present Government over the so called compensation culture.

The latest attack comes in relation to whiplash claims which the industry blames for increasing motor insurance premiums. This is despite the fact that insurance industry profit from referring such whiplash claims onto solicitors in the first place.

Anybody who works in the industry will know that such cases have to be proven and argued in a similar way to every other type of claim based upon the law. It also has to be remembered that the vast majority of claimants are genuinely injured and according to the law of England and Wales are entitled to compensation for the pain and suffering they have been put through due to another's negligence.

We cannot help feel however that the Government is siding with the insurance industry over solicitors and their injured clients.

Whiplash claims

Solicitor jailed for conning lottery winner

2012-01-16T09:19:00.001-08:00

Chester Crown Court recently heard a case involving a solicitor, Nicholas Hayward, who acted for a former lottery winner who scooped a prize of 9.5 million in 2005. Police became suspicious over the solicitor's dealings with the lottery winner and launched a probe before discovering that the sum of Â£14,000 had been taken by Mr Hayward.
In Court Mr Hayward admitted money laundering, perverting the course of justice and also prejudicing a money laundering investigation. His jail sentence is for a term of 12 months.

PSR Solicitors News

What is whiplash - for Mr Cameron

2012-01-13T07:59:00.000-08:00

With the recent report from the Parliamentary Transport Select Committee attacking the rise in whiplash claims in the last few years it appears to have led to certain sections of the media and other commentators arguing that whiplash is some kind of fictional injury. As anyone who has ever been involved in an accident and suffered from whiplash will tell you it is a very real and painful condition. It can have a debilitating effect on the sufferer and there is no form of treatment that provides a quick, or even in a small minority of cases, a complete recovery.

Put simply, in a car accident, whiplash occurs when a person moves their neck suddenly forwards and backwards in a movement that the body is not used to. The unusual force causes a strain injury in that part of the body which results in pain. In many cases the pain does not manifest itself for a number of hours post accident. The sudden movement that causes whiplash is present in car accidents when the impact of a collision causes the person in the vehicle to be thrown forward and back, or side to side, in a sudden violent movement. It is not necessarily the speed of the collision that causes the injury rather it is the unusual movement that inflicts the damage. Therefore a person involved in an a low speed car accident can develop the injury just as likely as someone in a higher speed accident.

Although it is not a condition that can easily be diagnosed, a person definitely knows when they are suffering with it. The Select Committee have advised that a claimant should be required to undergo more stringent tests than are currently required to prove a whiplash injury. At present, in the majority of cases, a claimant will be seen and examined by a medical expert, such as a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon, who will then prepare a report detailing whether or not the claimant is suffering with whiplash and a prognosis for the length of time for recovery. It is on the basis of such a report that the claim is valued and settled. Sometimes a claim will settle without a medical report being obtained. This is a decision made by the insurance companies who make an early offer to settle a claim to a claimant before a medical report is obtained. This saves the insurers money as they are not then also having to pay the costs of the medical expert on top of the compensation.

As Claimant personal injury solicitors we always carefully advise our clients of the potential dangers of settling a claim without a medical report, and therefore a full diagnosis and prognosis of the injury, being obtained. We also fully support the rights of injured people to bring compensation claims for their pain and suffering.

We at PSR Solicitors are strongly against fraudulent claims and we only represent claimants who we are satisfied have been genuinely injured and we obtain the necessary evidence to prove this. We of course welcome attempts by the government to reduce fraudulent claims in this area and it will be interesting to see what extra checks the Select Committee recommend should be brought in to further evidence a diagnosis of whiplash.

If you have sustained a whiplash injury then do not be put off by claims in the press or by the insurers of their being large numbers of fraudulent claims. It is a cornerstone of English Law that if you sustain injury, whatever that may be, and for however long that may be, through no fault of your own, then you are entitled to claim compensation from the negligent party . If you would like further advise on this matter then please feel free to call PSR Solicitors where you we will be able to speak directly to a Solicitor with expert knowledge in this field.

Compensation for whiplash

Dangerous Dogs

2012-01-11T02:39:00.000-08:00

The Government is set to amend the Dangerous Dog legislation to make it an offence for owners to fail to control their pets within their own home or garden. If their animal attacks members of the public or service providers such as postmen, owners could now face a criminal prosecution.

There is also consideration to providing "dogboâ€ which would be a canine version of the anti-social behaviour order "asboâ€. This is a move away from having breed specific legislation and is looking more towards the behaviour and attitude of the owner of the animal rather than the dog itself. This is good news for post workers as their official union has confirmed that in the last 8 months there have been 6 postmen who have had fingers bitten off.

The changes in the law should also make it easier for people who have suffered injuries as a result of the owner's negligence, to claim compensation for their pain and suffering.

Animal Injuries

Report on the impact of the proposals contained in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill

2012-01-10T04:36:00.000-08:00

In response to the proposed cuts to Legal Aid that have been put forward by the Government ,in the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill, the Law Society requested that Kings College London prepared a report that looked into the possible results of the cuts, that the Government have not considered.

Dr Graham Cookson led the research team at Kings College and their report has now been published. The report can be found on the Kings College website. The Law Society has released a press release in relation to the findings of the report and this can be found on the Law Society website.

Although the report was commissioned by the Law Society, Kings College have been keen to stress that their findings are independent and not influenced by any outside parties.

One of the central conclusions of the report is that savings that the Government has claimed will be made by the changes are unlikely to be achieved. The analysis upon which the Government has concluded the costs benefits of the proposed cuts is considered by the report to be "at best opaque and at worst mistakenâ€.

The proposed cuts have already received widespread criticism and in particular were almost unanimously condemned by members of the House of Lords in the second reading of the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill in November 2011. One of the major concerns of the Lords being that the proposed cuts to Legal Aid will mean that a number of people will simply not be able to afford access to Justice and thereby be denied the right to seek redress through the Courts.

It is hoped that the findings of the report will receive widespread media attention and bring, what we believe to be a serious attack by the Government on the principles of the fundamental right to access to justice for all, to the population as a whole and thereby increase debate on this important issue.

Compensation Claim

Customer Satisfaction

2012-01-06T08:13:00.001-08:00

Mike Dutton, a solicitor at PSR Solicitors, has recently completed a compensation case in a very quick time period with full compensation being awarded to the client. The client has commented that it is "not possible" for Mr Dutton to improve his service. Great feedback indeed.

About PSR Solicitors

Fernquest v City and County of Swansea

2012-01-05T09:31:00.001-08:00

On the 2^nd December 2011 the Court of Appeal gave judgement on an appeal that was brought by the City and County of Swansea following an earlier ruling against them.

The Claimant had brought a claim against the Defendant following an accident where he slipped on ice that lay on a Council owned path. The Claimant had been a passenger on a Council run Park and Ride Bus. Upon reaching his stop the Claimant had stepped off the bus and upon doing so slipped on a patch of ice that lay on the pavement next to the bus stop. The Claimant fractured his wrist and subsequently sued the Council, arguing that they had failed in their duty to keep the paths safe and also that they (specifically the Park and Ride operators) had failed to warn him of the ice on the path. In evidence it emerged that approximately an hour prior to the accident one of the Defendants bus drivers had called the relevant Council department and warned them of the ice in the area where the Claimant fell. However no action was taken by the Council to grit or clear the area, the reason being that due to the severe weather that day the Council did not have adequate resources to attend on the reported area. In his verdict the Judge agreed that the Council were in breach of their duties under the Highways Act and subsequently found for the Claimant. The Defendant appealed the decision.

Following consideration of the matter the Court of Appeal upheld the appeal and dismissed the Claimants claim. The Appeal Judges held that there was no justification to find that the operators of the Buses were under a duty to warn their passengers that there was ice near to their bus stops and that to do so would place too high a burden upon Councils and Bus Operators.

