UK Government guidelines advocate that their public-facing written content should meet the minimum reading age of nine years to ensure it is easily understood. Recent changes to the law on whiplash injury compensation in England and Wales (not affecting Scotland) have largely taken lawyers out of the equation for these "minor" injuries. The UK Government has provided a 64-page online guide for the injured people who will in future need to run their claims themselves, without help from a solicitor. These are what the Government has described as "simple" whiplash claims. But academic, Professor Roger Smith, has criticised the guide as "hopelessly complicated". According to what we might call the "9-year-old rule", authors of guidance material should consider, for example, adults with additional learning needs or imagine they are writing for an elderly relative. In Professor Smith's opinion, the whiplash guide “would be impenetrable to someone of that level of Continue Reading
Why Personal Injury Claims are a Buyer’s Market
Water seems a rather boring substance. Ice floats in water, as you'd expect. But is that typical behaviour for substances as between their liquid and solid forms? As you cool water down, it contracts until you get to 4°C. Then it suddenly expands again and its density reduces. So, by the time water freezes to ice, you have a material which is less dense than the liquid that it’s sitting on. There is no other known molecular material which will actually float on its melt. As a comparison, if you look at the olive oil sold in a supermarket, on a relatively cold day, at the bottom of the bottle there is an off-whitish deposit. That is olive oil ice. Olive oil is a 'normal' liquid which, when it freezes, contracts. The frozen stuff goes down to the bottom. Water brainwashes us from a young age to think that when you freeze a fluid it should become a solid which goes to the surface. But water is unique in that respect. With Personal Injury Compensation Continue Reading
Road Accidents: What To Do If A Court Action Is Raised Against You
We regularly get enquiries from people who have had a court action raised against them following involvement in a road traffic accident. If you are in that situation, what should you do? The typical scenario runs like this … You’ve had an accident with another vehicle when you were driving your car. The accident was your fault. The other vehicle was damaged or written off and the other driver was injured. Hopefully, you had comprehensive insurance and so your own vehicle will have been repaired or replaced by your insurers. They may also have told you they have settled the other party’s claim – by paying for the repair or replacement of their vehicle. Months later, out of the blue, you receive an Initial Writ or Summons (depending on whether the action against you is in the Sheriff Court or the Court of Session). This can be a startling experience, especially if the action is served on you by a Sheriff Officer or Messengers at Arms. The other driver – or maybe a passenger Continue Reading
Personal injury compensation and divorce
Personal injury claims come with stress attached. You have the strain of the pain and discomfort from the injury, the hassle of not being able to engage in everyday activities and possibly also the worry of loss of income through not being able to work. Coping with injury puts added pressure on your relationships. Particularly your closest relationships. This can lead to relationship breakdowns, whether that is splitting up with your boyfriend or girlfriend, or separating from your spouse or civil partner. Even the strongest relationships can be undermined. Personal injuries can be physical or mental, or both. As an injured person, you may develop depressive symptoms or changes in personality. In this article, we are going to look at what Scots law says about personal injury compensation in the context of relationship breakdown. We will focus particularly on financial provision on divorce or termination of civil partnership. We'll look at the situation Continue Reading