Scotland Personal Injury Claims Lawyers

Welcome to our guide on how you could make a Scotland personal injury claim. If you’ve been harmed due to the negligence of a party that owed you a duty of care, you could potentially claim compensation. 

Scotland personal injury claim

A guide to making a Scotland personal injury claim

This guide will look at what duty of care could be breached. You will also need sufficient evidence to make a valid claim. This guide will also look at desirable evidence types. 

If you get in touch with our advisors, they can offer you free legal advice about whether you could make a valid claim. If they think your case may have a good chance of success, they could connect you with an experienced solicitor from our panel to help you start your personal injury claim. 

Select A Section

  1. How To Make A Scotland Personal Injury Claim
  2. What Accidents In Scotland Could You Claim For?
  3. How Long Do You Have To Claim For An Accident In Scotland?
  4. Am I Eligible To Claim For An Accident Or Injury In Scotland?
  5. What Steps Can I Take Before Starting A Claim?
  6. Personal Injury Claims Scotland Calculator
  7. Check If You Are Eligible To Make A No Win No Fee Scotland Personal Injury Claim
  8. Further Help And Advice

How To Make A Scotland Personal Injury Claim

If you’ve been in an accident that has caused you injury, and you can prove it was the fault of another, this could potentially be grounds for a valid Scotland personal injury claim. 

The duty of care owed to you is different in different environments. For example, employers have a duty of care towards all employees in the workplace. This means they need to take all reasonably practicable steps to keep them safe.

All road users have a duty of care towards each other on the roads. This means they should use the roads in a way that reduces the risk of injury as much as possible. 

Those in control of places that are accessible to the public should ensure that they’re safe for visitors. Any hazards should be reduced or removed.

When someone breaches their duty of care towards you, accidents and harm can occur. If this has happened to you, you could potentially claim compensation. 

You may be wondering if you need to use accident solicitors near you. Your solicitor does not need to be near you to help you with a personal injury claim, as long as they have the requisite qualifications. 

What Accidents In Scotland Could You Claim For?

There are many different types of accidents you could claim for if they’re caused by negligence and result in injury. Some examples could include:

If you’ve been in an accident, you may have sustained a physical injury. For example, if you were involved in a slip, trip or fall accident, you could potentially sustain a head injury or a broken ankle. Or, if you were in a car accident, you could suffer from a burn injury or a back injury.

You could also potentially claim for any psychological damage attached to your accident. This could include depression, anxiety or Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) that has been caused as a result of the accident. 

Any form of injury could potentially have life-changing effects. If you could prove that your injuries were a direct result of the accident and that it was the fault of a party that owed you a duty of care, you could make a personal injury claim in Scotland. 

How Long Do You Have To Claim For An Accident In Scotland?

If you are thinking about making a claim, it is important you make it within a certain time frame, or it could potentially be considered invalid. 

Generally, the time limitation for a personal injury claim is 3 years under the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973. Under this Act, you may have 3 years from the date of the accident to claim. 

Exceptions

If you would like to make a claim on behalf of a child, you can do so any time until the minor turns 16. To make a claim for a minor, a litigation friend is required. A litigation friend is an eligible adult who acts in the person’s best interests.

If nobody claims on the minor’s behalf, then after they turn 16 they have the usual 3 years to start a personal injury claim. 

You can also make a claim for others who cannot claim for themselves: those who lack mental capacity. Similarly, a litigation friend is also needed. However, the time limitation is suspended indefinitely in these cases. If the claimant ever regains the capacity to claim, and nobody’s claimed on their behalf already, the usual 3 years start from then. 

Fatal Accidents

You could also potentially claim compensation on behalf of someone involved in a fatal accident. This is outlined in the Damages (Scotland) Act 2011. To do so, you would generally need to start the claim within 3 years of the fatal accident.

If you would like to know more about how time limitations could apply to you, why not get in touch today?

Am I Eligible To Claim For An Accident Or Injury In Scotland?

If you could prove that someone else’s negligence caused your injuries, you could potentially have a valid claim. However, you may be wondering if you could still claim if you were partially at fault for the accident. The answer is that you might be able to, though it could affect your compensation. 

In a split liability claim, both parties take some responsibility for the accident and subsequent injuries. In such cases, the amount of compensation you receive will depend on the level of responsibility you agree to. For example, if you agree to 50% responsibility, and the other party agrees to 50%, you would receive 50% of the compensation amount.

