Is your holiday likely to end up in a trip to see a personal injury solicitor? As of a few weeks ago, British Summer time is officially upon us; the clocks clunked resentfully forwards and we lost an hour of precious sleeping time but the days are now longer and growing progressively brighter and we are beginning to dream in anticipation of lazy summer days in the summer sun.
Summer is the time of year that we dig out our passports, swimsuits, flip-flops and suitcases and jet off for a break in the sun. But, unfortunately, along with summertime comes the threat of holiday accidents and the possible need for personal injury solicitors to be contacted.
Be prepared
Before you even contemplate heading off towards the airport you need to think about protecting yourself from personal injury. If you are going to some far flung exotic location you may need immunisations against tropical diseases such as hepatitis, typhoid and yellow fever. It also a good idea to invest in a mosquito net, insect repellent and malaria tablets to reduce your risk of sustaining the potentially fatal malaria. If you do not take steps to protect yourself it is likely that you will end up in a foreign hospital bed and it is unlikely that you will be able to make a personal injury claim for compensation.
Then when you decide to jet off, make sure that you leave plenty of time to get to the airport. Not only do you have to contend with being at check in up to two hours before take-off but you also have to allow for the build up of traffic in and around international airports, particularly Gatwick and Heathrow. Make sure that you drive carefully as if you start tailgating, speeding or cutting people up so that you can jump ahead in a traffic jam you are likely to be involved in a road accident.
When preparing to get on a plane for a long haul journey make sure that you have a pair of flight socks designed to assist your circulation. The flight socks apply gentle pressure to the ankles and help blood flow around the body by squeezing it up towards the heart and could prevent you from sustaining Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) - blockage of the veins which is particularly common ion the legs. Potentially, airline, bus and train passengers as well as people who work in jobs where they are seated for much of the day could contact personal injury solicitors to make no win no fee claims for DVT.
Get hot on protection
And, of course, the first sign of summer means that Brits flock to the high street to grab the skimpiest clothing from the shelves in a bid to make the very most of our limited exposure to warmth and light. This carries its own risks, no not being knocking out whilst wrestling with an over-zealous sarong lover, but the very serious issue of UV light.
The sun not only brings with it smiling faces, children playing out of doors, trips to the seaside and a wonderful excuse to eat copious amounts of ice-cream but also the risk of skin cancer.
While it is the aim of many English roses to get a tan that David Dickinson would give up his best bargain for, unless appropriate sun protection is used they could be at risk of sustaining serious burn injuries. Cases of skin cancer have doubled in the UK over the past 20 years although the disease is being recognised more quickly as 'five year' survival rates are increasing.
It is important for people to have a good understanding of the damage that the sun can do. Many people will opt for a lower SPF in their sun cream as they believe that this will help them to get a tan, however, they forget that the SPF is designed to protect their skin from the sun's harmful rays. Some sun safety experts believe that provided sun cream is applied properly -an eggcup full at least half hour before going out in the sun then the same amount every 2-3 hours - a sun cream of more than factor 15 should not be necessary even in tropical climates.
But, sun cream alone will not provide ultimate protection from the sun and it is important to stick to the shade and keep covered up during the hottest part of the day (between 11.00am and 2.00pm).
One way to gain extra protection is to wear protective clothing. This is particularly popular in Australia where the sun reaches very high temperatures and regular summer clothing just won't do the job. There are a variety of companies such as Coolibar [http://www.coolibar.com] who feature SPF clothing, sun hats and swimwear designed not only to provide you with the highest UV protection available but also keep you cool, comfortable and stylish.
UVB rays not only damage unprotected skin but they can also damage unprotected eyes. Some scientists are of the school of thought that daily exposure to UVB in very bright sunlight over a period of many years may cause cataracts. For the best eye protection look for sun glasses that provide at least 98% protection form both UVA and UVB rays; be cautious as many fashion sun glasses will not provide this level of protection.
While it is highly unlikely that you could make a compensation claim for skin cancer or eye damage caused by exposure to sunlight, unless you were forced to work out of doors without adequate protection, you may be able to contact no win no fee solicitors and make a product liability claim if you sustained personal injury while wearing specially designed clothing which failed to maximise your protection. So, just remember that the next time you're planning a jolly jaunt in the summer sun, that a trip to your local personal injury solicitors may not be far away.
This article may be published on another website free of charge, on the condition that a link is provided from this article to our website: http://www.the-claim-solicitors.co.uk/no-win-no-fee/no-win-no-fee-holiday-accident-case-study.htm
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Katy Lassetter, Online personal injury compensation claim specialists, with a 97% claim success rate. Call 0800 197 32 32 or visit http://www.the-claim-solicitors.co.uk/no-win-no-fee/no-win-no-fee-holiday-accident-case-study.htm for more details. |
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