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Our Research And Statistics
Here at Legal Expert, we conduct our own research and compile our own statistics to provide analysis on different areas of law.
As solicitors, we sometimes see areas in which our clients are being let down by the likes of the government or third-party insurers.
Sometimes, we also encounter issues that we feel deserve further attention. Our hope is to highlight areas of improvement in our lives, legal system and society, and to hopefully begin a conversation to try and right the wrongs and injustices that we identify.
On this page, you can find details of all of our research projects completed to date. They range in subject. To learn more and to see the results, simply click the links below.
If you have any questions about our research, please contact us here.
For any media enquiries relating to our research and statistics, please write to media@legalexpert.co.uk.
Our Research And Statistics
Below, you can browse through the sections to uncover the results of our research.
Birth Injuries
Birth injuries can be tremendously serious, inflicting permanent and long-lasting harm to both mother and child.
Our recent research has uncovered the scale of the problem. Some NHS Trusts are paying out tens of millions of pounds on birth injuries each year, so Legal Expert decided to investigate.
We’ve obtained figures from each NHS Trust and obtained comments from charitable organisations, which you can read here on our dedicated birth injuries research page.
Childbirth and Maternity Negligence
Recently, the UK’s first ever parliamentary inquiry into birth trauma called for an overhaul of maternity and postnatal care after finding poor care is “all-too-frequently tolerated as normal.
To gain a true insight in the levels of negligence in childbirth and maternity care in the NHS, we conducted an investigation exploring the types of birth injuries and trauma as well as failings in the care system such as misdiagnosis or delays in treatment.
Child Physical Abuse
Recent debates about smacking children raised questions of whether it is acceptable to smack a child as a form of discipline and whether doing so is at the discretion of parents/guardians or the law.
We set out to explore the issue in an effort to gain a better understanding of the current landscape of children who experience physical abuse at the hands of a parent or guardian.
See the full investigation and findings here.
Damp/Mould and Disrepair In Council Houses
Issues of damp, mould and disrepair are in sharp focus across the UK following a report from the Housing Ombudsman released earlier this month which details over 100 severe maladministration cases on damp and mould saying the issue now “dominates half of our casework.”
Indeed, there have been a lot of reports in the media about damp and mould in council houses. Some reports have described tragic and avoidable outcomes, such as Awaab Ishak who died from a respiratory condition thought to have been caused by mould.
To gain a true insight into the current scale of the issued, we set out to investigate. You can find the results of our research into damp and mould for your local council area here.
Domestic Violence Crimes During Euro 2024
Police Chiefs across the UK feared a significant rise in domestic violence crimes in the run-up to the Euros 2024, prompting a nationwide campaign among police forces who vowed to tackle domestic abusers and protect victims.
Following the Euros 2024 finals, Legal Expert set out to investigate whether the nationwide police campaign to tackle domestic abuse was actually effective.
Read the results for your local police force here.
Dog Attack Offences
With the recent ban in XL Bullies in the UK, many police forces have been cracking down on tackling canine-related offences including dog attacks.
Tragic stories of children being mauled by dogs and people being left with sometimes life-changing injuries following a dog attacks seem to be increasingly permeating news headlines.
Legal Expert conducted an investigation into the number of dog attacks across the UK’s biggest police force areas.
We also delved into how many people have been charged for dog attack offences and of those who were not, what (if any) were the consequences?
Read the full story and findings here.
Drink Driving Offences In The UK
We recently set out to uncover the number of drink driving offences in the country, covering the period September 2022 to September 2023.
We wrote to all police forces in the country under the Freedom of Information Act and asked for the rates of offences and key information relating to it, such as the occupation of the offender.
Head here to read our results in full.
Electrical Fires
Around 4,000 house fires across the UK every year are caused by faulty electrics, according to the Home Office.
Appliances, wiring and overloaded sockets have the potential to destroy properties and cause serious damage.
Recently, JF Law (of which Legal Expert trades under) secured a six figure settlement for a mum whose two children were killed in a devastating house fire in Cambridgeshire in December 2022.
It prompted us to investigation how many house fires across the UK were caused by faulty electric appliances in the home.
See the full results for your area here.
Hit-And-Run Incidents In England And Wales
Hit-and-runs or ‘Fail-to-stop incidents’ as they’re known in law are criminal offences in any case where injury or damage has been caused.
By law, drivers are required to stop at the scene and provide their name and address and that of the owner of the vehicle.
These incidents can result in devastating consequences, particularly if injuries or fatalities are involved.
To gain a true insight into the prevalence of hit-and-run incidents on Britain’s roads, we set out to investigate.
