Congratulations to all who took part in this brilliant event, see you all next year!

Pictured from left to right are: Amy Sewell, Lucy Macklin Smith, Emily Whisker, Louise Howard, Alex Goodrick, Marie Brasnett and Steph Turner.

In January of 2010 Claire required further surgery as she had developed stress incontinence. At her pre-operative assessment she was not assessed for risks of Venous Thrombo Embolism. The surgery was carried out and Claire was discharged home the following day.

Ten days later Claire attended her GP complaining of pain in her calf. Her GP suspected that she had developed a DVT and admitted her to hospital for investigations.

Claire was treated with compression stockings and anoxaparin and clexane until she had a CT scan which showed a thrombus in two of her veins in her lower leg.

Claire commenced warfarin treatment which continued until June 2010.

Claire contacted Alex McKnight at Pryers Solicitors in January 2010. Her claim was investigated and in October 2010 allegations were put to the Defendant that Claire should have been assessed for DVT risks prior to surgery, and should have been given a shot of clexane following surgery to minimise the risk of any DVT developing.

The Defendant admitted this and apologised for their omission. Negotiations to settle the case commenced and in April 2011 the Defendant made an offer to settle of £5,000 which Claire was happy to accept.

The Defendant also paid all of Claire’s legal costs so she kept 100% of her compensation.

Following the knee replacement Rachel continued to suffer pain and discomfort and complained of this on a number of occasions to her physiotherapist and GP. Rachel was struggling to carry out a number of the physiotherapy exercises because she had such reduced movement in her knee.

By the end of July 2006 Rachel’s GP was so concerned about her slow recovery that he referred her for investigations and to have a manipulation procedure on the knee.

After the manipulation procedure Rachel did not feel that her position had been improved at all either in relieving the pain or increasing the range of movement.

By January 2007 Rachel felt she could no longer manage the pain that she was in and returned to her GP once more and was referred back to the hospital who simply sent Rachel for further physiotherapy which gave no further relief from her symptoms.

During February 2007 Rachel underwent a number of x-rays through the hospital but no concerns were raised following these, even though one showed that her leg was not straight.

In May 2007 Rachel returned to her GP and asked to be referred for a second opinion. She was referred to a different hospital in Yorkshire. Rachel underwent a thorough review by the consultant there and was informed that one component of her knee replacement was too big and that this was the cause of all of her pain and difficulties walking.

Rachel underwent surgery in December 2007 to replace the incorrect part of the knee following which Rachel commenced a long recovery process. She has not yet fully recovered and has been informed that there is little more that can be done.

Rachel contacted Alex McKnight, a specialist in clinical negligence matters at Pryers Solicitors, in February 2009 and investigations into her case commenced.

Medical evidence on Rachel’s current condition and prognosis was commissioned initially, in addition to further evidence on the failings of the initial hospital.

Lengthy negotiations commenced to settle the claim and in March 2011 an offer was made by the Defendant to settle the claim for £20,000.

The Defendant also paid all of Rachel’s costs incurred in the case so she received 100% of her compensation.

In October 2007 he decided to undergo Intensive Pulse Light treatment at a local cosmetic surgery clinic in the North West of England.

Shortly after the procedure began Daniel started to complain that his face was feeling very hot and the treatment was uncomfortable. Daniel had not had any tests done to check that he would not react to the treatment or to test that the correct treatment for his skin tone would be used.

After the treatment had finished Daniel found that he had burns on his face. He was provided with a cream which contained alcohol and caused him further pain and discomfort.

As the burns healed Daniel noticed that he had some scarring on his face which he found distressing. He also found that he could not manage to return to the clinic to complete the treatment because of the distress that he had suffered. He therefore continued to have ingrown facial hair.

In September 2009 Daniel contacted Alex McKnight, a specialist in clinical negligence matters at Pryers Solicitors. Alex started to investigate his case and obtained medical reports from a Dermatologist and a Psychologist.

At the end of 2010 allegations were put to the Defendant along with an offer to settle the case. The Defendant replied with a counter offer and negotiations to settle commenced. In February 2011 an offer of £9,000 was made by the Defendant which Daniel was happy to accept.

