Personal Injury

Road Traffic Accidents

Road traffic accidents are the most common cause of personal injury claims, and can happen to all road users including drivers, passengers, people using public transport, pedestrians and cyclists. If you are unfortunate enough to be involved in one that was not your fault, you may be able to make a personal injury claim for compensation. 

At Setfords, we always fight to get your clients the best compensation for their claim, and have experience dealing with the full range of road traffic accidents, including:

• Fatal road accidents
• Brain and spinal injuries
• Whiplash claims
• Pedestrian accident claims
• Motorbike accident claims
• Cycling accident claims
• Public transport injury claims
• Claims involving uninsured victims and drivers
• Hit and run accident claims
• Injuries caused by defective vehicles
• Road traffic accidents abroad

Whatever your road traffic accident, it is highly likely that you will have experienced pain and suffering, and could be entitled to compensation as a result.

Defective Product Claims

If you have suffered a personal injury or illness as a result of a defective product, you could be entitled to bring a personal injury claim, or, more specifically, a product liability compensation claim.

Setfords offers specialist advice in numerous areas of defective product claims, including:

• Defective medical devices and pharmaceuticals
• Food products which cause illness
• Defective appliances and equipment
• Defective toys
• Contaminated water supplies
• Faulty consumer products 
• Defective hair products

Accidents and Illness At Work

When at work, your employer must try to ensure the safest environment possible, bearing in mind the type of job you do, the materials and equipment that you work with, and the tasks involved. The most obvious example of a breach of this duty would be if office floors were left wet or cluttered with files or cables, on which employees slipped or tripped up. 

At Setfords, we provide thorough accident at work compensation advice, information on employment related issues and benefit advice where appropriate. We represent people who work in all types of environments, from office workers and construction workers, to those employed in shops, restaurants and manufacturing facilities. Our personal injury lawyers can handle any accident at work claim, including those involving:

• Defective or dangerous machinery, such as power tools or industrial injuries
• Slips or trips on debris or dangerous surfaces
• Injuries involving lifting or manual handling
• Injuries suffered in the construction industry, such as falls from ladders, roofs, repetitive strain injuries, carpal tunnel syndrome and injuries to the back and knees
• Vehicle accidents
• Exposure to harmful and dangerous substances
• Employees exposed to violent attacks by patients or customers
• Disease claims for those who have developed occupational illness or conditions, such as asbestos claims.

Accidents in a public place

In the UK, thousands of people a year are injured in public places. The most common injury is a slip, trip or fall, the result of which can range from short term injury, pain and suffering, to long term disability, ongoing pain and suffering and significant and prolonged financial losses.

The personal injury solicitors at Setfords are experienced in helping injured people obtain compensation for the full extent of their losses. Our solicitors have won millions of pounds in compensation for their clients. Some examples of typical claims include:

• Falls due to uneven pavement or potholes.
• Injuries due to lack of proper lighting or security
• Falls due to improper maintenance of stairways, balconies and railings
• Accidents on elevators, escalators and travelators

Brain, Spinal And Other Serious Injuries

Serious injuries such as brain injuries, spinal injuries, and amputations can have life-changing consequences. If you have suffered such an injury yourself, you may need support including rehabilitation, immediate and ongoing medical care, and sometimes counselling. As a result of your injury or illness you might have also lost your job or suffered from loss of earnings. You could therefore be entitled to significant compensation.

At Setfords, we appreciate that the demands of those with brain, spinal and other serious injuries are substantial and complex. Our personal injury claim solicitors have worked with many of the leading figures in high injury rehabilitation in the UK, and we are therefore able to select the most appropriate personal injury experts to help accurately assess and evaluate claims.

We fight hard not only to secure maximum compensation, but also to improve the quality of our clients’ lives. As part of our services, our personal injury experts will:

• Investigate liability as early as possible
• Apply for interim payments wherever possible to help fund private health care, rehabilitation and help with your financial security
• Provide personalised and bespoke advice which is sympathetic to any worries that you may have, such as dealing with financial needs, state benefits and asserting your employment and other rights
• Recommend other specialist services where required such as personal injury trusts advice, financial planning, wills, powers of attorney and advice on periodical payments
• We will also employ the appropriate receivers to look after your affairs with the Court of Protection

Where possible, you will receive 100% of the compensation awarded and your claim will be pursued at no cost to you.

Medical Negligence

If you have suffered as a result of medical negligence. you may need support including rehabilitation, immediate and ongoing medical care and sometimes counselling. As a result of your injury or illness you may have also lost your job or suffered from loss of earnings. You could therefore be entitled to significant compensation. Some examples of situations in which there may be a claim for compensation are:

• Failure by a GP to diagnose an illness or failure to refer the client expeditiously for further tests or investigations, leading to a worsening of the client’s condition
• Failure of a surgeon to warn a patient of a recognised risk of an operation, and the client had the operation and the risk materialised. It is worth noting that in “failure to warn cases”, the failure to advise of recognised risk of surgery which later occurs can lead to an award of compensation even if the surgery itself was carried out to an appropriate standard
• Dispensing the wrong drug to a client by a chemist, leading to the client experiencing unpleasant side effects
• The negligent performing of a cosmetic surgery operation, leading to very poor results, scarring, and the need for further corrective operations
• Negligent delay in diagnosing a malignant tumour, leading to the cancer spreading
• Negligence in delivering a baby, leading to the baby being starved of oxygen and suffering permanent brain damage

Medical negligence is a complicated and particularly specialised area of the law. Fortunately, Setfords’ expert personal injury claim solicitors have significant experience in dealing with all kinds of medical negligence claims. Where possible, you will receive 100% of the compensation awarded and your claim will be pursued by our personal injury experts at no cost to you.

