Injury claim

If you have been involved in an accident, and through no fault of your own have suffered an injury as a result, then chances are you will be able to claim compensation. No matter how minor your injury appears to be at this stage or who the person or company at fault was, making an injury claim is your right and should be exercised to bring justice to a difficult situation.

What types of injuries can be claimed for?

One of the most frequent types of injury claim submitted relate to accidents on the road. Whether you were a driver or passenger of a car, or were travelling on public transport or a bike at the time of the accident, if you were hurt and another driver was at fault, you can claim. Common injuries include back and neck injuries, including whiplash, and injuries to the head or hands as a result of the collision.

Less common, but still a source of regular claims, relate to slips and trips when out and about. Building owners, local councils and workmen have a responsibility to ensure public rights of way and the public areas within buildings are kept safe, clean and free from hazards that could cause a trip. Slipping on wet floors, broken paving slabs or tripping over trailing cables can all result in a range of injuries, from twisted ankles to broken wrists, all of which are regularly seen by professionals handling injury claim cases.

Sometimes even the workplace is not as safe as it should be, and workers sometimes become injured as a result of faulty machinery, poor training or bad health and safety practice. In cases like this an injury claim will often result in remedial action by the employer, meaning other employees will be safer at work in the future, so it is especially important to make a claim if this has happened to you.

When should you claim?

As a general rule of thumb, the sooner the better applies to any type of injury claim. The sooner you can start the claims process, the easier it will be for your solicitor to contact any witnesses and get hold of any other evidence required. Also your injury will be fresh, so if you need to see an independent doctor they will be able to see first hand the extent of your injuries.

Personal injury law understands that making an injury claim is not necessarily the first thing on someone’s mind after they have been involved in an accident. That is why claims can still be started up to three years after the accident happened. In the case of industrial disease and other issues that take years to reveal themselves, there is still a chance to claim beyond the three year cap.

How much does it cost?

These days, the majority of solicitors who deal with injury claim cases will work on a no win no fee basis. This means you will not have to pay them anything if your claim is not successful, and there will be nothing to pay up front. 

Systems at Work - How the Postal Service Moves the Mail

Last December the National Postal Museum opened a new permanent exhibit titled "Systems at Work" that explains how the postal service moves the mail.

According to the museum, "The exhibit recreates the paths of letters, magazines, parcels, and other pieces of mail as they have traveled from sender to recipient over the past 200 years. In 1808, a stagecoach carries newspapers and the latest news to people hundreds of miles away. Two hundred years later, the integration of ZIP Codes™, bar codes, intelligent mail, automated sorting machines, and advanced technologies enable the U.S. Postal Service to process and deliver mail to 150 million homes and businesses across the country."

It goes on to say, "At the exhibit’s core is a 270-degree high-resolution film experience that puts visitors into the middle of the mammoth world of a mail-processing center, surrounded by examples of automated machinery that moves mail through the system at astonishing speeds."

To learn more and watch the 9-minute and 30-second film, click here.

To view the exhibit on line, click here.

Sav-A-Stamp Postal Scale

The Sav-A-Stamp postal scale is the Object of The Month on the National Postal Museum's website. The scale was first manufactured in 1933 during the Great Depression and were used to weigh letters so as not to waste a stamp.

According to National Postal Museum Historian and Curator of Postal History Nancy A. Pope, "The amusingly named Sav-A-Stamp scale could weigh items up to four ounces. The attached clip held letters or small mail pieces to be weighed by the pendulum balance. The scale [shown here] bears a postage rate chart that places its manufacturing date between March 26, 1944 and September 30, 1946, when the U.S. airmail rate was eight cents per ounce."

She goes on to say, "Manufacturers in the U.S. and other nations produced letter scales for use at home. Personal letter scales were popular through the mid 20th century. They could be purchased for relatively low prices. The Sav-a-Stamp scale sold for 69-cents in the early 1940s. Businesses purchased items such as this to give to current or prospective customers."

To learn more, click here.

Philatelic Estate and Financial Planning

Columnist Kristi Ellington writes on California's Gilroy Dispatch website, "Your estate could wind up paying substantial and unnecessary taxes and administrative costs – further, your wishes may not be met – the ring from your grandmother that you want to leave to your granddaughter, the stamp collection you worked so hard on that you want to leave to your son and so on."

According to Ellington,"We tend to associate estate planning with significant wealth, and while those who are fortunate enough to fall into that category are generally motivated to perform more formal and complex estate planning – it is not just for the very rich. Every one of us has an estate; as I mentioned last month, no matter your financial situation, you have an estate."