The Defendant also paid all of Daniel’s legal costs so Daniel kept 100% of his compensation and incurred no costs through bringing his claim.

Five days after the procedure Katherine felt very unwell, she struggled to get out of bed and felt hot and nauseous, she then vomited on several occasions during the course of the day.

The following day she telephoned her GP regarding her symptoms and was told to contact her surgeon, which she did. She was told that she would need to go back to the hospital but that she would need to contact the ward first, however, when she contacted the ward she was told not to go to hospital but to contact her GP instead.

Katherine contacted her GP and arranged an appointment for the following evening as this was the first available appointment. On examination by her GP Katherine was admitted straight to hospital.

On her admission to hospital Katherine was given antibiotics to take and an urgent CT scan was requested, however this was not performed until the following morning.

Following the CT scan Katherine was diagnosed with suffering an infection from surgery and underwent further surgery to treat the infection. This involved opening out her previous wound and washing out the site.

Katherine found the treatment very painful and distressing and was left with a seven inch scar across her abdomen.

In September 2009 Katherine contacted Alex McKnight, a specialist in clinical negligence at Pryers Solicitors. Investigations were commenced and expert evidence was sought. Unfortunately the expert evidence was that, although there had been a delay in diagnosing the infection, this had not caused Katherine to suffer a worse outcome than she would have done had the infection been found straight away.

Allegations were put to the Defendant who replied admitting that they should have diagnosed the infection sooner but denying any effect. They made an offer to settle the case for £1,000. Negotiations commenced and the case was settled in March 2011 for £6,500.

The Defendant also paid all of Katherine’s costs and legal fees so she kept 100% of her compensation and did not have any costs to pay during her case.

Paul attended his GP and was referred to his local treatment centre in Milton Keynes in March 2009 and underwent surgery to release the contracture in May 2009. Paul was then discharged home with pain relief and told to rest and keep his hand elevated. He had also been advised by a nurse to wriggle his fingers.

Paul returned to the treatment centre to have his dressing changed and to have stitches removed on two separate occasions, at neither of these appointments was Paul referred for physiotherapy.

Three weeks following his surgery Paul was continuing to experience pain and swelling in his hand and went to his local Walk in Centre where he was reassured and discharged. At his next appointment at the treatment centre he mentioned this again but was just told to keep wriggling his fingers and that the wound was healing nicely.

Paul returned to his GP on a number of occasions and was referred for further appointments at the treatment centre. He was also referred to a Hand Therapy unit where he was given some exercises and treatments to carry out, but which he found very difficult and painful.

After several sessions Paul went back to his GP and was referred to a different consultant. At this appointment he was informed that he should have had physiotherapy, starting 48 hours after the surgery and that as a result of not having this, the hand had stiffened up.

Paul has since seen a number of specialists and has undergone treatment but continues to suffer pain and is unable to clench his hand in a fist.

Paul contacted Pryers in September 2009 and his claim was managed by Alex McKnight, a clinical negligence specialist. His claim was funded by way of a ‘no win no fee’ agreement.

Pauls claim was investigated and expert evidence was sought from a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon. With our investigations and this advice we submitted a Letter of Claim to the Defendant, who responded admitting breach of duty and offering £50,000 to settle in November 2010, which Paul was very happy to accept

The Defendant paid all of Paul’s legal costs so he had nothing to pay during or after the case and kept 100% of his compensation.

She attended her local hospital in the North West and was seen at A&E department, from where she was admitted into hospital.

Five days later Laura underwent surgery to repair the fracture and to fix the bone into place using surgical screws.

Following her surgery Laura made a good recovery in hospital and her plaster cast was removed ten days following surgery.

Laura was encouraged to try standing and walking but started to experience excruciating pains in her left foot. This prevented Laura from standing properly, walking any distance and working.

In mid August 2009 Laura returned to hospital and an x-ray was performed. This found that one of the screws holding the bone was 1cm too long and was protruding into the flesh of Laura’s foot. This was found to be the cause of her pain and difficulty.