Slip on ice

Victory for high street lawyers

2011-12-13T06:24:00.000-08:00

Sometimes in personal injury cases the injured party has a legal expenses policy in place, otherwise known as before the event insurance (BTE). Often when a solicitor applies to conduct work for the claimant under one of these policies they are informed that only panel solicitors are allowed to act.

A recent High Court decision of Brown–Quinn and Webster Dickson v Equity Syndicate and others 2011, has clarified the position and it was ruled that such a restriction was contrary to European and domestic law. As such all solicitors will now be able to act under such BTE policies.

How to claim compensation

CICA compensation payout

2011-12-12T08:30:00.000-08:00

A recent Judicial Review run by a firm of solicitors has resulted in the CICA altering their policy to make payments direct to the claimant only rather than via their solicitor. Following the review the policy has been changed and from now on a person who is injured in a criminal incident, as long as they fulfil the requirements of the Criminal Injuries Authority, will be able to instruct and allow a solicitor to run their case for them.

In our opinion this is obviously a welcome change and promotes access to justice for people who would otherwise be unlikely to pursue a claim.

Criminal Injuries Compensation

Sutton v Syston Rugby Football Club Limited Court of Appeal 20th October 2011

2011-12-08T04:01:00.001-08:00

An interesting decision was given in the above case in relation to the duties a Rugby Club are under to inspect a pitch to ensure it is safe to be played upon prior to a match or training session.

In the above case the claimant was a teenage boy who was a member of the Defendant Rugby Club. During a practice session on one of the Defendants pitches he jumped forward in order to score a try. As he landed his right knee was gashed by a piece of broken plastic that was protruding out of the ground. This was later found to be the remnants of a cricket boundary. The injury to the knee was severe and the claimant is expected to have progressive trouble with his knee as he reached middle age.

The Rugby Club admitted that there had been no inspection of the pitch prior to the training session taking place. The Club agreed that there should have been an inspection but argued that in this case an inspection of the pitch would not have discovered the broken cricket apparatus. The Judge in the first instance held that there should have been an inspection and that the inspection should have been detailed, covered all of the pitch and particular care should have been taken when inspecting the areas around the try lines. Accordingly the rugby club were held liable for the accident.

The defendants accordingly appealed the decision. The Court of Appeal disagreed with the findings of the Trial Judge and accordingly upheld the appeal. The court heard that the only witness who saw the broken apparatus had stated that it was sticking out of the soil but was below the level of the grass and therefore it would not be immediately apparent at first glance. The Court concluded therefore that even if an inspection had been carried out it is unlikely that the offending debris would have been identified and therefore unlikely the accident would have been prevented. As the Claimant was not therefore able to show on the balance of probabilities that an inspection would have revealed the debris his case did not succeed and the Appeal was allowed.

This appears to be an example of the Court of Appeal ensuring that standards for Rugby Clubs and Coaches do not become so high that it becomes too difficult for them to reach the required standards of taking reasonable care of their team members and other users of their facilities.

Sports Accidents

Death by Health and Safety.

2011-12-06T09:14:00.000-08:00

Following on from recent Health and Safety news that the regulations protecting employees are due to be watered down, the press have been more than happy to report the case of a lady who died after falling into a disused mine shaft. It has been alleged that the local fire brigade could not rescue her because the commander of the brigade ordered his men not use a winch as rules stated that it could only be used for a colleague. In our opinion it is not the Health and Safety Regulations that are at fault here but the interpretation and surely common sense would have dictated that if this winch would have saved this lady's life, it should have been used.

It appears from the information we have been provided with that the fire fighters themselves were more than happy to use the winch and save this woman's life and it was in fact their bosses that stopped them not the Health and Safety Regulations themselves.

Accident Compensation

Health and Safety Rules scaled back.

2011-12-05T07:00:00.001-08:00

The Government has announced that it is preparing to ditch "nonsense" rules concerning health and safety. The alleged concern is that employers often have to pay compensation to their employees even if the employee is at fault for the accident. This is based on a report by Professor Ragnar Lofstedt who is a Director for Risk Management at King's College in London.

Again the compensation culture and law firms were singled out as reasons for the overhaul of these regulations however it is our concern that vulnerable employees will no longer be offered protection from unscrupulous employers who themselves will use the regulations to deny liability for accidents when they are clearly at fault. The purpose behind the Health and Safety Rules initially was to support employees who are often in a "David and Goliath" situation.

Health & Safety at Work

Are driverless cars the future?

2011-11-29T05:45:00.000-08:00

The major car manufacturers are making swift progress in their desire to bring fully automated cars to our roads. The main reason behind this development appears to be the belief that if everyone on the roads is in a vehicle controlled automatically then this will dramatically reduce road traffic accidents as the technology should be of such a level as to be able to anticipate, react and ultimately prevent collisions. Jan Ivarsson, the Safety Strategy Chief of Volvo, has said that Volvo’s aim “is to build cars that do not crash. By 2020 no one should be killed or even moderately injured in a Volvo”. They believe this can be achieved with driverless cars.

Advances in the technology of cars over recent years are such that a Ford Focus now utilities technology that will allow it to park itself. In America Google have managed run a driverless Toyota for 1000 miles. Other manufacturers leading this area are BMW and Mercedes. It therefore seems a distinct possibility that within a relatively short period of time fully driverless cars will be available to be purchased by the ordinary road user.

Whether or not driverless cars will however become the norm is an area of some argument and also raises some interesting legal points. Many people actually enjoy the experience of driving and they may well be reluctant to relinquish control of their vehicle and allow a computer to drive them from A to B, when they would rather be driving the vehicle themselves.

Legally the question is raised as to who is responsible and liable for a road traffic accident that occurs between two fully automated vehicles. As the drivers are presumably not at fault liability would appear to therefore rest with the manufacturers of the vehicles. Car makers may well be less keen to develop driverless cars if they start finding themselves liable to having to pay out compensation for car accidents involving their vehicles.

It therefore remains to be seen whether or not the future of motoring is driverless cars, with the speed of development in this area however we won’t have to wait too long before we find out.

Car and Bus Accidents

First Conviction under the Bribery Act 2011

2011-11-28T07:32:00.001-08:00

A Court Clerk has become the first person convicted of an offence under the Bribery Act 2011.

A Court Clerk who used to be employed at Redbridge Magistrates Court was convicted after being found to have taken £500 from a local reporter in exchange for not entering that reporters road traffic penalty points onto the Court database.

The convicted party was sentence to a 6 year custodial sentence for the offence.

The actions of the Clerk were exposed following an undercover 'sting' operation by the Press. He was convicted of only the one offence although there are suspicions that he may have been involved in a larger scam during which he could have taken up to £20,000.00 in illegal payments.

The severity of the sentence warns as a timely reminder as to the gravity of corruption in Public Office and just how seriously the Judiciary view such offences.

The Act applies to all UK Business and Nationals and if convicted of an offence under it carries a maximum custodial sentence of 10 years and an unlimited fine for a business.

Slips Trips and Falls Compensation

Client Satisfaction Questionnaire update.

2011-11-24T08:07:00.000-08:00

We were involved in pursuing a local business after our client tripped and fell on defective paving at their front entrance. Our client successfully recovered damages for injuries to her face and in her Client Satisfaction Questionnaire she stated “thank you for your service”. When asked how to improve our service she simply replied “you can’t”.

Tripping Accidents

Lobby for ban on referral fees

2011-11-23T04:18:00.001-08:00

The Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill contains a ruling that referral fees should be banned.

