Personal Injury Claims In Scotland

Depending on the case type, it may be more beneficial for you and your family for your case to be dealt with under Scottish law. For example, in fatal cases the categories of relatives eligible to seek compensation are more wide-ranging than in England and Wales.

Also, the levels of compensation awarded to bereaved families are much higher in Scotland, so we’d advise you to claim under Scottish law where possible. We’ll always give you tailored advice based on your circumstances as to where we think you’d be better making a claim.

You can use the Scottish courts if your injury happened in Scotland. If your accident happened in England, but the organisation responsible is registered in Scotland, you can still make a claim in Scotland.

Contact us today for a free initial consultation and we’ll advise whether claiming through Scottish law will be the best option for you.

In most cases, you’ve three years from the date you sustained an injury to start your claim.

In Scotland, there’s no time limit for claiming on behalf of a child until their 16th birthday (18th birthday in England and Wales). Once a child turns 16, you’ve three years to make a claim.

The three-year limit doesn’t apply to people who lack the mental capacity to make their own claim.

In child abuse cases, the law has changed, and the usual three-year time limit does not apply.

Whenever your injury happened, it’s always advisable to start making your claim as soon as possible. The sooner we can start investigating your claim, the better chance we have of gathering evidence and witness statements to support it.

In Scotland, accident claims can be funded with a no win no fee agreement.

By making a no win no fee claim, you won’t need to pay any fees upfront. If your claim is unsuccessful, you won’t have anything to pay at all. If your claim is successful, most of our fees will be paid by your opponent.

To make a no win no fee agreement, we’ll secure you an After The Event (ATE) insurance policy. This protects you from any financial risk if your claim is unsuccessful.

Scottish claims are heard in the national Sheriff Personal Injury Court in Edinburgh. If a case goes to the Edinburgh court, the claim must meet one of the following criteria:

• Worth more than £5,000
• A workplace personal injury claim worth at least £1,000
• A workplace personal injury claim worth less than £1,000 but sent from a local sheriff court outside of Edinburgh.

More serious claims can be raised in the Court of Session, the highest civil court in Scotland. It sits in Edinburgh and deals with more serious and complex cases, which must be worth at least £100,000.

However, it’s worth noting that most personal injury claims tend to settle out of court and don’t make it to trial. We’ve experience taking cases to the Court of Session and the national PI court. Whatever the nature of your personal injury claim, we’ll be able to make sure you get the compensation you need.

The amount of compensation awarded in each personal injury claim varies depending on the circumstances around the case.

To get an idea of how much your claim could be worth, we advise you to contact us. Once we’ve heard about your accident, we’ll be able to put an estimate value on how much you could claim.

Compensation amounts are calculated based on:

• The injuries you sustained
• The long-term impact they’ll have on your life
• Any expenses you’ve had, such as travel expenses to hospital appointments
• Any modifications you need making to your home
• Any specialist treatment or equipment you need
• Loss of earnings you’ve had
• Loss of pension.

We’ve offices in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Inverness, and Dunblane.

If you're unable to come to one of our offices, all of our lawyers can arrange to meet clients at an appropriate location, such as your home or in hospital.

If you'd prefer, we can communicate via phone or video calls instead. We'll always work in the way that's best for you.