An accident which happened in East Road, Elgin, Moray, has resulted in a Court of Session action for personal injury compensation. The Court of Session is the highest civil court in Scotland. The decision of the court (2015) is a useful illustration of the principles which apply when you have an accident between a bus and a pedestrian who is on the pavement at the time. Elgin bus The injured person, Ian Whyte, was a 10-year-old school boy at the time of the accident in 2008. He claimed against Bluebird Buses Limited for injuries he suffered when a bus struck him as he was standing on the edge of the kerb at the bus stop. Several young people were jostling for position near the kerb, as the bus drew in to the stop. The evidence indicated that the collision was between the near side of the bus, towards the front, and the back of the boy’s head. The impact knocked him over. However, he managed to pick himself up and get home. Much of the evidence in the case was derived from Continue Reading
Bereavement Damages – Scots Law Used As A Benchmark For Reform
The Radio 4 consumer programme “You and Yours”, for 14 January 2016, included a section on bereavement damages. It highlighted the fact that, although they say “you can’t put a price on a life”, in fact, we do it all the time. Decisions made about which treatments and drugs are going to be available on the NHS are one example. Another is the way we deal with compensation when someone dies as a result of negligence. Scotland as a benchmark for law reform in England and Wales One MP – a former personal injury lawyer – is asking for a change in the law to allow courts in England and Wales to pay more in compensation than at present and allow a wider range of relatives to claim, when someone has died as a result of negligence. In many ways, the Scottish legal position is being used as the blueprint for the proposed change in the law in England and Wales. Andy McDonald is the Labour MP for Middlesborough and his Private Member’s Bill comes before Parliament at the end of January Continue Reading
Work Accident Prosecution Delays Put Compensation Claims At Risk
If a worker is fatally injured as the result of an accident at work, there will often be an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE). Available options include: the holding of a Fatal Accident Inquiry by the procurator fiscal; criminal prosecution of the employer and/or any other business which might have been "in control" of the workplace at the time of the accident under the Health and Safety at Work Act. Examples of employer prosecutions as the result of a fatal accident HSE publishes a weekly email bulletin - to which anyone can subscribe - which gives details of the latest health and safety breaches which have given rise to criminal convictions for businesses. The accidents involve life-changing injuries and some result in fatalities. Using as an example the most recent bulletin, we find several reports of fines imposed on businesses for deaths of workers in a variety of circumstances: A landscape gardener who fell under the wheels of a Continue Reading
Most Popular Personal Injury Blogs of 2015
It's been another year of article writing and content production at Moray Claims. Topics have included newsworthy cases and general issues in personal injury law. As we have done previously, we end the year with a round-up of 5 posts from our blog which have attracted the most attention via organic search in Google. So, in reverse order, counting down from number 5 ... 5. How long do I have to make a personal injury claim? No claim for personal injury lasts forever. Time limits apply. If you’ve been injured as a result of an accident, it’s important to know how much time you have within which to make a claim for compensation. This article discusses the ‘practical’ time limits as well as the actual ones, considering why it’s important to know how much time you have, what needs to be done ‘in time’, and why it’s not a good idea to leave claiming until the last minute. 4. All-Scotland Sheriff Personal Injury Court With effect from September 2015, Continue Reading
Jury Trial Risks Highlighted By Dog Bite Case
New Year’s Day in Scotland is a time when families get together to eat, drink and celebrate. Margaret Ferguson went to such a gathering, at her brother-in-law’s house in Dundee, on 01 January 2011. She ended the evening with a serious injury to her face: a full thickness laceration of the left side of her upper lip, extending to and involving the corner of her mouth. Over several months, she went on to need several surgical procedures. The injury left her with permanent scarring. Dog bite The cause of her injury was a bite by her brother-in-law’s Scottish Terrier, Dougal. The dog was nearly 10 years old and suffering from arthritis. As to Dougal’s character, he was “by all accounts, a very friendly good-natured little chap.” So why did he bite Mrs Ferguson? There was a dispute about the circumstances. Mrs Ferguson’s version of events was that, while sitting on the sofa, she had turned round to speak to her husband. At that point, Dougal had suddenly jumped forward and Continue Reading
22 Injury Questions To Answer So You Maximise The Value Of Your Claim
