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
Digging for QOCS Exceptions in Scottish Personal Injury Claims
The default position under Qualified One-way Costs Shifting (QOCS) for personal injury compensation claimants in Scotland is this. If your claim succeeds, you will be able to recover legal costs from your opponent, in addition to the compensation agreed as payable or as awarded to you by a court. Whether you lose any of your compensation to pay a success fee will depend upon the arrangement you have with your solicitor. If your claim is unsuccessful, QOCS should mean that you DO NOT have pay legal costs to your opponent - even though the normal rule is “loser pays”. That is what “one-way costs shifting” means. There’s a shift in the usual costs rule in favour of the loser if they are claimant; but not if they are the claimant’s opponents (usually an insurance company). QOCS arrived in England and Wales (2013) before it came to Scotland (2021). To some extent, Scotland has been learning from the experience south of the Border. In 2023, there have been some Continue Reading