boxst

Hello

I am not very fond of the claim, sue oriented society but something happened recently to my wife (that I'll detail if anyone thinks it will help) that has made me wish to get compensation from the local council.

Has anyone tried the awful "No Fee, No Win" type lawyers or can anyone recommend a different route?

Thanks,

Steve

Jap2Scrap

No one's fond of it until they have something worth claiming for

Dracoro

Hi I don't like the blame/sue culture, anyone know a solicitor so I can sue someone?

2000TLondon

I wouldn't go near the no win no fee people off the telly. Ever.

If you have a genuine case, go to a reputable law firm in your town. Any fees for your solicitor will be covered by the other side "when" you win.

May also be worth checking terms of your house insurance to see if you have legal cover for whatever happened.

SiPie

No real help to Boxst

but...

Staying in Russell in New Zealand at New Year and the owner of a backpackers hostel has 2 seriously BIG but ageing Rotweillers (friendly dogs as they guy did run a backpackers)......they run up to us as we walk through the garden..conversation goes like this:

Me = "Hey cool dogs" as I start to clap the biggest one...

Owner = "Yeah mate... that one's called Sumi and the other one's called Fido"

My wife = "Lovely dogs...Sumi, that's an unusual name"

Owner = "Yeah, if she bites you, you can 'sue me' for all you want, as we don't give a **** because luckily we don't have that kind of feckin American w@nk culture over here yet"

boxst

Hello

Thank you for your replies. I'll think about a proper solicitor.

Steve

lawson101

Hello mate, as previously stated you should try a local solicitor first.

Whats the circumstances of the claim of you dont mind me asking, its just that I deal with Public Liability claims against Local Authorities, oh, on behalf of the Council I must add lol

I will try to give you advice if I can

boxst

Without Prejudice

Hello

My wife has a brain tumour and was operated on two years ago, she has been gradually getting better and doing various alternative therapies as well as traditional medicine. The tumour effects the nerves in the face and caused immense pain.

Last week she went to the library with my daughters and the person signing the books in and out using a scanner, shined the laser straight in my wife's eyes. My wife complained, and she did it twice more whilst scanning in the books. This caused immediate pain and dizziness, and having visited the neurologist yesterday, the stress on the eyes has triggered the facial nerves to react and triggered a regression in the treatment and she will have to undergo further treatment.

I'm not impressed.

Steve

Jap2Scrap

Sue the bitch's **** off! How much are librarians worth you reckon?

Honestly don't blame you for being unimpressed. I'd have been straight down there I reckon, but then I'm kinda like that when one of mine is hurt or upset.

To be fair to the girl she's probably been trained in using the scanner and assured that there are no ill-effects from flashing the laser into the eyes. Your wife is an exceptional case as I'm sure you'll agree. The fact that your wife asked her not to repeat the flashing (ooer) would support your case I suppose. You really need expert advice if you want to pursue it.

Good luck, however you decide to play it out.

Chip

Steve,

You'll also have to consider the fact that it can be very stressful for some people to have to go to court. Does your wife really need this at the moment.
Take a step back to consider this before doing anything.

Chip

scoobydooooo

the only thing is , how is the council responsible ??

boxst

Hello

It's an employee of the library, hence comes under the library's liability and they are owned by the local authority.

Steve

scoobydooooo

so that works with everything acrosss the board ?? ie if you were at a football match and got a ball in the face from one of the players you sue the club ??

jasey

OK - Say you're in a library and the librarian is shining a laser in your wife's eyes and she has a brain tumor that reacts badly. You ask the librarian to stop twice and she doesn't. You **** her for being an ignoramus - Would the Council sue you - ******* right they would

Sue the **** off them !

Pretty sure basic training with any laser type equipment is to keep the things away from eyes ??

Hope your wife recovers Steve.

scoobydooooo

calm down fool !! i was just asking a question !! and to be honest i don't think the council would SUE you !! , prosecute you , yes , but sue . no !!

Chip

Steve,

Was the laser actually shone intentionally into your wife eyes.

Chip

Brendan Hughes

Steve - playing devil's advocate (but not charging you for it), your wife might be under a duty to mitigate damage, so perhaps she could have turned away the second and third time.

This depends on your response to Chip's q above, which is key. If the shining "just happened" during scanning, I'd argue for the council that she should have turned away the second time. However, if the staff member says "Look at this, this is safe" then she should be torn apart with wild horses. (Metaphorically speaking.)

Best of luck, sorry to hear of it all.

lawson101

Steve, I hope your wife returns to better health quickly.

If the light emitted by the machine is dangerous to the eyes then the staff member should have been trained in the use of the machine, and should have known better than to shine it in your wifes eyes.

Your wife has asked the staff member to stop, or be more careful, after the first incident, are there any independent witnesses?, and as it has happend a further 2 times is unacceptable.

You will however have to show that the incident at the library has caused the damage being claimed for, are the doctors positive that this has caused the damage or could there be a natural explanation as well? Such as normal deterioration caused by some other factors, like bright sunlight, uv light etc.

Also got to bear in mind that the Council will most likely instruct medical experts if need be, to see how strong the medical case is against them, get conflicting report etc. This could result in your wife being examined by another neurologist acting on behalf of the Councils insurers.

swings and roundabouts mate, best thing to do is seek legal advice.

carl

Where I used to work, someone had a laser scanny thingy. I think it was attached to some sort of ruggedized Psion (it was a defence company). Anyway, I grabbed it and pointed out that it was only a class 1 laser and would have a diffusing lens over the end of it so it couldn't cause any damage, and shone it in my eyes. F**k me, did I have a headache for the rest of the day...

Brother_Will

I dont quite understand this scanner in the eyes since the scanners in all libraries ive been in are on desks quite some distance from the eyes and tend to be facing down.

boxst

Hello

Thank you for your continued replies.

To answer the questions:

Brother Will: Quite. That's why it is incompetence. She was just waving the thing around, which suggests she either hasn't been trained or is not careful.

Chip: It wasn't deliberate. But as above, it shows incompetence.

In general, I don't know if I'll proceed. It just seems that someone shouldn't get away with inflicting pain through negligence. The last thing my wife and I want to do is cause more stress. Life is interesting enough without that.

Thanks,

Steve

jasey

Irrespective of the sueing thing - the least you should do is put in a letter of complaint to ensure the appropriate training is given so this doesn't happen to someone else.


Good Luck.