The Civil Justice Group, which contains a mixture of Lawyers and Insurers intend to lobby Parliament to ensure that the banning of referral payments is passed into law and that tough measures are introduced to enforce the ruling. This lobbying is in support of the Private members Bill introduced by Jack Straw which recommends that the making or receiving of referral fees should be classed as a criminal offence.

So far the Government have come out in support of the banning of referral fees but have fallen short of agreeing on criminalisation.

We at PSR Solicitors are in support of a full ban on referral fees and it will be interesting to see how matters progress through Parliament in the coming months.

PSR Solicitors - Accident Claims Specialists

Lords Attack proposals to cut Legal Aid and abolish No Win No Fee Agreements

2011-11-22T06:49:00.001-08:00

The second reading of the Legal Aid and Sentencing Bill was heard in the House of Lords last night.

Amongst other reforms the bill proposes to cut Legal Aid and abolish 'no win no fee agreements'

Almost unanimously many proposals of the Bill were savaged by the Lords. It was argued that the proposals are an assault on justice and that they would undermine one of the most important principals of this Country, that access to Justice must be available to all and not just those who can afford it.

In abolishing the 'no win no fee' agreements ordinary people would not be able to fund taking claims against large business and industry. Notable examples of people who have spoken out against the banning of these agreements are Chris Jefferies, the land lord in the Jo Yeates case, and the parents of Millie Dowler. Both parties made successful civil claims against newspapers, something they would not have been able to do if lawyers representing them had not been able to act under no win no fee agreements. Without no win no fee agreements being in place the cost risk of taking on such claims would be too great as if they had lost their cases they would have been exposed to paying costs of potentially many thousands of pounds.

We strongly hope that the response the Lords gave to the proposals last night will cause the Government to seriously rethink the Bill and that this attempt to erode access to justice will go no further.

If would like to lend your support in the campaign to prevent the cuts to legal aid then please sign the "Sound off For Justice " E Petition which can be found online.

No Win No Fee

Successful Claim against major supermarket

2011-11-18T08:44:00.000-08:00

PSR Solicitors have today successfully obtained compensation for a client who was injured following an incident when she visited her local Supermarket. The claimant opened a fridge door in the frozen goods aisle and as she did so a carton of ice cream fell out and struck her to the face. Our client suffered a nasty laceration injury to her face as a result. We took the claim on, on behalf of the lady and successfully obtained an admission from the Supermarket that they were at fault for the accident and secured compensation for the claimant.

If you have been injured whilst in your local shop then we at PSR Solicitors are experts in dealing with such claims and if you contact our offices we would be happy to advise you further.

Accidents in Supermarkets

Attack on personal injury solicitors and claimants

2011-11-16T08:26:00.001-08:00

The insurance industry, the Government and most of the media continue to attack the worthwhile work undertaken by personal injury solicitors on behalf of their injured clients. Allegations abound that the work of personal injury solicitors and the claims for compensation entered by injured persons are responsible for everything from increased individual car insurance premiums to the large insurance companies suffering losses. None of these allegations have ever been supported and in fact when the Portal was introduced and the costs for road traffic accident cases fell, insurance companies still increased their premiums the following year.

It is also to be noted that most of the insurers including Axa and Admiral have recently posted profits and that Admiral admitted it may need to increase motor insurance premiums if referral fees are banned as this is a valuable source of income for them.

It is about time that the mass illusion of the compensation culture and easy money for both solicitors and claimants were dispelled and a reasoned opinion provided by somebody in the Government to finally defend the good work undertaken by the likes of PSR Solicitors.

About PSR Solicitors

Interim Payment Refused in Application for Personal Injury Claimants New Home

2011-11-15T03:01:00.000-08:00

A recent Judgement by the Court in relation to Interim Payments highlights the difficulties Courts face in deciding whether or not such a payment should be given. Interim Payments are applied for where a Claimant who is suffering hardship due to the injuries sustained as the result of an accident requests that the defendants make a payment to them to alleviate their position, prior to full settlement having been reached. Such payments are only granted by the Courts if liability has been admitted by the Defendant or judgement obtained against them. In order for a Court to make such a payment they must be satisfied that the Claimant would receive at least the amount applied for, after a Trial.

In serious injury cases, interim payment applications cause Courts difficulties as the granting of them can run the risk of pre-judging the ultimate outcome of the claim.

In a recent Court ruling an interim payment was applied for by a Claimant who due to the serious nature of the injuries they had sustained, now had to move to more suitable accommodation. The Claimant applied for both a payment to cover expenses and also the cost of the new accommodation that had been identified. Liability was not in doubt however a full settlement had not yet been reached. In this instance the Court ordered that an interim payment for expenses was to be made but refused to order an interim payment for the cost of the new accommodation. The reason for this was although the Court was satisfied that after Trial a payment for the expenses would be granted, it could not be certain that the Judge at Trial would agree that the new accommodation would be necessary. The Court decided that this issue could only therefore be resolved after Trial and refused payment for the accommodation in order that they did not pre-judge the final outcome at Trial.

If you have been injured and require assistance with your claim which may necessitate the need for an interim payment then we at PSR Solicitors can assist you further.

Warehouse & Forklift Accidents

Welsh legal separation inevitable

2011-11-14T08:09:00.000-08:00

The Welsh Assembly is launching a year long consultation as to the separation of legal powers between England and Wales. Further control is gradually being conceded to Wales to conduct its own internal affairs and this inevitably leads to the desire to make and interpret their own law. As such in the not too distant future there could be real differences between how personal injury claims for example are dealt with in England as opposed to Wales. There are no concrete indicators at this time of what the difference would be but this is something we must be aware of.

How to claim Compensation

Worst week to drive

2011-11-10T02:27:00.000-08:00

The week following the 30th October when the clocks go back has been held to be the most dangerous driving week of the year.

Figures from the Department of Transport confirm that in October 2010 the number of people injured in a car accident rose from just over 11,000 in September to well over 12,000 in October and November before falling back to 10,000 in December.

This has led further to support to calls for the clocks to stay the same time throughout the year with no hour added on or taken away for British Summer Time.

Road Accidents with Pushbikes

Client's Satisfaction Questionnaire

2011-11-09T06:06:00.000-08:00

We have recently finished a case for a client of ours who was scalded in a local restaurant. The case settled in her favour and they completed their questionnaire with the following comments "Thank you for all your help. You explained the claims procedure very clearly." Another satisfied client of PSR Solicitors

Accident in a Restaurant

Personal Injury Solicitors Hit back at Spurious litigation accusations

2011-11-08T03:33:00.000-08:00

Personal Injury Solicitors have hit back at claims in the media this week that people making claims against local Councils are part of a 'compensation culture' after it was revealed that local authorities have paid out £75 million pounds in compensation and costs in the last 5 years. One leading newspaper described compensation awards as a "catalogue of fraudulent payments"

The Chief Executive of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers, Deborah Evans, said "it is painted as if this claims are fraudulent or frivolous but in reality the Councils have settled and know that they are negligent.â€

It is perfectly right that if a person is injured due to a defective or dangerous piece of street furniture and the local authority responsible have failed in their duty of proper inspection and repair that the injured person is compensated by the local authority for their injuries and other losses incurred.

The claims that are successful against the Council are due to the Councils own solicitors accepting that they are legally liable for the accident in question. It is definitely not the case that the Council simply pay out compensation for any claim they receive. In our experience the authorities defend them rigorously and properly and it is only the cases with legal merit that succeed.

We at PSR Solicitors specialise in claims against Public Authorities and if you feel you have been injured to the negligence on behalf of your local authority then please call our offices where you will be given clear and expert advice on whether or not you have a valid claim against the Council.

http://www.psrsolicitors.co.uk/slips-trips-falls-public-places.php

James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act

2011-11-07T06:01:00.001-08:00

Under this Act the US Congress has allocated nearly 3,000,000$ to a compensation fund for victims of the 9/11 disaster.

