If you're involved in a RTA, there's crucial information you need to get We were on the main road south. We had not even made it out of Moray on our journey to Edinburgh. Accident A car approached from a minor road which formed a T-junction with our road, on our left. It should have given way to us but it didn’t; instead, it pulled out right in front of us and I could not stop in time. The front of our car hit the driver’s side of the other car, at the rear wheel arch. I had not been going fast and our speed at impact was probably less than 20 mph. Nevertheless, it was enough to cause the other car to spin right round, so it ended up facing into the junction it had come out of. What we did immediately after the accident I switched off the engine. I didn’t remember to switch on the hazard warning lights but my wife, in the passenger seat, did. I got out of the car and found the other driver was already out of his car. We established that both vehicles were Continue Reading
Occupiers’ Liability, Landlords and Tenants
Occupiers' liability may apply where a defective drain cover causes an accident on premises In this post, we are looking at situations where you might have a claim for injury following an accident on premises owned or occupied by someone else. In Scotland, the Occupiers’ Liability (Scotland) Act 1960, requires occupiers of premises to take reasonable care for people who come onto their premises to see to it that they are not injured due to the state of the premises. While this is a statutory duty, because the obligation imposed is to take reasonable care, you still have to prove fault, as under the general law of negligence. Often this will mean it is necessary to gather evidence about how long the hazard in question had been in existence before the accident. The argument you have to counter is that, if the defect had not been there for very long before the accident, there was not sufficient time for the occupier to identify it and repair it before any accident happened Continue Reading
Pavement Tripping Accidents (Maximising Your Claim’s Chances)
This post covers pavement defects and hazards which can cause you, as a pedestrian, to trip and fall. A separate post deals with situations where your injuries result from slipping in conditions of ice and snow. The trip hazard (towards the bottom of the above photo, below the bracket sign after the word “chances”) on the footpath pictured above was close to the north side of the underpass at Alexandra Road (A96), Elgin, and to our offices at 1 North Street. Part of a local authority’s responsibilities If you are injured as the result of a tripping accident on a public pavement or footpath in Scotland, any claim is usually directed against the local authority. In Moray, the responsible authority is The Moray Council. In most cases, the defect in the surface will be the result of erosion over many months (by contrast, in the above case, it was due to the surface of the footpath not being properly smoothed off at the time it was laid). Where an unexpected edge which causes a Continue Reading
After the Event Insurance (Crucial for No Win–No Fee Personal Injury Claims)
After the Event Insurance is needed to protect you in case you lose your no win-no fee claim After the Event (ATE) insurance is where you take out an insurance policy after a legal problem or dispute has arisen in order to protect you against the risk of having to pay the other side’s legal costs if you lose. Why is this type of insurance important for “no win-no fee” personal injury claims? The difference between winning and losing your claim We have seen how your solicitor will get paid for their work for you on a no win–no fee arrangement if they are successful in getting personal injury compensation for you. It’s one thing to look at a winning scenario but it’s also important to be alive to the possibility that your claim might not succeed. What then? No win–no fee means you won’t have to pay anything to your solicitor for their work, if you lose. However, you could be at risk of having to pay other costs if things don’t work out in your favour. Under no win–no fee, failure Continue Reading
