The owner of a fairground ride which caused two men personal injury at the British Grand Prix weekend back in 2008, has been prosecuted and fined in relation to the incident.

The ‘Tagada’ ride consists of a low round bowl which spins around fast and bounces the riders up and down at the whim of the operator. The two men in question had gone onto the ride on July 6th 2008, and were thrown off as it spun around at speed. They both suffered back injuries and bruising.

The men were lucky not to suffer more serious injuries and have since recovered fully from the ordeal.

The accident was investigated by the Health and Safety Executive. They found that steel work on the seating had corroded and caused the accident. The corrosion was clearly visible and should have been noticed long before it caused injury to anyone.

The HSE decided to prosecute both the owner of the ride and the inspector who passed the ride safe. Both parties later pleaded guilty to breaking the Health and Safety Act at court. The owner, Michael Searle was fined £3,000, and the inspector and his company were fined £10,000 between them.

An elderly couple is making a compensation claim after becoming seriously ill on holiday.

Mr and Mrs Regan went on a dream holiday to Puerto de Santiago in Tenerife, staying at the four star Barceló Santiago hotel. The dream quickly turned into a nightmare for the couple however. Just two days into the holiday, they both started to feel unwell. They suffered stomach cramps and severe sickness and diarrhoea. Mrs Regan suffered most out of the two, and needed a doctor to treat her for dehydration. They suffered from the illness so bad that the symptoms continued when they got home, with Mrs Regan needing three weeks off work to recover.

The Watford Observer newspaper is reporting that the couple are now making a compensation claim against Thomson Holidays with who they booked their holiday. The couple blame their illness on the poor food at the hotel, stating that it was undercooked, and poor hygiene systems were in place.

Thomson are contesting liability, saying there is no evidence that food was the cause of the illness but rather an outbreak of norovirus in the local village was to blame.

It has been reported that hundreds of people have complained about the hotel and could have been affected.

A seven year old girl who broke her fingers while at a Wacky Warehouse birthday party has been awarded personal injury compensation.

Caitlyn Ratcliffe was attending a party at the soft play activity centre for kids when the accident happened. Her hand was trapped in a store cupboard door that was being closed by a member of staff. Her middle finger was broken in the incident and as a result, she had to have her hand in a splint for three months.

Her mum describing the accident to The Sentinel newspaper reports that her daughter’s finger bone was crushed and an infection developed in her nail. She remembers seeing blood everywhere, and Caitlyn being in a lot of pain.

Now the owners of the Wacky Warehouse group – Punch Taverns – have agreed to pay Caitlyn £3,000 in compensation for her injury in an out of court settlement. The money will be kept in a trust fund until Caitlyn is 18.

A woman from Billingham is facing a large accident claim bill after her postman injured himself when he tripped on a paving stone on her property.

Postman Colin Hatch suffered his injury when he tripped on a cracked paving stone outside the house of Mrs Little. He claims he was spooked by the sound of Mrs Little’s dog growling and tripped when he fled. Allegedly his foot caught in the cracked paving and his knee continued on its forward movement. This tore the ligament in his knee and he had to undergo key-hole surgery to rectify this. He was forced to change his career from that of a postman due to the lasting effects of the injury.

Mrs Little on the other hand claims that she and her dog were not even in the house on the day of the accident.

Colin sued Mrs Little for damages, and a Judge has already ruled in favour of Mr Hatch in the compensation claim. Unfortunately Mrs Little did not have building insurance at the time, which includes cover for public liability incidents. She is therefore legally liable to pay the settlement herself. Mr Hatch is claiming for £34,000 as well as legal costs, but there is set to be a ruling next month to decide on the final settlement figures.

A woman from Norwich who suffered 80 per cent burns is using a personal injury solicitor to launch a £2 million claim for damages.

Layla Skalli was trapped in a blaze at her single room bed-sit in Norwich last year. She suffered devastating injuries in the fire and is lucky to be alive. She suffered 80 percent burns across her body which have left her with lasting pain. When she was pulled from the blaze it was thought she had no chance of survival. She was suffering from carbon monoxide inhalation and organ failure. Surgeons grew her new skin from cells to replace badly burnt sections.

In a previous hearing her landlord Michael Billings was sentenced to two and a half years jail for breaking fire regulations. Her room had no smoke detectors, fire extinguishers or window that she could escape from. His sentence was cut to 21 months after he agreed to pay Layla £20,000 compensation. She is now claiming an additional £2 million in compensation for her devastating injuries.

A Judge has frozen an equivalent portion of Mr Billings’s assets to pay compensation if necessary, but a date for the hearing has not yet been set.

Inmates across the UK have launched dozens of personal injury claims over the last three years. Some of the claims included in this research just released are shown below:

-    £1,000 for a prisoner who hurt his back lifting slabs
-    £2,000 for a prisoner scalded with boiling water
-    £1,000 for a prisoner who injured his hand working in a shed

The most serious personal injury claim came from a prisoner who lost a toe after getting it trapped in a machine.

