Scottish personal injury claims procedure

Scottish law is different to that of England and Wales and you will need one of our Scottish road accident specialists solicitors if you suffer a personal injury in a road accident in Scotland

What is a road accident personal injury

A road accident personal injury can include any injury sustained on any highway as a driver, passenger, pedestrian or other road user, such as biker, cyclist, lorry or commercial driver. In Scotland, a public road is one that a local authority has a duty to maintain. A road accident may take place on a private road or lane too.

To claim compensation for your injury, someone else must be wholly or partially negligent. This might be another driver or other road user but it could also include others who use or maintain the roads.

If you have sustained a personal injury you may want to consider the following:-

• do you want to make a claim for compensation to cover losses you have suffered as a result of the injury (see under heading Compensation)
• are there any immediate financial problems arising because of the injury, for example, you are unable to work (see under heading Financial problems)
• do you want to contact an organisation that could offer support or counselling (see under heading Support and counselling).

Action to be taken

Whatever you are intending to do about your personal injury, actions you could take include:-

• informing the police if, for example, the injury resulted from a road accident
• if the injury resulted from a road accident, reporting it to your insurance company. The insurance may be invalid if an accident is not reported

• if the injury resulted at work, you should notify your employer and the accident must be recorded in the accident book. The employer has a legal responsibility to report the accident to the Health and Safety Executive or the local authority environmental health department and may be prosecuted if they fail to do so
• reporting the injury to your doctor because it could become more serious. You should do this even if the injury seems minor. If you subsequently go to court to get compensation for the injury, the doctor will be asked to provide a medical report
• gathering evidence about the accident and injuries. For example, it may be useful to take photographs of the scene of an accident and of what caused the injury. You should also, if possible, write an account of the incident while details are still fresh in your mind. If there are witnesses you should make a note of their names and addresses.

Compensation

There are four main ways of getting compensation for a personal injury:-

• using a claims assessor (see under heading Claims assessors)
• taking legal action in a civil court using a Scottish solicitor such as one belonging to the Roadside Lawyer panel (see under heading Taking legal action)
• making a claim to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority (see under heading Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority)
• through a criminal compensation order (see under heading Criminal compensation orders).

Amount of compensation

If you have sustained a personal injury and want to claim compensation you should first consult an experienced adviser such as the Roadside Lawyer Scottish legal team for expert free legal advice.

If the court finds that the claimant was partly to blame for the accident, it may reduce the amount of damages paid, for example, if s/he was not wearing a seatbelt in a road traffic accident. This is called contributory negligence.

Deduction of social security benefits from compensation

If you have been receiving certain social security benefits because of an accident in which you sustained a personal injury, you may have to pay these back out of any compensation you get.

The rules about deduction from benefits are complex and you should first consult an experienced adviser such as the Roadside Lawyer Scottish legal team for expert free legal advice.

Claims assessors

If you have sustained a personal injury you may be considering using the services of a claims assessor (sometimes known as a claims manager). Claims assessors offer to take up cases on a ‘no win, no fee’ basis but there may be some disadvantages including:-

• a claims assessor will not usually be a solicitor and may not have a solicitor taking responsibility for the case. If this is so, the assessor will not be able to claim compensation through the courts and the person who has suffered the injury may receive less compensation
• the claims assessor may ask you to pay a percentage of whatever compensation you receive, to the assessor. You should be aware that while paying 50% of £1,000 damages may be acceptable, paying 50% of 10,000 may not.

If you are considering using a claims assessor you should first consult an experienced adviser such as the Roadside Lawyer Scottish legal team for expert free legal advice.

Taking legal action

If you want to take legal action to claim compensation for a personal injury you should first consult an experienced adviser such as the Roadside Lawyer Scottish legal team for expert free legal advice. This must be done as soon as possible as there are strict time limits on taking legal action.

Time limits

There are different time limits within which you must begin legal action in a personal injury claim. The most common claim in a personal injury case is negligence and the time limit for this is three years. This means that legal action must begin within three years of you sustaining the injury or first being aware that you have suffered an injury.

If you are considering taking legal action and have not yet been to a solicitor you will need to be aware of the time limits for taking action and you should first consult an experienced adviser such as the Roadside Lawyer Scottish legal team for expert free legal advice.