If you have been injured in an accident and are making a claim for compensation, your solicitor needs as much information as possible about your injuries and their consequences so that the full extent of your claim is understood and you can be properly compensated. Most solicitors specialising in personal injury work will have a system of questionnaires or standardised questions to make sure, as far as possible, that no issues are left unexplored. We hope that, by highlighting the following matters, it will help you to understand the sort of issues which could be crucial in your particular circumstances. The injury questions to answer so you maximise the value of your claim will be different in each case. It is unlikely that all of the questions will be relevant to you, but many of them will be. We hope that at least one or two of them might make you think about things you had not considered before now. Injury questions Do you still have any pain or discomfort or have Continue Reading
"Dear Peter Thank you very much for your kind response to my enquiry. Thanks to your help I have found a solicitor in my local area that can help me. I am very grateful for your help. Kind regards Leanne" Continue Reading
Will Writer Problems Highlighted By Consumer Research
In Scotland and elsewhere in the UK, some legal services can only be provided by regulated legal professionals, such as solicitors and advocates. However, legal advice in other areas, including will writing, may be delivered by people who are not regulated. The risks of lack of regulation In a House of Commons debate on the issue in 2008, Lorely Burt (then MP for Solihull) commented that: “ …someone could be a convicted fraudster, set up as a will writer tomorrow with no qualifications, experience or professional indemnity insurance and proceed to dispense advice on tax, inheritance laws and so on. Most consumers are unable to judge the quality or value of the service that they are getting, so it is no exaggeration to say that will writing has become a happy hunting ground for the incompetent, the dishonest and the fly-by-night operator.” She also went on to acknowledge that there were many ethical operators and, indeed, professional bodies for will writers. Nevertheless, as she Continue Reading
How Long Until My Claim Finishes (Once Liability Is Admitted)?
[NOTE: This article is now also a podcast episode, which you can access here, if you would prefer to listen to the content rather than read it] "If the insurance company admit liability and arrange for an independent medical report, how long do they get to make a settlement offer?" This is a question we received via a Free Enquiry to our website. Another way to put the question would be: once the third party insurers have accepted responsibility to pay compensation to me, how long until my claim finishes? Assumptions made: no solicitor but "proper" medical examination In order to answer the question, we have to assume some things: That you do not have a solicitor and that you are dealing directly with an insurance company. (You say that they have admitted liability and so they should be willing to make an offer of compensation to you.) That the insurers have instructed an independent medical expert, who has examined you and the relevant medical records. (The Continue Reading
"I broke a bone in my foot as a result of a fall on a footpath in the centre of Elgin. I tripped at a point where the path had not been properly finished and there was a lump of concrete sticking up. Peter Brash was excellent in guiding me through the process. Nothing ever seemed to be a bother. He kept me constantly updated via phone calls and face to face meetings. The Council accepted responsibility for the defect in the footpath and my claim for compensation was successful, without the need for a court action. I feel I received an efficient and very professional service. I especially liked the fact that I was able to deal with a local solicitor. Keep up the good work." AS, Hopeman Continue Reading
All-Scotland Sheriff Personal Injury Court
From 22 September 2015, Scotland has a new personal injury court available for compensation claims by victims of accidents. Scotland is divided into 6 Sheriffdoms: Tayside, Central and Fife; South Strathclyde, Dumfries and Galloway; North Strathclyde; Lothian and Borders; Grampian, Highland and Islands; and Glasgow and Strathkelvin Within each Sheriffdom, there are several Sheriff Courts. Scotland has 49 such courts, each covering a defined geographical area. A remarkable Sheriff Court The unusual feature of the Sheriff Personal Injury Court is that it sits only in Edinburgh but has jurisdiction extending across the whole of Scotland. So, for example, if you are injured in an accident in Moray, before these changes, your Sheriff Court for a damages action would only have been Elgin Sheriff Court. Now, you can choose between the local Sheriff court and the national all-Scotland Sheriff Personal Injury Court. The increased importance of Sheriff Courts Continue Reading
Financial pressure to return to work too soon after an accident?
If you are off work as the result of an accident, you can easily find yourself under increasing pressure to go back to your job before you are fully fit to do so. Many people are forced into making a claim for personal injury compensation due to financial stresses. Often, this is because their employment does not provide sick pay at full pay or even half pay rates. If you are more or less immediately on Statutory Sick Pay through absence from work after an accident, you will inevitably have worries how you will manage to pay your bills and provide for your family. This wage loss seems especially unfair, if you were injured at work. If you live in Moray or have suffered a personal injury accident in Moray, we can help with advice on a possible personal injury claim. We can take any claim on directly, if that is in your best interests. We will refer you on elsewhere if we think that’s a better option for you. Our priority is to make sure everyone with a valid claim gets fair Continue Reading