BACK TO BASICS - WHAT DO YOU NEED TO INCLUDE WHEN PREPARING A STATEMENT IF YOU HAVE BEEN INVOLVED IN A ROAD TRAFFIC ACCIDENT

·      Name, address, date of birth and occupation.

 
·      When and where was the accident etc.  Give details of time, date and exact location.

·      If you had any passengers what were their names, where were they sitting?

·     Give details of the third party involved including name, address, registration number, insurance details exchanged.

·    What was the purpose of you being at the specific place of the accident i.e. was it a regular journey, did you know the area well?

·      Give as detailed a description of the accident circumstances as possible.

·      What were the traffic conditions i.e. heavy slow moving traffic, free flowing traffic?

·      Was the road surface wet, dry?  Was it a sunny or dull day?  Was visibility poor?

·     Give details of any emergency services called to the scene, to include any police reference numbers exchanged.

·      Did you attend hospital?  If so give details.

 

·      Did you attend your GP?  If so when and give details.

·      Give names, addresses, phone numbers, registration numbers etc. of any witnesses to the accident.

·      How did you react immediately after the accident?

·      What were your injuries?  Were your passengers injured?

 

·      How did your injuries affect your daily/home life? 

·      Was the car in a drivable condition?  If not, what did you do?   

·      Did you hire a replacement vehicle? 

·      Have you fully recovered from your injuries, if not please explain what difficulties you are still having.


This article is for information purposes only

Mums and Dads have you got the right safety seat for your child, if you haven't and your child is in a car accident the Courts could find you are 25% responsible for any injuries to your child as can be seen from a recent case on this subject.

In Williams v Williams [2013] EWCA Civ 455 Louise Williams placed her Emma her 3 year daughter, on a booster seat securing her with an adult seatbelt, sh...e believed Emma would be safe. Unfortunately they were involved in an accident that was entirely the fault of Dwayne Williams (unrelated to them) when he crossed onto the wrong side of the road and collided with their car. Emma was too young and short to be travelling on the booster seat and, according to manufacturers' guidelines and expert evidence, should have been secured in a car seat with a five point harness. Her mother had without realising it placed her daughter in the wrong type of safety equipment. The Court of Appeal upheld a first instance finding that Miss Williams was 25% responsible for her daughter's injuries.

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DAMP AND DISREPAIR IN YOUR RENTED PROPERTY

 

Landlords remember it could be an expensive lesson if you do not deal with your Tenant’s reasonable request to deal with any disrepairs at the property you are letting. 

In the case of Woolf v North London Homes at Clerkenwell and Shoreditch County Court, 19 April 2012, a landlord’s obligation in respect of dealing with disrepair was considered.

The claimant was an assured shorthold tenant of a two-bedroom flat in the attic of house from28 November 2008, but left in January 2011.     She complained of disrepair from the  commencement of the tenancy, including a leak to the bath, a leaking toilet and a burst pipe, and an intermittent hot water supply.   These defects were remedied, but from 2009  onwards there was a bad smell of damp, the front door would not lock properly, the bathroom window was rotten and a pane fell out, the roof was leaking and the building suffered from subsidence. The defects were confirmed by the evidence of an environmental health officer and the tenant’s surveyor. The landlords defended the claim on the basis that the tenant had refused access and made various allegations against her, including that she was an alcoholic, had deliberately damaged the property, kept dogs at the property, left vast quantities of nappies outside the premises and had caused the attendance of the police.      All of these allegations were rejected by the judge, who found that there was significant disrepair from the time when the claimant moved in, which worsened over time until March 2010 when the claimant’s surveyor inspected. During 2009, the premises had defective windows and were subject to damp. The judge awarded damages at 20 per cent of the rent of £1,450 per month for the 15 months from the beginning of the tenancy until March 2010, and 30 per cent of the rent for the eight months thereafter, making a total of £7,830 for disrepair. She also awarded £2,500 in respect of special damages on the basis that the claimant had suffered some loss; however, the Judge she did not accept some of the more exotic items in the schedule of special damages for which the claimant had no receipts. Total damages awarded were, therefore, £10,330.

Originally reported by Beatrice Prevatt’s in the December 2012 Legal Action,

This article in for information purposes only

Deborah Aloba

Affordable Law For You Limited 

Are you suffering as a result of a Nuisance at your rented property

Landlord’s remember if you are undertaking work regarding  removing infestations at your tenant’s home then make sure that you pay a bit extra and get a thorough job done or you could be bitten  with a claim for damages resulting from nuisance as can be seen from the below mentioned case.

Siveter v Wandsworth LBC [2012] EWCA Civ 351,16 February 2012

The claimant was a council tenant. Her home was rendered uninhabitable by an infestation of 

poultry mites. She claimed that the mites had spread from a pigeon’s nest resting on a cupboard outside her flat, into the cupboard and through an opening into her flat. The council had arranged to have the nest removed, but the cupboard itself had not been inspected or sprayed. The judge rejected a claim that the landlord was liable for compensation on the basis that the council had acted reasonably in removing the nest and spraying the area even though it had not sprayed inside the cupboard. The Court of Appeal allowed an appeal and remitted the case to the county court for the assessment of quantum. The expert evidence was that, in addition to the nest removal, the cupboard should have at least been inspected and, probably, treated. It was inevitable and foreseeable that if left uninspected and untreated, the infestation would migrate from the cupboard and throughout the flat.

Originally reported by Beatrice Prevatt’s in the December 2012 Legal Action.

This article is for information purposes only.