Paying for legal action

Legal action for compensation for a personal injury can be expensive. You may be able to get help with legal costs from, for example:-

• legal aid or legal advice and assistance

For more information, see Help with legal costs

• a speculative fee arrangement (see below)
• an insurance policy. Many house contents policies, car insurance or travel insurance policies have legal expenses cover attached
• a trade union may be able to help members with free legal advice if the injury happened at work
• an organisation keen to take a test case.

Speculative fee arrangement

A speculative fee arrangement means that if you win a case, you must pay your solicitor’s fees and expenses from the damages you receive. If you lose, you will not have to pay fees to your own solicitor but you may have to pay the other party’s costs. Your solicitor will normally ask you to take out insurance to cover this.

For more information about speculative fee arrangements, see Using a solicitor.

If you are considering taking legal action you should first consult an experienced adviser such as the Roadside Lawyer Scottish legal team for expert free legal advice.

Choosing a solicitor

If you want to take legal action you should consult a solicitor who is experienced in personal injury work. The Roadside Lawyer only uses specialist personal injury solicitors who specialise in road accident personal injury work in Scotland.

Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority

If you have been injured as a result of a criminal act you may be able to claim compensation through the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority. If you have been the direct victim of, for example, an assault or your injury was sustained when you were attempting to help the police after a crime had been committed you may be able to claim compensation. A close relative of a person who died because of criminal injuries can also make a claim on their behalf.

You must report an incident to the police at the earliest opportunity and an application to the Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority must normally be made within two years of the incident. However, in exceptional circumstances, the authority may be willing to extend this limit. An example, would be if you are making a claim for abuse you suffered as a child.

A request for compensation must be made on an application form, which can be obtained from:-

Criminal Injuries Compensation Authority
Tay House
300 Bath Street
Glasgow G2 4LN
Tel: 0141 331 2726
Fax: 0141 331 2287
Advice freephone: 0800 358 3601
Email: enquiries.cica@gtnet.gov.uk
Website: www.cica.gov.uk

The details of the crime and injuries that must be entered on the claim form are important and if you are completing it you should first consult an experienced adviser such as the Roadside Lawyer Scottish legal team for expert free legal advice.

Criminal compensation orders

A person convicted of a criminal offence may be ordered by the court to pay compensation for an injury, loss or damage s/he has caused to someone else by committing the offence. If you are the person who has sustained the injury or loss you cannot apply for this yourself, so it is important that you give the prosecution full and accurate information about the injuries and losses to put before the court.

The amount of compensation will depend on the amount the offender can afford to pay.

If a criminal compensation order is made, the court will be responsible for making sure the offender pays.

Financial problems

If you are having financial problems as a result of a personal injury you sustained in, for example, an accident or an incident of violent crime, you may need to consult a specialist money adviser for help with debt and benefits.

You may need financial advice because a member of your family has been injured or killed in an accident or as a result of a crime. You may be able to claim compensation for the loss of financial support.

If you are experiencing financial problems because of a personal injury you or a member of your family has sustained, you should first consult an experienced adviser such as the Roadside Lawyer Scottish legal team for expert free legal advice.

Support and counselling

There are a number of voluntary organisations and schemes that may be able to give support to people who have been injured, or whose partners, friends or relatives have been injured or killed.

Disabled Living Foundation

The Disabled Living Foundation gives advice and information about equipment available for people with disabilities.

380-384 Harrow Road
London
W9 2HU
Tel: 020 7289 6111
Helpline: 0845 130 9177 (Mon - Fri 10am - 4pm local rate)
Textphone: 020 8432 8009
Fax: 020 7266 2922
Email: info@dlf.org.uk
Website: www.dlf.org.uk

Headway – the brain injury association

Headway supports people with brain injuries and their carers. It also campaigns for improvements in health and social care services. It runs a helpline, and can provide a list of solicitors who specialise in brain injury cases.

4 King Edward Court
King Edward Street
Nottingham
NG1 1EW
Helpline: 0808 800 2244
Tel: 0115 924 0800
Fax: 0115 958 4446
Email: helpline@headway.org.uk
Website: www.headway.org.uk

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