However, if you are found to be wholly at fault for the accident, you will be unable to make a personal injury claim in Scotland. If you would like further guidance on liability, get in touch with our advisors today. 

What Steps Can I Take Before Starting A Claim?

We recommend that you first seek medical help if you’ve been injured in an accident. If you feel your injuries are less severe, you could seek the advice of your GP or ring 111. However, for more serious injuries, you may need to ring 999 or even seek your nearest accident & emergency services.

Before starting your claim, you may want to start gathering evidence that could help you. You don’t need a solicitor to do so; however, we recommend hiring one. A solicitor can provide expertise and guidance on what forms of evidence could be most helpful for your case and make the claims process as smooth as possible for you. Some evidence types include:

  • Accident report records
  • CCTV footage of your accident
  • Photographs of your injuries
  • Medical notes

Personal Injury Claims Scotland Calculator

In the compensation table below, we’ve included potential compensation brackets for a variety of injuries. These figures are taken from the Judicial College Guidelines for England and Wales. Legal professionals use this document to help value injuries. 

Injury Severity Amount Notes
Head or Brain Minor £2,070 to £11,980 This bracket could cover minimal brain damage, if any, and minor head injuries.
Ankle Very Severe £46,980 to £65,420 This bracket could cover severe and complicated fractures of the ankle with extensive soft-tissue damage. There may be a deformity and future risks of related leg injuries.
Ankle Moderate £12,900 to £24,950 This bracket could cover ligament tears or fractures that result in moderate disabilities. This could include mobility issues and residual scarring.
Burns Likely to be above £98,380 This bracket will be judged upon how much of the body is affected by the burns, how thick they are, the cosmetic impact and any need for future surgery.
Psychiatric Moderately Severe £17,900 to £51,460 This bracket could cover psychiatric issues result in difficulty coping with all aspects of life, including a negative effect on relationships. However, there may be a slightly optimistic prognosis for recovery.
Back Severe (ii) £69,600 to £82,980 This bracket could cover nerve root damage that is associated with a loss of sensation, impaired mobility, sexual difficulties and impaired bowel and bladder function.
Neck Moderate (i) £23,460 to £36,120 This bracket could cover injuries that have resulted in severe symptoms that may lead to chronic conditions or serious soft tissue injuries. The person may also have impaired function or exacerbation of a pre-existing condition.

You may also claim special damages as part of your compensation. This aims to cover any financial losses you have suffered due to your injuries. You may also claim special damages for potential future losses as well. This could include:

  • The price of independence supports, such as hearing aids or crutches
  • Medical procedures not offered by the NHS
  • Loss of earnings if you have had to take time away from work
  • Adjustments to the home if your injury has resulted in disability
  • Travel costs

To claim special damages, you need to prove that your losses were caused by the accident. You could show receipts for travel costs or payslips for lost wages. To find out more about how you could do this, contact us today. 

Check If You Are Eligible To Make A No Win No Fee Scotland Personal Injury Claim

If you’re wanting to make a Scotland personal injury claim, you may be worried about the financial implications of hiring a solicitor. You should know that our panel of solicitors offer their services on a No Win No Fee basis

If you enter into a No Win No Fee agreement with a lawyer, it means you will not have to pay an upfront or ongoing fee to the solicitor. In fact, your solicitor will not charge you for their work at all if your case is unsuccessful.

However, your solicitor will deduct a success fee if your claim does succeed. This success fee will be pre-discussed between you and your lawyer and is legally capped. 

Get in touch with our team of advisors today if you think a No Win No Fee agreement could be for you. They can provide more specific guidance and information and could potentially connect you with a solicitor from our panel. One of the lawyers from our panel could help you make a Scotland personal injury claim today. 

Further Help And Advice

Thank you for reading our guide on how you could make a Scotland personal injury claim. We hope you found it helpful. For further help and advice, please see below. 

Carlisle Personal Injury Lawyers – A guide on claiming compensation in Carlisle. 

Do I Get Paid If I Get Injured In Work? – An article explaining what could happen after you are injured at work. 

How to Claim Compensation for a Public Accident Against Local Council –  Wondering how to claim against your local council? Our guide can tell you everything you need to know. 

The Highway Code – The guidance on how all road users should be behaving on the roads. 

Health and Safety Executive – Britain’s regulator on health and safety in the workplace. 

Care Quality Commission – A non-departmental public body of the UK’s Health and Social Care Department. 

If you have any questions about making a personal injury claim in Scotland, get in touch. 

Article by AO

Publisher UI