(NOTE: This is an updated version of a post originally published on this website on 24 October 2013). If you have been injured in an accident, it may well have put you out of action for a while with the result that you needed help from members of your family. The law in Scotland allows relatives to claim compensation for the time they give up to help you. This might seem strange: you would hope and expect they would do that anyway, without requiring any financial reward. On the other hand, if they were not there to help you, it would make life awkward, at best, and unmanageable, at worst, unless you could get help from some other source. So it makes sense that compensation should be available for them for the time involved in providing you with assistance. Their claim does not stand on its own; it can only be made as part of a personal injury claim by you, the injured person. Two Types of Services Claim There is the possibility to make a claim for two different types of services under Continue Reading
How Does Your Personal Injury Solicitor Make Money If They Do Not Charge You Anything?
One of my favourite rock bands is the Canadian trio, Rush. I have seen them live in concert 5 times between 1981 and 2013. They were inducted into the Rock ‘n’ Roll Hall of Fame in 2013, having released their first album as long ago as 1974. By 1976, Rush were about to release their fourth album. Their previous LPs had been relative commercial failures. And so their record label encouraged them to ditch the ‘concept album’ format – with whole sides devoted to a single theme or story – which they had followed for albums 2 and 3. In fact, they stuck to their philosophy. Side 1 has the 7-part suite of the album’s title, set in a musically intolerant world, now less than 100 years in the future. 2112 (“Twenty-one Twelve”) went on to become arguably their most famous record; it was certainly their breakthrough. The final track on Side 2 is called ‘Something for Nothing’ and has the chorus: You don't get something for nothing You don't get freedom for free You won't get Continue Reading
How Much Does A Personal Injury Claim Cost?
Your solicitor’s aim is to maximise the amount of compensation you receive for your injuries and other losses. The “top line” value of your claim needs to be as high as possible, but that’s not all. You also want to try to reduce the amount you will lose in having to pay legal fees from your compensation. For most people who become a personal injury client of Moray Claims / Grigor & Young, you will lose 10 per cent of your compensation in paying what is called a "Success Fee". In a minority of cases, though, no deduction will apply at all. The basic difference is between claims covered by legal aid (no deduction ever) and claims we deal with on a no win-no fee basis (10 per cent deduction in most cases and, rarely, 20 per cent). So , how much does a personal injury claim cost? And how can you minimise what you will have to pay out of your damages? As we will see, it can mean the difference between receiving 100% of your compensation and only 80% - and the Continue Reading
Why you must check if your motor insurance covers commuting
In the bustling life of Scotland, commuting is a daily ritual for many of us. Even more so, for those who live rurally. Most of us will commute by car and, while many are familiar with car insurance to allow us to do so, many are not so familiar with "commuting" insurance. In this blog post, we’ll delve into what commuting insurance is, why it is important, and what are the consequences if you don’t have it. What is commuting insurance? Commuting insurance is a type of coverage designed to protect individuals during their daily travel to and from their workplace. This type of insurance coverage is usually combined within an existing car insurance policy rather than a separate policy. Its purpose is to specifically cover the risks associated with your commute, such as accidents or damage to your car. Why it is commuting insurance important? Statistics show that a significant number of accidents occur during peak commuting hours. With more vehicles on the Continue Reading
In Whiplash injury claims how important is speed of collision?
By definition, whiplash injuries are caused by low velocity impacts. The perpetual difficulty we have in describing whiplash injuries stems from the fact that there is, by definition, no structural pathology (i.e. nothing that can be independently verified by x-rays or other scans) They say that whiplash-associated disorders remain 'a diagnosis of exclusion'. In other words, if you seem to be dealing with 'appropriate' symptoms and nothing else would explain them, "whiplash" is your diagnosis because you have excluded all other possibilities. What is the mechanism of a whiplash injury? The mechanism of a whiplash injury involves the initial acceleration of the vehicle occupant due to force being transmitted through the vehicle in which they are seated - typically, a rear-end shunt of their vehicle. This results in the occupant to moving forward. In moving forward, the occupant’s head and upper cervical spine (neck) lags behind very slightly compared to the movement Continue Reading
Rise in fatalities among vulnerable road users in Scotland
Recently-released statistics have shown that as compared with 2022, 2023 saw a reduction in the overall number of deaths on Scotland’s roads. This is good news. However, lurking within these statistics, there was, unfortunately, an increase in deaths within the sub-category for vulnerable road users. Vulnerable road users include motorcyclists, pedal cyclists and pedestrians. The figures for serious injuries within each of these subcategories also showed an increase as between 2022 and 2023. The indications are that, for car users, road safety levels continued to improve. But if you are walking or travelling on two wheels, it is more of a bleak picture. Given that we are all being encouraged to engage in more active forms of travel (e.g. walking and pedal cycling), the signs are that the Government is going to need to do more to reassure the public that proper safety measures are being put in place (e.g. separated-from-carriageway active travel routes such as Continue Reading
What is at stake if you do not make a personal injury compensation claim?
