Peter Brash, Grigor & Young, APIL Senior Litigator Not every solicitor handles personal injury claims but, more importantly, not every solicitor who handles personal injury claims is a specialist. In previous posts, we have explained why you need a specialist personal injury solicitor, preferably local to you, to handle your claim for you; and how the Law Society of Scotland’s Accreditation scheme is one badge of recognition of skills beyond the ordinary in particular areas of law, such as personal injury. How else can you tell whether a solicitor is going to be up to the task of handling your claim? Membership of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) APIL is a not-for-profit organisation set up over 20 years ago to encourage accident prevention and assist accident victims through campaigns and lobbying. It has over 4,300 members, most of whom are UK-based solicitors. APIL’s headquarters are in Nottingham. The culture of the Continue Reading
Fatal Accident Claims in Scotland: Increased Compensation levels
Claims by three members of the family of a man who died as the result of a road traffic accident in Glasgow have been awarded damages totalling £106,500. Lady Wise, in the Court of Session, decided that the award of compensation in a previous similar case had been too low. She set the damages level for each claimant by applying an uplift of approximately 50% on the awards in the previous case. Pedestrian crossing accident Gavin Currie was 25 years old when he was knocked down on a zebra crossing on 28 December 2011. He died in hospital 2 days later. The Court described Gavin as a “fine young man with good employment prospects and a happy and settled family life”. He came from a close-knit family. Only value of claim disputed Liability for the accident was not in dispute but there was disagreement about the level of compensation to be paid to each of his parents and to his brother, Euan, by the insurers of the negligent driver. Tension between Judge and Jury damages Continue Reading
Accredited Specialist in Personal Injury Law: Marie Morrison
Well done, Marie! Marie Morrison of Grigor & Young, Solicitors, Elgin and Forres, and of Moray Claims has been accredited by the Law Society of Scotland as a Specialist in Personal Injury for a period of 5 years to 18 February 2019. The road to accreditation Marie has been a solicitor since 1992. She lives in Macduff, Banffshire, which is her home town. She returned there around 10 years ago, having worked as a Personal Injury solicitor with a number of firms in the Glasgow area following her qualification. Marie joined in Grigor & Young in 2006 and has dealt almost exclusively with personal injury claims throughout her time with the firm. She is an Associate with Grigor & Young and is also a member of the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL). Marie joins Peter Brash of Grigor & Young in having the same "PI" accreditation, which gives the firm - and Moray Claims - clear recognition of its expertise in relation to the law on accident and Continue Reading
Costly Failure Scottish Landlords Must Avoid
A Tenancy Deposit Must Be Lodged With An Approved Third Party [EDITOR'S NOTE: Please note that, while the article which follows is still relevant in terms of the way the value of claims under the Tenancy Deposit regime are calculated, the procedure for making such claims are to be made in Scotland has altered from 01 December 2017. Most private domestic tenancy issues (i.e. tenancies without a local authority or social landlord) have been removed from the jurisdiction of the Sheriff Court. Now, these are now under the control of the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber). This change means that it is not going to be financially viable in most cases to employ the services of a solicitor to make such claims. You can find further information on the mygov.scot website). Whether you are a landlord or a tenant of residential property in Scotland, you need to be aware of the new tenancy deposit landscape as it can have significant financial implications Continue Reading