Deborah Aloba

Affordable Law For You Limited

NON CO-OPERATION WITH A CLAIMANT OR DEFENDANT'S SOLICITOR COULD END UP COSTING YOU MONEY

You could find it an expensive mistake if you  refuse to co-operate with the Claimant’s/Defendant’s solicitors.  In the case of Street & Anor v Larkins & Anor (2013) Ch D (Gaunt J QC), 08.03.13 a Wasted costs order was made against the claimant because they unreasonably refused to consent to an adjournment of a trial date where it was virtually impossible to have the case prepared in time.

The Circumstances of the case are that directions were given in June 2012 for the preparation of a joint expert report. The trial was listed for 04.03.13. An expert was not instructed until December 2012 and his report was due by 22.02.13. On 08.02.13 the Defendant's solicitors wrote to the claimant suggesting the trial date be re-fixed to allow time for consideration of the report. They chased for a response on 15.02.13. The claimant consented on 26.02.13.     The claimant accepted that the defendant had adopted a reasonable position in requesting an adjournment and that, at the time of the chaser letter on 15.02.13, it was virtually impossible to prepare the case in time for trial. The claimant's refusal to consent to the earlier request for an adjournment was unreasonable. The claimant was therefore ordered to pay the wasted costs between 16.02.13 and 26.02.13.

The moral of the story is try to be as reasonable as possible when dealing with the representatives on the other side of your case and make a detailed note of all conversations between you and them.  Don't do this and you could end up with an expensive costs order against you.

This is for information purposes only

Deborah Aloba 

Affordable Law For You Limied

IF YOU BRING A FRAUDALENT CLAIM YOU COULD END UP BEHIND BARS

We have warned about the consequences of being dishonest in personal claim matters on various occasions but thought you could be aware that Insurers are not messing around and they are now bring committal proceedings pursuant to the new CPR 81  against Claimants who they believe have been dishonest.

In the case of RSA v Kosky (2013) QBD (Sir Raymond Jack) 07.03.13 the first application of its kind made pursuant to the new CPR Part 81, the applicant insurer applied for permission to commence committal proceedings for contempt of court against the respondent because she  caused her solicitors to sign a statement of truth in the Particulars of Claim knowing that it contained false statements (made by her). The particulars of claim did not reveal the respondent's relevant medical history. Further, the Schedule of Loss included claims for items that the respondent had already been compensated for in a previous claim arising from a previous injury.  Though in this instance the Insurers were refused permission to bring the committal proceedings the Court did express its view that the case demonstrated the need for an applicant to identify precisely the allegedly false statements upon which reliance was placed and state in what way the statements were said to be untrue.

The Insurers are not going to allow this to lie and I am sure will ensure that next time they do identify precisely the allegedly false statements upon which reliance was placed before bringing  a similar application before the Court. So Claimants BEWARE, if you lie, and it can be proved and the insurers can identify precisely the alleged false statements made by you, an application for a committal hearing could be successful, and, you might be facing imprisonment

This article is for information purposes only

Deborah Aloba - Affordable Law For You Limited 

BEDROOM TAX - ARE YOU AFFECTED

Since 1 April 2013, new housing benefit rules mean you won't be able to get housing benefit to pay for all of your rent if your home has 'spare bedrooms'. This media has called this the 'bedroom tax',
If you’re a council or housing association tenant and are receiving housing benefit and renting a home that has more bedrooms than you need, it’s likely that your housing benefit will be reduced. The new limit on the number of rooms you can claim housing benefit for is based on the number of people living in your home.

If you have more bedrooms than the new rules say you require, you will be treated as ‘under-occupying’ your home and will get less of your rent paid for by housing benefit.

If housing benefit no longer covers the full cost of your rent, you will have to pay the rest of the rent yourself. This must be paid directly to your landlord,  If you don't pay the balance of your housing benefit and you get behind with your rent you could end up with a Notice for Possession being served on you.


So how much will your housing benefit be reduced by well:

• 14% will be taken off if you have one extra bedroom.
• 25% will be taken off if you have two extra bedrooms.

So, if you have one 'spare bedroom' and your rent is £100 per week, only £86 will count when your housing benefit is assessed. You will have to pay at least £14 to your landlord yourself.

If you have two or more 'spare bedrooms', and your rent is £100 per week, only £75 will count when your housing benefit is assessed. You will have to pay at least £25 to your landlord yourself.


So what can you claim housing benefits for now.  Under the new rules you can only claim housig benefit for

• one bedroom for a couple
• one bedroom for a person aged 16 or over
• one bedroom for two children aged under 16 of the same sex
• one bedroom for two children aged under 10 (boys and girls are expected to share a room)
• one bedroom for any other child
• one extra bedroom if you or your partner needs an overnight carer to stay.

Severely disabled children who needs their own  room will not be required to share a room. However the decision will be made by the Council who  should take into account the severity of a child's disability, so you will need to provide  medical evidence or proof of an award of disability living allowance if one has been made) and how regularly another child's sleep would be disturbed if they shared a room, so you may need to provide DVD evidence of your severely disabled child's sleeping patterns

If you became an approved foster carer in the last 12 months you can count a room for a foster child.

If your child or partner or lodger is a member of the armed forces who is serving away, providing they intend to return to your home, you can count their room and if your child or partner etc is a student and they are away from home studying, you can count their room providing they are only away temporarily (less than 52 weeks) and intend to return home.


You won't be allowed to claim housing benefit for 'extra' rooms that are used for:

• children visiting a divorced or separated parent
• couples who use separate bedrooms because of illness or disability
• rooms used by disabled adults to store medical equipment.

If you or a member of your family are a  disabled adults living in adapted or specially designed properties you may  face cuts to your housing benefit, but it might not be practical or affordable for you to move.  It might be possible to  claim a discretionary housing benefit, give us a ring or e-mail us and we can help you with making that claim


This article is for information purposes only