Large numbers of people, mainly rescue workers such as Police and Fire Officers, developed respiratory illnesses following 9/11 and the Act itself is named after Detective James Zadroga who in fact died of respiratory disease in 2006.

Compensation Calculator

Crash for cash gang arrested

2011-11-04T08:33:00.001-07:00

A Sunday Times investigation into Thames Management Solutions, a claims management company has resulted in several arrests. This gang arranged for road traffic accidents to occur so that claims could be entered for personal injury together with repair costs and hire claims. Such fraud is calculated to cost motorists up to Â£350,000,000 a year and PSR Solicitors welcomes any attempt to remove such fraudulent claimants from the system.

Accident in the Office

Cash for crash scam

2011-11-03T10:05:00.001-07:00

Further evidence has come to light in relation to the Sunday Times investigation into fraudulent claims in the London area.

It would appear that the company, Thames Management Solutions, provided as part of their service a Google printout and even a sketch of the accident scene.

Allegedly this company had been arranging fraudulent crashes for approximately 10 years. As part of the profits for the group they also arranged for doctors who were in on the scam to prepare medical reports. They took a cut of everybody's money and they then sold the cases to a firm of solicitors.

Bike Accidents

Negligence Cases against Sporting Officials

2011-11-02T04:18:00.001-07:00

An interesting and developing area of personal injury law is negligence cases being brought against officials of both professional and amateur sporting matches.

Over the past few years a number of Court Cases have highlighted the position whereby a referee officiating a Rugby match can be found liable for injuries sustained by a player during the game. The Courts however have made it clear that the threshold for proving liability against a referee in such cases is a high one.

In the case of Smoldon v Whitworth and Nolan a referee was found liable for serious injuries the claimant sustained following a scrum collapsing. In that case it was found that the referee was at fault due to allowing a number of scrums to collapse in what was considered to be a fractious match. The Referee was found to have failed to follow recently introduced guidelines by the Rugby Football Board in relation collapsed scrums. In this particular matter it was found that the referee had allowed the two packs to come into the scrum too hard leading to a scrum collapse on more than 20 occasions.

In the case of Vowles v Evans a referee was found liable for failing to check that a player had the necessary experience to play as a Prop, that the referee failed in his duty of care to the player and was liable for the claimants injuries when he subsequently sustained injury in a scrum. The Court of Appeal held that as rugby is an inherently dangerous game the players were dependent on the rules being properly enforced in order to protect their safety. In this case the rules were not properly enforced.

The Court of Appeal have stressed however that the threshold of liability is high. In the case of Allport v Wilbraham a claim against a rugby referee failed. In Allport the claimant was left paralysed from the neck down following the collapse of a scrum. The claimant argued that the referee had failed to ensure that the scrum had been adequately controlled. In this case the Court preferred the evidence of the defendant and dismissed the claimants claim.

These cases are likely to lead an increase in litigation against referees and official of sporting matters, not just in rugby but also in other sports. The threshold of liability to prove cases against referees is likely to remain high and therefore we should not see a sudden large increase of cases against referees in the near future it will be interesting to see how this area of law develops in the courts over the next few years.

Sports Injury Claims

Referral Fees - Breach of Data Protection

2011-11-01T05:20:00.000-07:00

A new study has concluded that the business of referring personal injury cases for profit, often leads to breach of the Data Protection Act in that individuals personal information is often sold illegally. The Information Commissioner (ICO) Christopher Graham has highlighted that he believes insurance companies are just as guilty as other parties in breaching the Data Protection Act. Mr Graham stated that he wanted further powers to investigate insurance companies as both the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and individual insurance companies were not willing to assist his enquiries at present.

PSR Solicitors welcome the ban on referral fees on the basis that it is throughout the industry and applies not only to solicitors but also to insurance companies. This means that individuals, if they wanted to pursue a claim for compensation, would simply go to their local solicitor and no fees would be paid.

Uninsured and Untraced Car Accidents

Claimant Solicitors to be granted fraud data access.

2011-10-28T02:04:00.001-07:00

For a number of years now the insurance companies have operated a database of all people who have been found to have made fraudulent personal injury claims in the past and have relied on this to raise concerns when they feel a claim may not be genuine.

Up until now the insurance companies have not allowed claimant solicitors access to this information. Solciitor groubs have been arguing for a number of years that if they were to have access to the database it will help to identify potentially fraudulent claims right at the outset of the process. This in turn would undoubtedly help to reduce the costs of fraudulent claims to the economy, which can only be of benefit to the insurers and, in turn, the consumer purchasing insurance cover.

Following a meeting, chaired by the Motor Accident Solicitors Society, between solicitors and insurance groups there is now a plan in place to allow claimant solicitors access to a database which will allow then to view a clients claims history at the onset of the case.

It is hoped that this development will usher in a new era of co-operation between the insurance companies and claimant solicitors in combating fraudulent claims in the personal injury sector.

Industrial Accident Claims

Solicitor referral figures

2011-10-27T06:52:00.000-07:00

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has released details of the number of firms who have declared that they obtain referrals from various sources. These solicitors are in fact paying other companies for details of clients so that they may act for them. In theory there are no problems with such a system however unfortunately it is open to abuse. This has led to the Government indicating that they will clamp down on such referral fees.

Â· 1000 conveyancing firms

Â· 854 personal injury firms

Â· 80 employment firms

Â· 61 wills and probate firms

Contact PSR Solicitors

Oh deer, had a collision with one of these?

2011-10-26T02:31:00.001-07:00

A recent report has confirmed that approximately 40,000 car accidents per year are being caused by deer. The UK deer population has increased to nearly 2 million over the last decade and as the population grows the deer are increasing encroaching urban areas. Most of the accidents happen around the M25 corridor, however as the deer population spreads throughout the country it could be common to experience such collisions anywhere in the UK. The Peoples Trust for Endangered Species has estimated that through damage and injury these deer accidents are costing approximately £10,000,000 per year.

Talk of a cull has arisen however there could be other preventative measures such as fencing which would a humane way of controlling the problem. Further studies are taking place before any decisions will be made.

Car Accidents

Anger at Proposal to scrap the Activity Centres (Young Persons Safety) Act 1995.

2011-10-25T02:50:00.001-07:00

The 1995 Act was passed into Legislation in 1995 and was introduced to set down licensing and inspection scheme for adventure activities. The law was passed in a response to a tragedy in Lyme Bay, Dorset in 1993 when four college students died during a canoeing expedition at sea. It was intended that the new legislation would increase safety of organised adventure activities and the companies that provide them. Prior to the 1995 Act adventure companies were regulated by voluntary codes. Since the act only companies regulated and licensed could operate adventure activity services.

In 2010 Lord Young of Graftham recommended that the statutory licensing scheme is abolished and instead be replaced by a code of practice. It is understood that Lord Young feels that the current licensing scheme is a burden to business and in effect does little to improve the safety of children.

Carolyn Barnard tragically lost her daughter, Claire, in the 1993 accident and has spoken out against Lord Young's proposals. Ms Barnard told the Plymouth Herald that she is 'appalled' at the proposals. Local Councillor Nicky Williams won unanimous support for a motion calling on the Council to make the case strongly for opposing activity centres being subject to a code of practice rather than the existing system of regulation.

Councillor John Smith said that "Self-regulation has failed in the past and will inevitably lead to the ratcheting down of standards."

The legislative proposals are anticipated to begin their way through Parliament by May 2012.

Accidents involving children

Solicitors From Hell owner loses defamation case.

2011-10-24T08:55:00.000-07:00

The founder of the 'Solicitors From Hell' website, Rick Kordowski, has had his defamation claim against the Law Society Chief Executive Desmond Hudson thrown out by the High Court.