Consequently, Laura had to undergo further surgery at the end of September 2009, the purpose of which was to remove the screw.

Following this operation Laura developed a wound infection which was treated by antibiotics.

Laura then started a course of physiotherapy which helped the pain to resolve and she regained mobility.

Laura contacted Pryers in September 2009 regarding her treatment and her claim was managed by Alex McKnight, a specialist in clinical negligence matters. He claim was funded by way of a ‘no win no fee’ agreement.

Our investigations included obtaining expert opinion from a Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon. With this evidence in addition to our own research we were able to agree a settlement for Laura of of £12,000.

The Defendant also paid all of Laura’s legal costs so she had nothing to pay throughout the case or at the end. She kept 100% of her compensation.

As a previous volunteer, Marie Brasnett introduced York Cares to the Principal and founder, Ian Pryer, when she joined his firm of York Solicitors over two years ago. Ian was already a huge supporter of giving something back to the community and so readily embraced the concept, which has resulted in 15% of his workforce currently volunteering their services to York Cares projects. Solicitor, Alex McKnight commented on his first voluntary project‘ in 2008, ‘this is the most selfless act I’ve done in the last 35 years!’

The Right to Read scheme appealed to Office Manager Marie and Solicitor Anna Renfree, as both are avid readers and keen for the opportunity to encourage primary children to enjoy the benefits of reading.

Local primary schools are on the receiving end of the ongoing one hourly sessions and have benefited hugely from the experience of having Marie and Anna as their mentors.

In their own words:

Anna –Being a volunteer on the scheme gives the children an opportunity for one2one time with an adult, which they seem to respond well to and it’s so rewarding to see their enthusiasm grow. Reading is both a skill and a pleasure that will open so many doors for them, so I think it’s hugely important to encourage youngsters to want to read from a young age, not just in the classroom, but at home too. I would definitely want to volunteer again.

Marie – I enjoy the whole experience of volunteering and working with the children to help them achieve. It’s so rewarding to know we’re making a difference, especially as you can see the improvement in their reading as the year goes on. Volunteering is beneficial for me too, as reading with the children is a worthwhile respite that enables me to return to work with a clear mind after only an hour away! Volunteering is so easy with York Cares and it’s definitely an enriching experience.

The families of the victims of a fatal helicopter crash in the North Sea three months ago are taking legal action against the owners of the vehicle.

Two pilots and 14 passengers died in the Super Puma helicopter tragedy in April, when it crashed 11 miles off the coast of Peterhead, the Aberdeen Evening Express reports.

It was recently found that the crash could have been avoided and the victims’ families have now launched multi-million pound compensation claims against Bond Offshore Helicopters’ insurers.

Hearings will now go ahead to assess the claims, but if they are successful, the payouts would take into account the age of the men and the number of dependents they had.

At the time, Scottish first minister Alex Salmon said: "It looks like we might be facing the second worst helicopter support incident in history, in terms of the number of fatalities."

The worst was a Chinook crash in 1986 when 45 people died.

An autistic child who alleges that he was locked in a toilet by his carer has secured compensation.

Alex Berry, now 15, was left in the care of Siobhan Quinn in May 2005 as usual. She looked after the youngster in her own home in Dublin.

However, it is claimed that on this occasion, she left the house and secured 11-year-old Alex in a downstairs toilet while she was away.

Alex suffers from severe autism and cannot be left alone. His father Peter alleges that he arrived at Ms Quinn’s house to find her unlocking the toilet and letting Alex – who was in a distressed state – out.

With the assistance of his family, Alex took legal action against Ms Quinn, as well as Northside Home Care Services (her employer) and the Health Service Executive.

Mr Justice John Quirke ruled Ms Quinn’s behaviour to be "scandalous" and "dreadful".

Although the parties being sued did not admit liability for their negligence, it was agreed that Alex should receive a payout of £42,300 to cover the pain and suffering he was caused.

According to the National Autistic Society, over half a million people in the UK have autism, a figure which equates to around one in 100 people.