On top of these claims, up to fourteen prisoners tried to make claims after being assaulted by fellow inmates, by claiming that the authorities inside did not do enough to protect their safety.

The right of prisoners to claim injury compensation has been under the spotlight since it was revealed that Ian Huntley was considering making a compensation claim after being assaulted by a fellow convict. The then Home Secretary Jack Straw blocked that claim but as we can see many claims are not being blocked. Compensation paid to Scottish prisoners in the five years from 2004 to 2009 totalled over £4,000,000.

The Justice Spokesman for the Scottish Conservative party has blamed the increase of claims on the wish of prisoners to play the system and ‘try it on’. This he says is aggravated by the crippling boredom faced by prisoners, adding that the money spent this way could be better used elsewhere.

A man who was attacked by a dog which he had just bought is making a personal injury compensation claim against the kennels which sold it to him.

Paul Hamnett bought the Staffordshire bull terrier from Hathern’s College Garth Kennels, Loughborough on March 18th. Within an hour of getting it home the dog attacked Mr Hamnett, ripping off part of his cheek. He needed three hours of surgery after the incident and will require a further six months of rehabilitation. He has been left with no feeling in his cheek and is still on liquidised food.

Mr Hamnett’s anger at the incident has been fuelled by the lack of an apology from the kennel owner. It has also been increased by being called an “idiot” by a volunteer worker at the kennels on an internet message board. The volunteer claims Mr Hamnett sparked the attack by bending down offering a bone. However, the kennel owner John Barker has distanced himself from the alleged volunteer’s views and has iterated that he has only not offered a personal apology yet as he has been advised not to make contact for legal reasons.

Mr Hamnett has decided to press for personal injury compensation, and the matter is being discussed by the relevant insurance parties.

Thousands of emergency workers made ill by the thick dust caused by the world trade centre collapse on 9/11 are set to finally receive personal injury compensation.

Up to 10,000 people have become ill from the inhalation of dust from Ground Zero. They spent weeks among the collapsed tower wreckage on emergency and clean up work being regularly exposed to the toxic dust. The dust of the ruined towers contained fragments of asbestos, glass and lead. Many have since developed cancer, respiratory illness and breathing problems after their prolonged exposure.

New York City has agreed a provisional figure of $657 million – £437 million – for the more than 10,000 victims who have made a claim. The figure was announced on Thursday by The World Trade Centre Captive Insurance Company, which was set up after the tragedy to handle claims by those injured in the extensive rescue effort. The personal injury compensation money would come out of this federal fund which has nearly a billion dollars set aside. Claimants would be awarded varying amounts of compensation from thousands to millions depending on the severity of their injuries. However, 95% of claimants have to agree to this package that has been put before them before it is implemented.

If the scheme is implemented it will see the end of a long battle for compensation. New York City Lawyers had previously challenged some claims on the basis that they thought adequate breathing apparatus had been given to emergency workers.

A former NHS health worker has been awarded a compensation payout for work-related psychological stress.

The retired health worker, who had a mainly office-based role, is due to receive £370,550, whilst receiving a further £24,000 every year for the rest of his life.

The Birmingham City Hospital had previously been refusing to pay compensation to the man, who retired in 1996 due to stress. However, they have now been ordered to make the payment by the Department of Health. Health Secretary Andy Burnham is believed to intervene if the payment is not made within two weeks.

Spokeswoman for the hospital Jessamy Kinghorn said that they were “reluctantly” paying the incapacity compensation despite confusion over which organisation was actually responsible after the original hospital trust dissolved in 2002.

The solicitor firm representing the case said; “Working in the public sector does seem to be stressful and two-thirds of the stress at work cases I get are from jobs in the council or NHS.”

A woman from Birmingham has received a compensation payout after a three-year battle with the city’s SnowDome leisure facility.

Single mother of four, Sally Morris was awarded an undisclosed amount after she was badly injured at the popular Tamworth tourist attraction. She suffered injuries to her spine and kidneys when another visitor’s toboggan ploughed into the back of her at full speed.

Mrs Morris was on a day out with her six-year old daughter when she was hurt. After taking a turn on the toboggan run, she ended up stuck in a crammed queue of people trying to leave the area.

Despite the clear dangers, staff continued to allow visitors down the slopes as normal, leaving her exposed to the full force of an oncoming toboggan.

Mrs Morris, decided to issue a claim for compensation in July 2006 using a personal injury solicitor. At first the SnowDome refused to accept responsibility, declaring that their staff were highly trained and carried out detailed risk assessments.

After a three year battle, court proceedings were issued to the visitor attraction. Soon after, the SnowDome agreed to award her an out of court settlement.

Mrs Morris, who also lost her husband through illness during this period, hopes that her act of perseverance will inspire others to see through their claims for their entitled compensation.