The action was brought by Mr Kordowski after he read a blog by a Professor John Flood who had appeared on a Radio 4 discussion programme with Mr Hudson where they discussed the website. In the blog Professor Flood had alleged that Mr Hudson had claimed that Mr Kordowski was a 'criminal' and referred to his alleged practice of removing comments from his website for payment.

Mr Justice Tugendhat ruled that the libel action be struck out stating that there was 'no evidence of any real or substantial harm to Mr Kordowski and that the action amounted to an abuse of process of the Court'. Mr Kordowski had actually repeated the allegations on his own website and the Court found that this republication by the claimant was a striking feature of the case and significantly damaged Mr Kordowski's claims that the allegations were damaging to him.

Mr Kordowski's application to appeal the ruling was dismissed and he was ordered to pay Â£14,000.00 in costs.

Accident Claims

Alternative Business Structures

2011-10-19T07:31:00.000-07:00

With the forthcoming changes in the legal world it is difficult to accurately predict the future.  With the introduction of ABSs (Alternative Business Structures) new models of law firms will enter the legal market and the way services are provided to clients will also change.  It is likely there be an increase in commoditisation as economies of scale and profit margins are squeezed ever further by new entrants to the market who are simply looking to make money.

It can already been seen in other areas of society that such commoditisation although often leading to an initial surge then gradually tails off as people become disaffected with this approach.  The lack of a personal touch and one could say a human touch when dealing with humans gradually leads people to turn away from this type of system even though it is arguable there are some benefits.

If this is applied to the legal system then initially the joining together of some of the large law firms and the claims management companies, which will also overcome the forthcoming ban on referral fees, will seem to many like a sure fire way of progressing into the future. However many clients themselves may not be as eager for them and their very individual claims to be viewed as mere commodities.  This may then lead to a reversion to the older system where high street firms will then prosper by offering the missing human link.

How Much is My Claim Worth?

Motto v Trafigura 2011 EWCA

2011-10-18T02:43:00.000-07:00

The Court of Appeal has handed down a decision relating to the recoverability of the cost of funding a personal injury claim. The Court held that such costs are not recoverable from the defendants and are in fact part of normal overheads. Therefore any costs a solicitor incurs in arranging the Conditional Fee Agreement and also in dealing with either an After the Event insurer (ATE insurer) or a Before the Event insurer (BTE insurer) are also not recoverable.

This will lead to a reduction in the costs that solicitors can recover in personal injury claims and will also affect companies who often undertake these tasks for solicitors and then charge the solicitor for the cost of doing so. Obviously this cottage industry should now disappear.

This is a further example of the continuing pressure placed upon personal injury solicitors' costs which appears is being dictated by the large insurers.

We are PSR Solicitors

2011-10-17T09:30:00.000-07:00

Referral fee update

Referral Fees and the legal costs received by claimant solicitors in RTA cases was being discussed again by the Transport Select Commission. The Insurance industry is arguing that the fixed costs received by claimant solicitors should be reduced again. This is despite the fact they had initially been reduced in 2010.

The Chief Executive of Axa UK, Paul Evans, told committee members that "if the fixed fee is reduced, then personal injury claims would fall and premiums will reduce, I promise". This claim has been challenged by the Association of Personal Injury Solicitors who pointed out that the Association of British Insurers has admitted that the insurance companies as a whole have been saving money and posting large profits yet despite this premiums are continuing to rise.

Paul Evans confirmed that Axa are in strong support of the banning of referral fees however he was also forced to concede that Axa themselves are still making a profit by accepting referral fees from Credit Hire Companies despite Axa having previously said they had stopped the practice.

It does appear that the insurance industries arguments that it is the costs of personal injury claims that are causing an increase in insurance premiums is at odds with the actual evidence which shows that the insurance companies profits continue to increase yet they are failing to pass this on to the consumer. In our view this clearly calls into question the insurers motivation for their continuing pleas for the costs recoverable in personal injury cases to be reduced.

Industrial Accident Claims

Twitter

2011-10-13T03:28:00.000-07:00

PSR Solicitors Ltd have now joined the Twitter revolution.

We aim to tweet any interesting updates on our cases or in the law in general which we believe members of the public will find informative.

How to make a claim for compensation

North Wales Road Safety Group

2011-10-12T02:33:00.001-07:00

The North Wales Road Safety Group is launching a campaign aimed at drivers aged over 60 years with the aim of keeping them safe on the road. All the local authorities in North Wales are involved in this scheme.

There is a free assessment for all drivers which will look at any bad habits they have picked up over their driving lifetime and will also suggest improvements in their driving to cope with the modern road conditions and the increase in traffic over the past few decades.

Accidents on trains, trams and buses

A tale of 2 claims

2011-10-11T06:21:00.001-07:00

There has been much debate in the media and amongst politicians recently as to who is to blame for the perceived increase in compensation claims and the increase in insurance premiums as a result. The insurance companies are quick to blame unscrupulous claimants whereas it can be argued that the insurance companies themselves are not as innocent and blameless as they would like to make out.

Two cases have been reported in the last week which highlight that both sides sometimes undertake practices that damage the reputation of personal injury law as a whole.

In the case of Nield v Loveday 2011 EWHC 2324 (admin) the claimant, following a road traffic accident, claimed damages likely to exceed Â£50,000 as he claimed that as a result of the accident he was reliant on using a wheelchair and his wife had become a full time carer. The insurance company for the defendant were suspicious of the extent of the injuries and accordingly hired an investigator who compiled a DVD showing Mr Loveday following the accident. The DVD clearly showed that the claimant had grossly exaggerated the extent of his injuries and indeed had been more that capable of driving his Landrover Discovery from England to Italy for a caravaning holiday. As a result of the gross exaggeration of the injuries contempt of court proceedings were brought against Mr Loveday due to the fact that he had signed a Statement of Truth on his witness statement, the contents of which were later proven to be incorrect, resulting in Mr Loveday actually settling his claim for Â£1850. Mr Loveday was convicted of contempt of court and was imprisoned for a period of 9 months. Mr Loveday's wife who had supported her husband's exaggerated claims was given a suspended sentence of 9 months imprisonment.

In the case of Fallows v Harkers Transport 2011it was the claimant's insurance company, RSA, who were found to be guilty of exaggerating a claim. The Fallows case involved a road traffic accident in which liability was not in dispute. RSA were the claimant's insurers. RSA operated a policy where they would repair the claimant's vehicle and then seek to recover the costs of the repair from the defendant's insurance company. It was found that RSA had set up a separate company, RSA ARL, to undertake all repairs of vehicles insured by them. This sub company would then use a contractor to carry out the repairs. It was found in the Fallows case that the invoice supplied by the contractor were then increased by the subsidiary company and then presented to the defendant's insurers. The invoice for the repair was therefore inflated and was for more than the actual cost of the repairs themselves. It was found that on average the cost of repairing the vehicle was actually inflated by approximately 25%.

No action was taken against the managing director of RSA for this deliberate and substantial fraud and other than some bad publicity in the media RSA suffered no punishment. Contrasting this with the case of Mr Loveday who was imprisoned for his exaggeration there is an argument that RSA got off very lightly in this matter for their action.

Both cases highlight the fact that exaggeration and indeed in the case of RSA, fraud, takes place on both sides of the personal injury divide and that any deliberate manipulation of the system is not solely the fault of claimants.

Pedestrians Accidents and Injury

Have you been hit by a cow?

2011-10-10T07:05:00.000-07:00

It is not common knowledge but numerous people are injured every year by cows and bulls. There are also a small number of deaths caused on an annual basis, usually by being trampled by a herd of these animals. Recently a local doctor was hit by a bull as they walked through a field along a public footpath. They suffered serious injuries and had time off work also.

