Industry news roundup: week ended 25 Nov 2013:
This week, it seems like that for every story that has claimants winning big on their personal injury claims there’s another where the injured are sent packing.
First up, it’s good news for a quintet of teachers in Cambridgeshire, as personal injury compensation in excess of £150,000 has been paid out to them after a myriad of injury claims. Their injuries came from several sources, including slips and trips and even one instance of an assault – and for what it’s worth I don’t fault these staff members from seeking compensation. While it’s not quite as dangerous as some jobs, there’s plenty of opportunity for some pretty bad injuries in schools across the UK, and it’s important to know that if you do get injured on the job there’s some recompense waiting for you.
Of course, not all local authorities are quite so compassionate. In fact, one driver who suffered £1,000 in damage to his vehicle after falling afoul of a particularly nasty pothole has been left out to dry by Essex County Council.
Poor Adam Glenister had to foot the bill himself after the pothole mangled his Audi A1’s alloy wheels to the point that they needed replacement. On top of that, the pothole caused enough damage to his wheel tracking to need them repaired. Despite that, the local authority flatly refused to come to Mr Glenister’s aid because just seven short months ago – ha! – there was an inspection on that particular stretch of road that didn’t turn up any glaring faults.
Somehow – and I don’t know what goes through these barmy bastards heads when it comes to admitting liability – the state of the roads and the damage to Mr Glenister’s car just wasn’t bad enough to warrant the county council for shelling out the measly £1,000 to compensate the poor bloke. It’s not like Mr Glenister didn’t back up his claim with the proper documentation, either; he submitted all sorts of photographic proof of the pothole and the damage to his car, but it just wasn’t enough for Essex County Council.
So there you have it – don’t expect anything from a council like that. Maybe Mr Glenister would have had more luck if he’d run over that pothole in Cambridgeshire instead? They seem a bit more honest just a few more miles to the north, don’t they?