A significant change in the law affecting personal injury claims for accidents at work becomes effective from 01 October 2013. A review of health and safety legislation over the last two years by the Westminster Government culminates in the enactment of section 69 of the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 (“the 2013 Act”), which is in force from 01 October. Background to the Enterprise and Regulatory Reform Act 2013 The Government considered that there was too much red tape for businesses trying to comply with their health and safety obligations and this resulted in unnecessary cost. The Government also took the view that the present law was unfair because employers’ liability insurers sometimes had to pay out on claims even though the employer they insured had done everything they could to safeguard their employees in the circumstances. There was, for example, such “strict liability” if an employee was injured due to a failure of a piece of work equipment even if it could Continue Reading
When your business insurers refuse to indemnify you
Businesses require to have Employers’ Liability insurance by law. This is so if an employee gets injured at work due to the employer’s breach of duty there is a guaranteed fund available to meet any claim. Public liability insurance covers organisations and businesses against negligence and breaches of duty which cause injury and loss to people other than their employees. This type of insurance is not compulsory by law but it is crucial to have in practice because even a single claim can be enough to bankrupt a business. Public liability claim against a small trade business We have come across a recent example of a public liability insurer refusing to cover a business for a claim against the business for fire damage to a house in Moray caused by probable negligence on the part of one of the employees of the business. This scenario gives rise to a valid claim against the business on the basis of vicarious liability. Alleged negligence leads to under-floor fire at domestic Continue Reading
Road Accident Injury Claims: Details To Get From The Other Driver
You have been involved in a road traffic accident with another vehicle, which was not your fault. You have suffered injury as a result. You need to make a claim for your injuries and other losses. Motor insurance is compulsory and so the aim will be to make the claim against the insurers of the third party driver. What are the details you need to get from the other party involved in the accident? Aside from the situation where you are not able to get the information at the scene because you or the other driver is so seriously injured, it can be helpful if you can manage to get: (most important of all) the registration number of the other vehicle the make, model and colour of the other vehicle the name and address of the driver of the other vehicle the name and address of the insurers of the other vehicle the policy number or claims reference number for the other party and their insurers. If the police attend the scene of the Continue Reading
How Your Solicitor Gets Paid No Win-No Fee in Scotland
(EDITOR'S NOTE: Some of the content of this article has been superceded. The Voluntary Pre-action Protocol referred to is now a Compulsory Protocol (from November 2016) but we have left this article in place because it provides a useful reference point back to the previous system for comparision purposes). If your solicitor takes on your personal injury claim no win – no fee then it means you will have nothing to pay if the claim does not succeed. But how does the solicitor get paid if the claim is successful and you receive compensation for your injuries and other losses? Your solicitor will have a written agreement with you about how fees are to be calculated if you win your case. This is called a Speculative Fee Agreement. Often, it will provide for charges at an hourly rate and it may even cover what is known as a “success fee”. This is an additional percentage that can be charged to the hourly rate in certain circumstances – usually if the claim was higher risk or more Continue Reading