Most of the time no negligence can be laid at the animal or their owner, however in some circumstances if the animals are not fenced in properly for example, the owner of the animal could be held at fault for the accident. This also counts for all other animals including dogs and horses for example.

As with any other potential case evidence has to be gathered, usually to prove that an attack was forseeable and we must also consider whether or not the owner is insured and therefore financially able to compensate the injured person.

Animal Injury

Alternative Business Structures

2011-10-07T07:02:00.000-07:00

The 6^th October 2011 sees the day when Alternative Business Structures can be brought into being, following implementation of the reforms in the Legal Services Act 2007. Traditionally all Law Firms in the UK could only be owned and run by legally qualified professionals. The advent of ABS's changes this and allows non-legal professionals to buy into Law Firms and offer legal services of their own. The stipulation being that at least one of the owners of the firm must be a lawyer and the ABS must have been authorised by a regulatory body primarily, although not exclusively, the Solicitors Regulation Authority, to trade as an ABS.

The relaxation of the rules of ownership of law firms is intended to allow a more competitive legal market, allow law firms to benefit from external investment and ultimately give the consumer a greater choice of suppliers of legal services. Some legal professionals however argue that the opening up of the market could lead to a lack of regulation and allow the legal market to be at the mercy of investors simply looking to profit from the sector and thereby reduce the actual level of service provided to the legal consumer. The SRA are not yet in a position to be able to assess and authorise any ABS' and it may be a few months before they are able to do so, so it will be a while yet before the new type of law firms come into being, but it will be interesting to see how they affect the market and the changes that will occur in the legal landscape over the coming years.

About PSR Solicitors

80 miles per hour speed limit

2011-10-05T05:43:00.001-07:00

The Government has indicated that it will increase the current speed limit on motorways from 70 miles per hour to 80 miles per hour. The reasons are numerous, the main issues being the economic benefits of people travelling faster around the country and secondly that the current limit is outdated as it is based upon older vehicles and does not take into account the increases in safety which have been undertaken in modern car manufacturing.

There is a counter argument that the increase in the speed limit will cause an increase in pollution however the main opposition argument is that it will lead to an increase in injuries and deaths on our roads.

In the year to March 2011 1,870 people have been killed on our roads, nearly 23,000 seriously injured and over 200,000 injured and killed in total. Although this may sound like a high figure there have been vast reductions in the number of casualties over the last 15 years despite an increase in traffic over the same period.

Evidence has been released also from the Department of Transport which shows that the main causes of accidents are people failing to look properly or failing to judge another vehicles path or speed. Exceeding the speed limit was a contributory factor in only 5% of all accidents.

Uninsured and Untraced Accidents

Ban on referral fees

2011-10-04T03:40:00.001-07:00

Last Wednesday (27^th September) former Justice Secretary Jack Straw re-iterated his call not only for the payment of referral fees to be banned but also for the practice to become a criminal offence. Speaking at an event last Wednesday Mr Straw said: 'You can sometimes deal with these things by making it a civil matter but if you want to rid the industry of referral fees then you have to make it a criminal offence.

'I'm not in any doubt this will happen. The government's intention is to make it part of new clauses in the [Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders] bill.

'Once that happens, I also say that those who engage in this process will in my judgement be vulnerable in egregious cases to charges under the Bribery Act.'

Once again we at PSR Solicitors welcome the proposed ban on referral fees and anticipate that it will mean potential claimants will make an informed choice in selecting their solicitor to represent them in their personal injury claim. This should lead to claimants being represented by the most appropriate and qualified solicitor in their case and not simply the lawyer who is prepared to pay the most money to 'buy' an individual's claim.

Accident in an office

Outcomes Focused Regulation

2011-10-03T03:46:00.001-07:00

The Solicitors Regulation Authority will change the way it monitor solicitors firms on the 6th of October when Outcomes Focused Regulations come into affect. There will be a new Inspection Unit which will visit law firms and audit them against the new Outcome Focused Model. Not only is the way cases are handled considered but the way the business is run and the finances taken care of. As such the management of the firm and its clients will be covered.

Every private practice must have at least one person who is "qualified to superviseâ€ and oversee the business but also new roles for Compliance Officers will come into existence to focus on the new areas of regulation outlined above.

PSR Solicitors has already adapted its procedures to ensure full compliance and that we can continue to provide an excellent service for our clients.

Bike Accident

Referral Fee Controversy

2011-09-16T06:14:00.000-07:00

Since the Government's announcement that they are to ban referral fees there have been several articles produced from solicitors and insurers. Controversy continues to rage as to whether referral fees are actually to blame for any of the problems which they have been associated with such as an increase the number of claims and also an increase in insurance premiums. Both sides are producing figures to support their viewpoints however what is clear is that everybody has their own self interest at heart. If they insurance industry had its way nobody would claim and no solicitors would therefore ever recover legal costs against them and unfortunately it appears to be the insurers who are shouting with a louder voice.

Referral Fees for Compensation Claims

Health & Safety Fatal Accident Figures 2010/2011

2011-09-15T04:26:00.000-07:00

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) releases annual figures showing which area of employment is the most dangerous to work in. As expected agriculture (with 34 fatalities) and construction work (with 50 fatalities) are the top two revealed in the study. This is not unusual as both industries involve dangerous machinery and large construction projects but there is still not reason, if the correct procedures are followed and corners not cut, why anyone should suffer death whilst at work.

Construction Site Accidents

Royal Society For The Prevention Of Accidents

2011-09-14T08:29:00.001-07:00

New research shows that driver fatigue may contribute to nearly a quarter of road traffic accidents. As the driver has fallen asleep and is not able to brake or manoeuvre to avoid a crash, research has further found that such accidents have more serious and sometimes fatal consequences.

This information should be heeded and all drivers should be aware of the potentially fatal risks involved in driving when they are not at their full capacity.

Car Accident Compensation

Ban on referral fees

2011-09-13T07:09:00.000-07:00

It has recently been announced by the Government that they will ban referral fees, where solicitors pay other companies for details of a claim. Unfortunately the Government has chosen to make a headline statement without actually providing any details. As such there is no definition of what a referral fee is, how they should be banned or even when they will be banned from.

There is also a fear that the banning of referral fees will simply drive the referral fee market underground or it will simply re-appear in a different guise without actually changing the system itself.

Again as we have argued previously, one of the reasons put forward for banning referral fees is that they lead to an increase in insurance premiums and once this ban comes into effect we expect to see premiums decrease. We look forward to renewing our insurance at that time!

Motorbike Accident

Royal Society For The Prevention Of Accidents

2011-09-02T04:19:00.001-07:00

If your employer requires you to use a hand held mobile phone whilst you are driving for them, in the course of your employment, your employer is likely to be found to be committing a criminal offence. This is the offence of Causing Or Permitting Someone To Use A Phone Whilst Driving. Obviously as an employee it is difficult to overrule your employer. Therefore if you cause an accident whilst using a mobile phone when driving in the course of your employment, it is arguable that the employer and not you will be found responsible.

Accidents at work

Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill

2011-09-01T09:03:00.000-07:00

This Bill is likely to be discussed in the House of Commons in October before then progressing to the House of Lords in November. There is a potential that the discussions could continue for some time and the likely implementation of any changes from the Bill would be in Autumn 2012.

Although the Bill has many areas which are not relevant to personal injury claims there are matters being considered such as how to increase general damages by the proposed 10%, the capping of the success fee at 25% of the claimant's damages and new tests in regard to proportionality in costs.

Although discussions are still ongoing it would appear that the way most claims are funded and operated will change in the coming 12 months in the manner previously discussed. None of these changes will, in our opinion, benefit the individual claimant who will potentially lose out on several levels.

