1,793 people were killed on Britain’s roads in 2017. That figure comes from statistics published by the Road Safety Foundation ('RSF') in July 2019. It means that average of 73 people were killed or seriously injured on Britain’s roads every day. In spite of ongoing improvements in vehicle safety, the annual number of fatalities has changed little since 2011. Across Europe as a whole, the ambitious long-term goal is that, by 2050, we should be getting close to zero road deaths – which would mean road travel achieving similar safety levels to rail and air travel. The good news in Scotland is that we have made measurable progress in improving road safety over the last 3 years. During that time, the risk of death and serious injury has fallen by about 7% across motorways and ‘A’ roads in Scotland. Scotland now has the lowest rate for deaths/serious injury per head of population for travel on major routes – at 13 per billion vehicle kilometres. (In England, it’s 15 and, in Continue Reading
Why staying power is important if liability for an accident is denied
This is a case study of an injury claim arising from a pavement tripping accident. We’ll go through the stages of the claim from intimation of claim to the point where insurers admitted liability. It was not a straightforward process. In our experience, that is not unusual. We hope this will give you an illustration of what can happen with a personal injury claim for tripping injuries. The facts show why perseverance with a claim may be necessary. Here’s a photo of the pavement where the injured person fell. At the time of the accident, the injured person was walking into the photo (i.e. away from the cameraman). The injured person's left foot went down on the edge of hole at a point where it was about 3cm deep. This caused them to go over on their left ankle and suffer an inversion injury to it. Scottish local authorities generally have a duty to repair pavement defects once they produce a height difference of more than 2cm (20mm). This is a height difference Continue Reading
Should you accept the insurers’ first offer?
Sylvester Stallone’s big break as a movie star came with the 1976 film, Rocky. However, his own story is as inspirational as that of the boxer he played on screen. Stallone had a troubled upbringing, spending a lot of time in foster care. In his 20s, at one point, he was so hard up that he had to sell his dog. He wrote the first draft of Rocky after watching a boxing match in which an unknown and unfancied fighter lasted a full 15 rounds against world champion, Muhammad Ali. Film studios were very interested in the script but not with Stallone in the starring role. Nevertheless, he held out. Even when one studio offered him $325,000 for the script alone - at that time, the highest amount ever offered for a script – he did not waver. In the end, he got his wish. The purchase price for the script was only $35,000 (and the movie was reduced to a low budget production) but Stallone got the lead role. Rocky was a massive hit, winning an Oscar for best picture - and Continue Reading
Why a cyclist’s fault for an accidental injury can have drastic financial consequences
Ned Ryerson must be one of the most beloved “annoying” characters in film history. He is the insurance salesman from Phil Connors’ past who keeps turning up to bug Phil. He appears at the same point on Phil’s walk from his Punxsutawney guesthouse to Gobbler's Knob, as Groundhog Day repeats over and over again. It’s one of my all-time favourite films – one which includes a happy ending for Ned, as he explains: “I have not seen this guy for 20 years but he comes up to me and then he buys whole life, term, uniflex, fire, theft, auto, dental, health – with the optional death and dismemberment plan – water damage… Phil, this is the best day of my life!” The “optional death and dismemberment plan” may be a joke (maybe it isn’t) but the list of so many different types of insurance illustrates that insurance is varied and can be complicated. And while it’s possible to be over-insured, so it’s possible to be under-insured – and under-insurance is one of the things we’ll look at Continue Reading
Should you use the insurer-appointed solicitor or an independent solicitor for your personal injury claim?
We received the following question in an enquiry via our website: “After a road accident (not own fault) is it better to claim personal injury through solicitor provided by my insurer or through independent solicitor?” Here are 5 things you could consider which might help you reach a decision on that issue. 1. How experienced and qualified is the person handling your claim? It would be nice to be able to take it as a “given" that the level of experience and expertise of the two types of adviser are the same. However, that is not necessarily safe to assume. Knowing whether your claim is going to be handled by a solicitor or by a paralegal (or by an administration person) could be important. If you're getting help from a solicitor, you have a clear benchmark of legal training. With a paralegal or claim handler, that's not so obvious. In general terms, you're looking for a solicitor who has a proven track record in dealing specifically with personal injury claims. All Continue Reading
6 steps to making a personal injury claim in Scotland
How difficult can it be to send a letter to County Cork in Ireland? Flor McCarthy of McCarthy & Co, Solicitors, in Clonakilty, Co. Cork is a marketing wizard when it comes to legal services. We sent him payment for a book he had mailed to us at our request. But the Euro notes we posted to him did not arrive. And still they never arrived. He probably thought this was a standard trick employed by Scottish solicitors; we thought someone must have intercepted and pocketed our cash payment (of course, embarrassingly, a method of payment we would never advise anyone else to use). Fortunately, Flor did eventually receive his money, which had gone on a round-the-world trip in the meantime. The envelope bore the stamp “Missent to Korea”. Who knew you could get a ink stamp that says that? (We’re now thinking of getting one for the office). Sometimes “simple” things can become complicated. Personal injury claims can be complicated but, for the purposes of this article, we Continue Reading
What are the main reasons why a driver will be to blame for an accident?