See the results from your local police force here
Local Council Complaints
Planning rows with neighbours, living conditions and children’s services are just some of the reasons residents are frustrated with their local councils.
Recent cuts to council budgets have resulted in a squeeze on the services they provide. Sectors such as Children and Education Services, Housing and Benefits have been affected but some councils are weathering the storm better than others.
To gain a true understanding of council performance, Legal Expert investigated the number of complaints lodged against each Metropolitan Council in the UK.
See the full results for your local council here.
Medical Negligence Compensation Payouts
Being specialists in medical negligence claims, we understand the issues that some of our clients have experienced. From birth injuries to prescription errors and cancer misdiagnoses, mistakes in clinical settings can cause severe damage.
In this piece of research, we set out to learn about compensation payouts made by NHS trusts in the UK for medical negligence. You can find the results here.
NHS Data Breaches
A lot of the enquiries we receive relate to medical data breaches, particularly within the NHS which prompted our investigation into NHS data breach compensation claims.
We investigated the amount of compensation paid out for data breaches by each NHS NHS Trust, as well as the total number of claims made and compensation paid out.
We also uncovered the most prevalent types of data breaches within the UK health sector over the last three years.
NHS Staff Assaults
NHS staff perform incredibly tough jobs day in day out. What makes this job harder is when patients or those they’re trying to help assault or abuse them.
We receive lots of enquiries from NHS staff who have been assaulted at work so it prompted us to investigate and conduct our own research to uncover the scale of the problem.
Potholes
Potholes seem to be popping up everywhere of late. Our research into the problem seeks to determine the extent of the issues, as well as providing vital data on the likes of money spent by councils on repairs and compensation.
Check out our research into potholes here.
Speeding Offences
The Government is ironing out its plans for 20mph speed restrictions across the UK.
To gain a true understanding into the levels of speeding on Britain’s roads, Legal expert set out to investigate.
We uncovered the top 20 roads in each UK region where the most drivers are caught speeding.
See results for your area here.
The Whiplash Reform Programme
In 2021, the Conservative government introduced the Whiplash Reform Programme. The aim was to improve the system for claimants, with promises of reduced insurance premiums and and faster payouts.
However, the opposite has happened. Insurance premiums have rocketed in price and over 400,000 cases are currently clogging up the Official Injury Claims Portal, created to adminster the claims.
Legal Expert set out to uncover the scale of the problem in a bid to highlight the issues. Read the full report on The Whiplash Reforms here.
TikTok Criminal Offences
A recent true-crime documentary series ‘TikTok: Murder Gone Viral’ has sparked public debate about crimes linked to the platform.
Following an influx of recent queries about what to do if you are a victim of a crime online, we set out to investigate.
Findings show a stark increase in the number of such offences year on year and revealed harassment, stalking and sexual offences to be among the most prevalent types of crimes linking to the platform.
See the results for your local police force here
Unauthorised Pupil Absence Fines
As families prepare to jet off for summer holidays, some will have already been and returned.
It’s no secret that holidays during schools are often considerably cheaper, leading some parents to take their children out of school with an ‘unauthorised absence.’
However, doing so will likely result in parents being hit with a hefty fine or even further action if it’s left unpaid.
What’s more, this August 2024, will see the first rise in unauthorised pupil absence fines since 2012.
Legal Expert investigated which UK councils issued the most unauthoirised pupil absence fines.
See the full results here for your area here.
Water Pollution Incidents
Water pollution has become a major issue for many people in the UK. With scores of incidents and anecdotal evidence mounting, we set out to uncover the true extent of the problem.
We obtained exclusive statistics revealing the top offending water companies in the UK as well as the leading causes and pollutants of serious incidents.
Read more for the full results here
Youth Crime In England And Wales
All too frequently tragedies involving children and teenagers who are either victims or perpetrators of violent crimes make headlines across the UK.
In the last month alone, news stories have included a teenager charged with murder after three people were found dead in a flat in Luton, a 14-year-old boy charged with the murder of an elderly man from Leicestershire and three teens that were injured after being shot in Orpington in south-east London.
It is then, perhaps no wonder that assumptions are often made about violent crime among children and teens in Britain.
Read the full results for your local police force here
Damp And Mould In Council Houses
There have been a lot of reports in the media about damp and mould in council houses. Some reports have described tragic and avoidable outcomes, such as Awaab Ishak who died from a respiratory condition thought to have been caused by mould.
Given that we work in housing disrepair, we appreciate the scale of the issue having spoken with many clients.
We therefore set out to uncover the true scale of the issue. You can find the results of our research into damp and mould here.
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