How to claim compensation

Accident Investigation

2011-08-31T06:19:00.001-07:00

Police Forces across Britain have now been equipped with a new laser scanner which will assist them in investigating road traffic accident scenes. The scanner takes a 360 degree image including the road layout, the location of the vehicles and any distances involved. This information is then downloaded and used to make a 3D model of the crash site which then allows speeds to be calculated and this will assist the Police in deciding who is at fault for the accident. Ultimately this evidence will then be admissible at Court as evidence.

The Police hope that this new device will not only reduce the time that an accident site has to be closed off, thereby allowing traffic to move more freely, but will also assist in working out exactly who is at fault when all the drivers involved are blaming each other.

Car Accidents

Flintshire Chronicle Editorial

2011-08-18T06:59:00.000-07:00

Warehouse Accidents

Law Society campaign

2011-08-18T04:05:00.000-07:00

Whiplash claims

Law Society campaign Wales

2011-08-18T04:04:00.000-07:00

Accident Claims

Photo Shoot For Flintshire Chronicle

2011-08-17T07:18:00.001-07:00

PSR Solicitors have now had their first photo shoot for the local paper, the Flintshire Chronicle. Hopefully the photograph together with the accompanying editorial will not only provide information about the business and how we are looking to expand, but will also show that we are normal approachable people who are here to help injured people.

About PSR Solicitors

New website advert

2011-08-15T04:27:00.000-07:00

PSR Solicitors are now on the Flintshire Chronicle website with an advert for the "We will pay you £300 for your claim" offer we are publicising.

We hope that with the other avenues we are exploring more and more local people will see the benefits to them of pursuing a claim for personal injury through us as we are Accident Claims Specialists. Also people will deal directly with a solicitor and not a para-legal or other such person. The experience and professionalism we can provide makes cases easier to pursue and ensures that injured people receive the correct compensation, 100% of it.

How much is my claim worth?

Flintshire Chronicle

2011-08-12T06:10:00.001-07:00

PSR Solicitors Ltd will be featuring in the Flintshire Chronicle next week as we put across our vision of the future of the firm and explain how we have grown over the last 12 months since we have opened our high street office in Shotton, Deeside.

We will also be explaining why we are offering £300 to members of the public who wish to pursue a claim for an injury arising from an accident, basically to stop their claim being sold by the claims companies on TV or their own insurance company. We can also assure local people of face to face contact with their solicitor and a high level of client care.

Accident Injury Claim

Insurance Claims Following the Riots

2011-08-11T07:07:00.000-07:00

An historical and much cirticised piece of legislation is now at the fore front of insurance claims that will be made by individuals and businesses who have had their property damaged or destroyed due to the recent wave of public disorder that has swept England in recent days.

Under the Riot (Damages) Act 1886 compensation for damage caused by rioters, under certain circumstances, is to be paid by the Police Force whose area has been subject to the rioting. Essentially the Police are liable to pay compensation for destruction to property in their area, if a riot has taken place in that area, even if no fault or negligence can be apportioned to the Police for the riot taking place.

The Act has been severely criticised over the years and is considered an outdated piece of legislation. In 2002, following the Oldham and Bradford riots of 2001 the Association of Police Officers wrote to the Home Office requesting that the Act was repealed due to the unfair position the Police were left in under the provisions of the Act. A Government Minister at the time was quoted as saying 'The broad issue of whether an Act which is well over 100 years old is still appropriate has been raised. I honestly cannot say to you whether any conclusions will be reached about that in the timetable of the Bill and the issues are quite complex.' The Riot Damages Act 1886 seems arcane and a good case has been made for repealing it. Without prejudice to any existing cases, the Government should seek to repeal the Riot Damages Act 1886."

However the Act remains in place and any claims made under it following the recent civil disturbances will no doubt have an impact on the ordinary Tax payer as residents in the affected areas will see a rise in Council Tax to cover the compensation payments being made by the Police, whilst the insurance companies are able to use the 1886 Act to avoid making payouts of their own.

General Accident Claims

PSR Solicitors office front

2011-08-09T03:42:00.000-07:00

£300 if you are injured in a car accident

£300 for your injury compensation claim

2011-08-09T03:40:00.001-07:00

£300 if you are injured in an accident at work

Road Traffic Accident

2011-08-09T03:31:00.001-07:00

We have finished a road traffic accident case for a local client of ours who was actually injured when braking to avoid a collision. Due to the harsh nature of the braking he was jolted forwards and backwards and this resulted in a whiplash injury to his neck and shoulders.

Our client completed the client satisfaction questionnaire and stated "very friendly staff, all offering excellent service and knowledge"

Whiplash injury

DALTON V NOTTINGHAMSHIRE COUNTY COUNCIL 2011 EWCA

2011-08-08T08:02:00.000-07:00

This was a case involving the typical tripping accident where the Claimant fell whilst walking a pedestrianised area in Beeston town centre.

Previous case law holds that there are 3 factors that the claimant needs to prove:

1. The highway was in such a condition it was dangerous in the ordinary course of human affairs.

2. The dangerous condition was created by a failure to maintain or repair the highway.

3. The injury or damage resulted from such a failure.

The Courts had previously made it clear that Local Authorities do not have to provide a perfectly flat smooth surface and that there are bound to be some bumps and ledges.

It is also important to note that even if the Claimant can prove the 3 factors listed above then the local Council may put forward a Section 58 defence where it states that it has inspected the area in question on a regular basis and that it has not noted any dangerous defects and as such the defect must have arisen since the last inspection period. This then provides the defence to negligence on the part of the Authority.

In this particular case the Claimant tripped over a wobbling paving block which stood proud of its neighbouring blocks. The Defendants had also graded the defect as a category Type 1 repair and this was used as evidence that they believed it was dangerous themselves. With the defect being in the main square in the centre of the town with a high level of pedestrian use it was obvious that it was a danger and that it was foreseeable that it would cause an injury if somebody tripped over the same.

In this case the claimant was successful due to the fact that the defect was proved to be dangerous both by the fact the claimant fell over the same and also by the fact that the local authority had deemed the defect as dangerous also.

Slips, trips and falls in public places

HUFTON V SOMERSET COUNTY COUNCIL 2011 EWCA

2011-08-05T06:43:00.001-07:00

HUFTON V SOMERSET COUNTY COUNCIL 2011 EWCA

The Claimant was a schoolgirl who suffered a knee injury after slipping on water on the wooden floor in the assembly hall.

The Claimant blamed the school for not having in place a system which would have prevented the build up of water on the wooden floor and therefore would have prevented the possibility of someone slipping over.

The defence of the school was that they did have a system in place whereby Prefects prevented pupils from entering the school hall when it had been raining outside. On the day of the accident it started raining half way through a break period and as such the Prefects were not in place by the time the break period ended.

Regardless of this Lord Justice Jackson rejected the claim and held that the school had an sufficient system in place as there was no absolute duty on the part of the school to prevent any accident ever occurring .

Bike accident

£300 for your compensation claim

2011-08-04T03:53:00.001-07:00

P.S.R. SOLICITORS LTD - Accident Claims Specialists

Have you been injured in an accident that was not your fault? Avoid the claims companies on TV and don't let your insurance company sell your claim. Come direct to your local solicitor and if you claim through us we will pay you Â£300* PLUS 100% Compensation for you - Injuries, expenses, loss of income, vehicle repair/renewal and more. Free legal advice from a solicitor - No Win No Fee.

Visit us at Shotton Villa, 36 Chester Road West, Shotton, CH5 1BY

Call us on 01244 810 830 or surf us at www.psrsolicitors.co.uk

Members of the Armed Forces

2011-08-03T06:38:00.000-07:00

PSR Solicitors Ltd have recently finished a case for a serving army officer who was injured in a Road Traffic Accident. We recovered compensation for him for a back injury together with compensation for loss of earning as he missed out on a tour of Afghanistan. They have returned their customer satisfaction questionnaire to us, 10 out 10. Another satisfied personal injury client.