She goes on to say, "...I have witnessed on too many occasions the results of lack of planning. Beyond the financial costs there are emotional ramifications – both of which can be reduced significantly with a little advanced effort. This may be the last gift you leave to your loved ones - I urge you to take the time to put your affairs in order sooner rather than later – an added benefit is that you will have a greater peace of mind knowing you have planned for the well being of your loved ones in the event of an unexpected ability to continue to provide for them yourself. Unless you are confident that all is in order, I urge you to seek professional legal advice to alleviate potential problems down the road."

To read more and get some good planning tips, click here.

Rare Perot Stamps To Be Displayed

The Bermuda News website is reporting, "Bermuda’s Post Office will be celebrating its 200th anniversary next month with an exhibition that will include eight of the 11 known Perot stamps."

According to the article, "Bermuda’s first postage stamps were produced locally in 1848 by Hamilton postmaster William B. Perot at his Queen Street post office, consisting of the words 'HAMILTON BERMUDA' in a circle, with the year and Perot’s signature in the middle. Known as the Perot provisionals, they are among the greatest rarities of global philately. Only 11 examples of the stamps — issued until 1861 — are known to still exist."

The Perot provisionals have appeared on several Bermuda stamps as shown above. Note the flowers along the side.

Apparently Perot’s postal duties though were just a sideline. Gardening was his primary passion according to a write-up on the Bermuda Biographies website. His five-acre garden at Par-la-Ville on Queen Street, Hamilton, where he lived for most of his life, was a horticultural showpiece.

For more on this story, click here.

Australian Stamp Show Features Pieces of Polar Postal History

Australia's Canberra Times reports after finishing an economics degree, and working briefly for a major bank, Melbourne businessman Tony Shields decided to quit the world of banking finance and do something he was really passionate about. So he opened a stamp dealer's shop in Melbourne.

According to reporter Rosslyn Beeby,"His specialty is Antarctic philately (stamps, postcards, postal stationery) and this weekend's Canberra stamp show is showcasing the centenary of Sir Douglas Mawson's polar expedition. Such is the global demand for polar postal memorabilia that Mr Shields recently sold several items to a keen collector in the Czech Republic for $30,000. At the Canberra show, he has a rare letter ($9500) from Robert Scott's polar expedition in 1901, and postcards ($1500) issued to raise funds for the Mawson expedition."

Robert Scott was a Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions. During the second expedition Scott and his four comrades all perished from a combination of exhaustion, starvation and extreme cold. Following the news of his death, Scott became a British hero according to an entry on Wikipedia.

Also according to Wikipedia, Sir Douglas Mawson was an Australian geologist, Antarctic explorer and academic. Along with Roald Amundsen, Robert Falcon Scott, and Ernest Shackleton, Mawson was a key Antarctic expedition leader in the early 1900s.

Shown above, a letter to Robert Scott.

To read the entire article, click here.

For more on polar postal history, click here.

Investing in Comics and Stamps

Reporter Antonia van de Velde writes on the CNBC business website, "Since 1856, Stanley Gibbons has been buying and selling rare stamps. Its index of Britain’s 30 rarest stamps has risen by almost 70 percent over the past five years, outpacing equities and gold."

However, she notes, "If superheroes conjure up happier memories than those of your stamp collection the market for collecting comic books could offer solace."

Vincent Zurzolo, COO of vintage comic book auction website ComicConnect.com is quoted as saying, "Vintage comic books have definitely appreciated over the last 30, 40, 50 years. You never see the best of the best going down in value."

An early Superman comic book just sold for $63,000, Zurzolo said. Superman made his first appearance June 1938, with an original price tag of 10 cents. Last year that edition sold for over $2 million, making it the most expensive comic book ever.

To read the entire article (and watch a video about investing in rare comic books and stamps), click here.

Congressman Urges USPS to Release Secret Report

Virginia Congressman Gerry Connolly has filed a motion with the Postal Regulatory Commission to make public a study on the impact of mail service cuts on United States Postal Service revenue.  The USPS has filed a request with the Postal Regulatory Commission to keep the study secret.

According to a write-up on the PotomacLocal.com website, "The Postal Service study quantified the impact on revenue of reducing mail service from 6 to 5 days, eliminating next-day mail service, closing mail processing facilities, and closing thousands of Post Offices.  The study may also have considered the impact of stamp price increases on projected revenue."

It goes on to say, "Congressman Connolly has argued that Postal Service reform should begin with the development of a new business model for the 21st century that would allow it to raise new revenue through innovative products and services.  He has introduced legislation, HR 1262, that would allow the Postal Service to co-locate with private facilities and state and local governments, sell new products and services through the mail, and expand voting by mail."

To read the entire piece, click here.