What do you stand to lose if you do not make a claim for personal injury compensation in a situation where that would be a realistic option for you? In this article, we will consider 3 ways you can lose out if you don't make a personal injury claim. The general principles here may be obvious but probably not all of the details will be known to you already. Knowing these things is an important part of your "informed consent" - i.e. having all the relevant points to hand before making your decision: to claim or not to claim. Firstly, we will look at your “loss” due to your failure to give yourself the benefit of monetary compensation. In fact, that loss does not just apply to you; it can apply to others who would have to rely on you making a claim in order for them to be compensated as well. Secondly, we will discuss the fact that you only have the choice to make a personal injury compensation claim for a limited period of time. The right does not last forever. Once the right Continue Reading
When you are accused of lying about your personal injury claim
Traditionally, age brings with it wisdom – and the respect of others. But what if you’re 84 years old and you’re accused of telling lies "in court"? It's one thing to exaggerate, for example, medical symptoms caused by an accident - but to invent them? Here's an anonymised true story of a case we dealt with and how a scenario of that nature played out in practice. Our client was injured after she fell into an excavation that had been made by a national utilities company. It was right outside her garden gate. There were no warning signs in place. Our client had a registered sight impairment. She opened her gate, minding her own business, took one step and suddenly down she went. After her accident, the utilities company covered the trench with hard plastic matting so it was impossible for pedestrians to fall in. If they had done that before the accident, it could not have happened. We alleged that the utilities company had been negligent and that had caused our Continue Reading
When it can be your fault for driving through a green light
You’re in a rush. It’s a dark, wet Monday morning in January. You want to cross the main road on foot at traffic lights, using the pedestrian crossing there; but the lights are green for vehicles - and red for you to cross. On the approach to the traffic lights for vehicles, there are two bus stops. It’s a predominantly residential area. You decide you have to risk crossing on red. Dashing onto the crossing, you suddenly realise an approaching car is bearing down on you. It’s about 5m away and travelling close to the speed limit of 30mph. Your brain freezes with panic. You've misjudged the speed of the oncoming vehicle. You’re rooted to the spot. Paralysed with fear. It's too late to get out of the way. Though the car driver instinctively swerves to avoid you, having only noticed you late, the collision is inevitable. The impact throws you up onto the bonnet. Your head hits the nearside windscreen, causing a “bullseye” break in the glass - i.e. a spider’s web-like Continue Reading
How the Cost of Living Crisis affects the Value of Your Personal Injury Claim
In July 1971, a sliced white loaf of bread would have cost you 10 pence. In July 2021 the cost would have been £1.06. The Retail Price Index ("RPI") shows an average cost for the same loaf of bread as £1.36 in July 2023. The rise in prices over time is known as inflation. It can also be described as the decline of purchasing power over time. In the present Cost of Living Crisis, the upward trend in prices is affecting most things and that includes personal injury compensation (compensation also sometimes referred to as “damages”). The injury part - for the "pain and suffering" associated with the injuries - of a personal injury compensation claim is just one element of the value of the claim as a whole. Other elements can include wage loss and necessary travel expenses. In this article, we are only discussing the injury part of personal injury claims. This can be variously described as "pain and suffering", General Damages and solatium. Continue Reading
A cautionary tale about dangers from weedkiller in Moray
Usually, a headline like that warns you about possible dangers from your own carelessness. It’s much worse than that here, unfortunately. This article contains a warning about how you – and especially your pets – might be at risk from lack of care on the part of your own local authority. The practices of Moray’s local authority in relation to weed killing mean pet owners must be extra vigilant. Rinaldo Coluccia’s 8-year-old German Shepherd dog, Honey, died as a result of ingesting Glyphosate (a herbicide) beside “The Walkies” path (by the A96) in Forres. The Council had treated the area in order to destroy Giant Hogweed plants. The Council’s risk assessment provided that warnings should be given to the public where areas had recently been sprayed. “Control measures” within the risk assessment included: “Keep pets on lead when passing area (sic) which have had herbicide application recently.“, and “Prevent pets from eating/chewing vegetation applied with Continue Reading
Sheriff rules that an adult egg-and-spoon race is not a race
“Race - a competition in which all the competitors try to be the fastest and to finish first.” The Cambridge Dictionary The Pursuer was unsuccessful in this Elgin Sheriff Court case arising out of injuries sustained in the course of a parents’ race at a children’s sports day. The Pursuer attended her daughter’s annual nursery sports day. One of the events was an egg-and-spoon race for the mothers. The sports day had had to be moved indoors to a sports hall due to inclement weather. Whilst participating in the egg and spoon race, in the “outside lane”, the Pursuer failed to stop in time after the finish line so as to avoid colliding with the wall beyond. She sustained significant and life-changing injuries to both wrists as a result. While most parents taking part did not seem bothered by the outcome, at least one other participant appeared to treat it as a race, stopping only beyond the finish line. The Pursuer took first place. The Pursuer’s higher momentum Continue Reading