Types of Accidents

If you were the driver of a vehicle or a passenger involved in a road traffic accident that wasn't your fault, you could be entitled to compensation.

Construction sites are among the most dangerous places of work in the country, consequently the industry is governed by strict regulations covering all aspects of health and safety.

If you have been hurt or injured at work you may be entitled to make a personal injury claim against your employer who has a duty of care to ensure the safety of all employees.

A seemingly minor trip, slip or fall in a public place can result in a very nasty injury and have a major impact on your quality of life.

Industrial diseases caused by exposure to hazardous substances in the workplace ruin lives.

Injuries caused by sports and leisure activities affect people of all ages and skills levels and can have a major impact on the victim's lifestyle

Articles

Injuries from defective products in the UK

Sophie’s case was a classic ‘Shoe-In’  

_{In 2004 student Sophie King bought a pair of high heels from the now defunct Dolcis shoe shop chain at a cost of £35.00.}

_{On the first day she wore them, the heel snapped, causing her to fall heavily to the ground. She tried to continue her evening out. She later passed out with pain and was taken by ambulance to the local hospital, where a broken ankle was diagnosed. She still has symptoms and was later required to give up all active sports.}

_{In July this year a court in Manchester awarded her the sum of £7,000 to be payable by Dolcis. This threw the Jeremy Clarkson brigade into a bit of a frenzy. The sub text was that if you wear high heels, you must expect to fall over - it is simply a part of the price of beauty.  Joan Burnie, in the Daily Record on 11^th July wondered acidly whether, having given up stilettos, Sophie had now also given up the booze.}

What does the law actually say about injuries from defective products?

_{The rules are contained in the Consumer Protection Act 1987. The title itself is a bit of a misnomer as it doesn’t relate to your rights as a consumer. For example, the Act doesn’t stipulate that the goods you purchased should conform to description, or be fit for purpose, or that they can be returned within a certain period.  It relates solely to product liability for safety. The test is very simple.}

_{“Does the product provide the level of safety which members of the public might reasonably expect?”}

_{Decided cases show that the public might reasonably expect that blood transfusions are free from HIV infection, even although in practice this is quite a difficult standard for health authorities to reach.  On the other hand, in a case decided by Cherie Blair Q.C., sitting as a Recorder, (remember her?) reasonable public expectation does not extend to a guarantee that condoms will never break during use. Similarly, the Court of Appeal in England has decided that a safety seal on a medicine bottle could be overcome by a determined infant.} 

_{You may have read compensation culture scare stories about American plaintiffs receiving huge sums of money for damages against McDonald’s because their coffee was too hot (most of the ‘facts’ in these cases are mythical, but that’s a discussion for another day).  In the United Kingdom the courts have held that the public can expect coffee in McDonald’s to be at a temperature which might scald infants, and that even where a child suffered serious burning injuries, he had no rights under the Act.}

_{However if Sophie’s two and a half inch heel snaps on the first day of use, it’s a ‘no brainer’ for a court to decide that the public can expect rather better from the shoes.}

_{You don’t even have to be the particular person who purchased a product. As long as you are the person who has been injured by the product you have rights.}

_{From Bonnar & Company’s case files we have examples of persons who have been injured using a defective trampoline, have suffered facial scarring from an exploding lemonade bottle, or who have suffered injury when a chair purchased from a DIY centre suddenly collapsed.}

_{But the acid test is that the injury must be suffered during normal usage.  The law will not allow recovery where abnormal force has been used, where the product has been used in a way contrary to expectation, or where consumption of alcohol has caused significant and unusual forces to be applied.}

_{So, although there are no blank cheques being dished out, where you have been injured because some product has failed in ordinary use, you will have a right to compensation.}

11th November 2008

If you have suffered an injury caused by a faulty product contact Bonnar & Company Solicitors for free, no obligation expert legal advice.

Types of Injury