Brené Brown is an American research professor. She is based at the Graduate College of Social Work at the University of Houston. She is a best-selling author, covering topics such as shame, vulnerability, empathy and courage. Describing herself as a researcher and storyteller, in this revealing and entertaining animated video, she also describes herself as a “blamer”. She manages to make blaming her husband, Steve (for her dropping - and splashing over herself - a full cup of coffee), sound understandable and reasonable. All he did was come home half an hour late the evening before and shorten her night’s sleep by the same amount. But for his lateness, however, she wouldn’t have been so tired as to need the second cup of coffee she then spilt on herself. As Brene Brown asks: how many of us go to that place, when something bad happens? Where the first thing we want to know is: “whose fault is it?” And we’d rather it be our fault than no one's fault - because it gives Continue Reading
Plans to rename Elgin street not fine and dandy for everyone
Controversial plans to change the name of one of Elgin’s oldest streets have also stirred up an argument surrounding one of the town’s recently-erected statues. If implemented, the plans will see North Street renamed “Dandy Lane”. This is in tribute to the Dandy Lion statue which stands at the west end of the pedestrianised part of Elgin High Street, close to its junction with North Street. Of course, the 10-foot-tall, half-fish / half-big cat monument is no stranger to controversy itself, having been dubbed “cultural vomit” at the time of its unveiling in 2016 as part of Elgin’s Castle to Cathedral to Cashmere Heritage Trail. Local solicitor, Peter Brash, who works at Grigor & Young LLP expressed his firm’s concerns over the proposed change and said they would not take it lying down: "G&Y has been in existence since 1828 and in North Street – we believe – since the 1830s. “No 1 North Street” has been a marketing phrase we’ve used over many years and we’re not sure Continue Reading
What is the first step in making a personal injury claim?
If you are injured or unwell and go to your local Accident and Emergency Department, you hope it is the first step on the road to recovery. Mr Darnley went to the A&E department of the Mayday Hospital in Croydon where he was told by the receptionist, in an offhand way, that it would be up to four or five hours before he was seen. After 19 minutes in the waiting area, Mr Darnley, who had head pain, decided to go home. Unfortunately, his condition deteriorated and he was taken back to the same hospital for a scan which revealed that he had bleeding on his brain. He was transferred to another hospital for neurosurgery but it was too late to prevent permanent injury - paralysis down one side of his body. In fact, the original receptionist had given Mr Darnley misleading information. Had he waited in A&E, he would probably have been seen within 30 minutes of his arrival - i.e. shortly after he left. Had he waited, his condition would probably have been diagnosed early enough Continue Reading
When you need to get copies of your Medical Records (Pitfalls to avoid)
“Can he really play?” “Heavens, no! He never played a note in his life” That’s the caption accompanying what is reckoned to be one of the most copied advertisements in history. The headline? "They Laughed When I Sat Down At The Piano - But When I Started to Play!" This 1927 newspaper masterpiece by John Caples has become a prime example of how to sell to people by tapping into their emotional desires through storytelling. The long-form advertisement was to promote a (free) book entitled “Music Lessons in Your Own Home”. Even the legendary comedian, Bob Monkhouse, copied the format for one of his best gags: “When I first said I wanted to be a comedian, everybody laughed. They're not laughing now.” Copying others’ style can apply whether you are writing an advertisement or a joke. Copying can also apply to medical records – and that’s what we’re looking at in this article. We’ll consider three questions relating to medical records in personal injury Continue Reading
Why First Consultation Free is not good enough for personal injury claims (and what is better for you)
Is one font better for your memory than another? Can the design of the typeface used to put information into a readable form make a difference to how well you will recall that information later? Research on this issue at RMIT University in Melbourne concluded that most of the fonts we see every day are similar. Their familiarity means we often glance over the words they form and no memory trace is created. On the other hand, at the other end of the spectrum, if typography is too different from the norm, the brain does not process it well and, again, we don’t retain the information. Is there a way to overcome this balancing act between over-familiarity and unreadableness? RMIT has developed the font, Sans Forgetica, which could be the answer. They say it lies at a sweet spot where, although the appearance of the font forms something of a barrier to the learning process, overall it helps the learning process rather than hindering it. They have proved this via a mixed lab Continue Reading
Why fraudulent personal injury claims are not more likely to appear in Scotland than elsewhere
“Idiot insurance scammer fails miserably with fake ‘ice on floor’ fall”. That was one description of 57-year-old New Jersey man Alexander Goldinsky’s apparent attempt to stage a “slipping on ice cubes” accident in his work canteen. The incident – which happened sometime in the second half of 2018 - was captured on CCTV. Allegedly, he then filed a false insurance claim for the ambulance service and treatment he received at a local hospital for his "injuries" and the outcome was that he faced a criminal prosecution for fabricating the claim. Clearly, the USA is not Scotland but did you know that... ...within the UK, Scottish personal injury claimants are most likely to put forward exaggerated or fraudulent claims? This view has been expressed in the legal press by solicitors whose job it is represent the interests of insurers in defending personal injury compensation claims. Reforms to the law in England and Wales have meant that, in some claims where the injured person has Continue Reading