Asbestos Claims

It is now well known that asbestos can cause or be a contributing factor in a wide range of serious health conditions, including asbestosis, mesothelioma, and lung cancer. This exposure is commonly related to occupational and environmental factors.

If you have suffered from any kind of health condition or illness as a result of asbestos, you could be entitled to bring a personal injury claim for compensation.

Many of these cases are brought against employers, who have a duty to ensure that the place, or places, where you work and their premises in general are safe for their staff. They also must ensure that, where there has been exposure, it has been kept to a minimum. Employers also have a responsibility to provide their staff with the appropriate training and personal protective equipment, otherwise they are in breach of their duty of care and are liable for compensation.

Vibration White Finger

Vibration white finger (VWF), also known as Hand Arm Vibration Syndrome (HAVS), is an injury caused by the excessive use of percussive equipment. It is often suffered by those doing construction work, as well as workers carrying out jobs like car body repair and boatbuilding where sanding and buffing equipment is used for prolonged periods. 

HAVS can affect many different aspects of the body such as nerves, joints and muscles and, in nearly all cases, one of the main indications is white fingers. It is a condition that affects thousands of workers every year, however, due to the awareness of the condition increasing over recent years, this amount has fallen. That said, should you suffer from HAVS as a result of your working conditions, you could be entitled to compensation.

The amount of compensation an individual will receive varies depending upon the number of hands and fingers affected, the severity of the symptoms, and the impact on the claimant’s ability to work or carry out household functions.

Claims Against Uninsured or Untraced Drivers

Many injured claimants mistakenly believe they can’t claim compensation if the driver that hit them either leaves the scene without giving details or gives false details. The truth, however, is that they can. There is a body called the Motor Insurers Bureau (MIB) who pay such claims subject to fulfilling certain criteria.

It is important to call the police and report the matter immediately if you suspect the person at fault was not insured or they have left the scene of an accident. You should get the name of the person you report to, and get a crime reference number.

If you can get witness evidence or mobile phone video or photographs, even better.

Once you are armed with this, we can pursue your claim against the MIB on your behalf. We have expert lawyers who handle these types of claims and are used to dealing with complex situations involving absconding drivers, stolen vehicles, non-UK vehicles or drivers and the like.

Under Settlement Solicitor Negligence

Sometimes, solicitors get it wrong. If you think your personal injury claim was settled without your instructions, or for a lower amount than you should have received, it might be worth checking with our experts as you may have a legitimate claim against your solicitor.

For example, if a vital item of claim was omitted, like an ongoing loss of earnings or reduced earning capacity due to disability resulting from your injury, then it may mean you have missed out by thousands of pounds.

The most common under settlements relate to ongoing injuries that have not subsided, and missed injuries such as psychological injuries or head complaints that required investigation due to symptoms not picked up by solicitors or appropriate medical experts employed in your case.

Whatever it is, Setfords is here to argue your case and get you the compensation you deserve.

Noise Induced Hearing Loss

Employers have long had a duty to keep exposure to noise to a minimum. They are required to monitor the noise levels in their premises and take action if the 80dba level is reached or exceeded. This level of noise is typically emitted and exceeded by garden machinery, for example. If the employer cannot reduce the noise by adjusting the equipment or by soundproofing, then they should provide suitable hearing protection and enforce the wearing of it. 

If you have worked in a noisy environment for a prolonged period and your hearing has been affected, then you may be entitled to compensation. Depending upon the extent of the disability and your occupation and age the compensation could be anything from £3,000 to £15,000. Setfords’ personal injury lawyers are here to help you get the compensation you deserve.

Cycling claims

Here at Setfords, we understand the special requirements of injured cyclists. The majority of accidents happen due to collisions with motorised traffic, however, we also know that badly maintained roads and other non-road users can cause accidents, giving rise to all kinds of liability issues.

Also, insurers of motorists may argue for percentage deductions for allegations of contributory negligence (partial fault) — for example, not wearing a helmet. 

We are familiar with fighting these arguments to ensure the cyclist gets the maximum level of compensation in the quickest possible time.

Stress And Harassment Claims At Work

The HSE defines stress as ‘the adverse reaction people have to excessive pressures or other types of demand placed on them’. A small amount of stress can be a positive thing, but if it manifests itself into something more clinical such as a psychiatric disorder including anxiety or depression, the consequences can be devastating.

At Setfords we have a dedicated team that specialises in occupational stress and psychiatric injury claims. Our expertise covers:

• Stress at work claims
• Bullying and harassment claims
• Violence at work claims
• Sexual harassment