Whiplash claims for injury to neck and back

Staff at PSR Solicitors Ltd

2011-07-20T06:37:00.000-07:00

Staff at PSR Solicitors in Shotton, North Wales

About Us

Mr Paul Simon Rossiter

2011-07-20T06:36:00.000-07:00

The managing director of PSR Solicitors Ltd

Freedom to choose your solicitor

2011-07-15T08:10:00.000-07:00

We as a firm have a large number of enquiries from people who are currently represented in their personal injury claim by a firm of Solicitors that were passed the case by the client's insurance company. In the overwhelming majority of these cases the solicitors passed the claim by the insurance company are not local to the claimant, often on the other side of the country and as a result the only contact the claimant has with their solicitor is over the phone. The clients often express their dissatisfaction with this and we often hear complaints that the claim is progressing too slowly, that their case is being dealt with by a number of different people and that they have difficulty in speaking with anyone regarding their claim.

In order to avoid these issues we believe the answer is simple. Following a road traffic accident, no matter what your insurance company tell you, you are not obliged to have your case handled by the solicitors your insurers recommend. You are free to select any solicitor you so want to assist you with your claim. If you choose a local solicitor who specialises in personal injury claims you will have the benefit of being able to meet face to face with the solicitor dealing with your claim. He will be able to fully explain the process to you and resolve any concerns you may have leaving you assured that your claim is being processed in a timely and efficient manner. If you have any problems throughout the claim then you have the benefit of knowing that your solicitor is local and you will be able to meet with him at your convenience.

P.S.R Solicitor's are based in North Wales and are local to Wrexham, Mold, Buckley, Flint, and the Chester and Ellesmere Port area. If you are unfortunate enough to be involved in a road traffic accident then we strongly advise you to consider your options and call our office. We will arrange to meet with you at a time convenient to you. We can assure you that your claim will be dealt with by an experienced personal injury solicitor and we are confident that we will provide you with a better service than that you would receive if you were to simply allow your insurance company to choose your solicitor for you.

Why choose us?

Letter to the Sunday Times

2011-07-11T02:24:00.000-07:00

Dear Sirs,

Following the publication of many articles in the press, I thought it was about time somebody attempted to redress the balance. It seems that neither the Law Society nor APIL (The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers) are interested in putting forward a different point of view to the rather one sided attention we Personal Injury lawyers are receiving.

Firstly I fully support a ban on referral fees as they have created a middle market which does not need to exist and which should have been stamped out a long time ago, quite simply by educating the public why approaching these Claim Management Companies is unnecessary, I don't believe that legislation is required if people understand what is actually going on in the industry. However referral fees are often used as a way of blaming us for increase car insurance premiums. I would like to know how as no insurance company ever has to pay such a fee, it is taken from the law firms profits. As such a ban on such fees would not affect insurance premiums.

Secondly I have had 3 clients approached in the last 6 months which pre-medical offers from insurance companies. These offers ranged from Â£1000-Â£1500. They are used by insurers to bring the matter to a close very quickly, often before the full medical situation is known, and without them having to pay solicitors fees or pay for a medical report which may confirm that the client is more seriously injured and therefore entitled to a larger sum of compensation. The only people benefiting from such a practice is the insurance companies. All of these clients were awarded an increased sum after a medical report had been obtained and documented exactly what their injuries were.

Thirdly the insurance industry has been largely hypocritical in using the (incorrect) argument that we are at fault for this referral fee system when they themselves are selling peoples claim without explicit approval and then pocketing referral fees themselves. Great praise has been heaped on AXA for stating that they will no longer do this but this clearly misses the point, for the last maybe 10 years they have been doing this!

Finally the governments own studies and that of other groups have shown that there is no compensation culture.

If people are injured they should consult a specialist personal injury solicitor direct, they will receive free legal advice and if they have a viable claim for compensation (which includes an element for pain and suffering as well as loss of earnings, repairs to their vehicle, medical expenses and so on) their solicitor will ensure that they receive the correct sum, not more and not less. That is what the system is designed to do and it is a very good system when it is not interfered with and when the media balances its coverage. For once I would like to read an article from a claimant stating how good the service they received was and how helpful their solicitor was. Feel free to visit our website, there are plenty of such reviews on there.

Kind Regards

Paul Rossiter (Managing Director)

A copy of this letter has also been sent to MP's Jack Straw and Kenneth Clarke.

About PSR Solicitors

Banning referral fees

2011-07-08T07:54:00.001-07:00

The Law Society have this week come out in support of banning the practice of referral fees being paid in Personal Injury Claims. This follows the recent comments by former Justice Secretary Jack Straw which led to the Government and Kenneth Clarke confirming that they will be reviewing the matter and will potentially pass legislation outlawing referral fees in the near future.

If referral fees are banned then we believe that members of the public will benefit as instead of being approached over the phone, by text and by e-mail they will have the opportunity to consider what type of legal representation best suits them and they will be able to make an informed decision on choosing an experienced Solicitor from their local area who they will be able to fully discuss matters with in person. This will lead to potential claimants being more informed and more involved in their cases from the outset and ultimately lead to a higher level of client satisfaction than we believe is the case under the current referral regime.

We fully support a full ban on referral fees.

About PSR Solicitors

Help for Childrens Hospice

2011-07-04T03:00:00.000-07:00

PSR Solicitors are proud to sponsor our local letting agent, Alex Rooney of Easylet, on his 240 3 day bike ride in aid of a charity fund for the Children's Hospice South West. We wish Alex all the best and understand he is already training hard now that the lighter nights are here. What a great cause to sacrifice some saddle soreness for!!

Accidents on A Bike

PSR Solicitors Ltd, North Wales

2011-07-01T03:28:00.000-07:00

PSR Solicitors has today become a Limited Company.

We are a specialist personal injury firm, this means that all our solicitors deal only with accident claims and as such we offer clients a high level of expertise in dealing with any compensation claims they wish to pursue. As we focus on just this one area of law we can offer levels of service which other law firms cannot match.

If you have had an accident and need help, contact us and rest assured you will receive the best legal advice available.

Car accident claims

National Personal Injury Solicitor

2011-06-28T06:31:00.000-07:00

We have recently received instructions from as far afield as Leeds and Newcastle as we continue to expand our presence in the field of personal injury claims and as our reputation continues to grow due to the excellent work we do for all of our clients.

Accidents at work

Referral fees

2011-06-28T03:00:00.000-07:00

Jack Straw has highlighted that insurance companies are making money from referring personal injury claims to solicitors, this is despite the fact that they constantly blame solicitors for driving up insurance premiums. It is this double dealing which has so far gone unmentioned in the press but which we now hope will be exposed and dealt with in the media to the extent that solicitors have been pummelled recently.



It follows on from a case involving a client of ours from last week when their insurance company refused to repair their vehicle unless the client pursued their personal injury case for compensation through the insurers preferred panel solicitors. This is an absolute disgrace and no doubt most of the time the insured person is coerced into accepting the position and thereby losing their right to choose their own
solicitor.

PSR Solicitors

Compensation for accident on a bike

2011-06-21T09:03:00.000-07:00

We have now settled this gentleman's case and he has commented as follows:

"How could we improve our service to you? - You couldn't, I found it excellent. I was more than satisfied....Thank you very much"

Bike accident

Personal Injury Claim

2011-06-20T03:30:00.001-07:00

We have further feedback from one of our clients:

"Cheers to Paul Rossiter (Principal of PSR Solicitors) for an excellent job. 10/10."

How to make a claim for compensation