The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has released its annual report on work-related ill-health and injury statistics for the period ending 2022/23.

We recently successfully recovered compensation for a client in his early 20’s who suffers from Erb’s Palsy as a consequence of injuries he sustained at birth.

The Civil Litigation (Expenses and Group Proceedings) (Scotland) Act 2018 (Success Fee Agreements) Regulations 2020 come into force today, 27^th April 2020. These new regulations are designed to ensure that parties pursuing litigation in Scotland have as clear as possible an understanding about the costs involved to them in pursuing a Court action. The regulations will also regulate success fee agreements (also known as no-win, no-fee agreements). The regulations define the amount a person pursuing a claim can be asked to pay their Solicitor and puts a cap on the amount of damages a Solicitor can recover from the overall damages recovered once the case concludes.

This month has been a particularly busy one for Dallas McMillan and has seen us recover hundreds and thousands of pounds in compensation for clients throughout Scotland. 

With the introduction of Qualified One-Way Costs Shifting (QOCS) in Scottish Personal Injury claims, injured individuals will have the right to lawfully pursue their claim for damages without the threat of incurring considerable costs from the other side if their claim is unsuccessful. In doing this, the Scottish legal system comes into line with the protections already afforded to their English counterparts (with QOCS being introduced there in 2013).

In the recent case of Mannas v Chief Constable of the Police Service for Scotland [2018] CSOH 126, the Court of Session required to consider whether a delay of 13 years in progressing the action constituted unfairness and whether the case should be dismissed as a result.

Eight relatives of some of the victims of the Glasgow bin lorry crash have cleared a legal hurdle in their fight for compensation. Appeal court judges have dismissed an appeal by Glasgow City Council against a judge’s ruling and upheld the decision that the relatives’ damages action can proceed despite their claims being ‘time-barred’.

The Damages (Investment Returns and Periodical Payments) (Scotland) Bill (previously discussed by us here) was examined this month by the Economy, Energy and Fair Work Committee. The Committee received evidence, including formal evidence obtained at Committee meetings, to inform its report. The report was published on 3 December.

Scotland has introduced new legislation with the aim to create a simpler way of setting the rate of personal injury discount rates.

 July 2018 saw Dallas McMillan’s Personal Injury team set a new record for compensation recovered for clients. In that month alone, the team recovered compensation totalling in excess of £1.3m for clients throughout Scotland.

When making a claim for compensation it is important to remember that you only have one chance to recover compensation for any injuries you sustained as a result of an accident, be it a road traffic accident, an accident at work or a slipping and tripping accident. You have three years from the date of your accident to recover compensation and if your case settles you are not entitled to go back and seek more compensation at a later date. You must therefore make sure that you appoint the right Solicitors to deal with your case, to ensure that your claim settles for its maximum possible value.

The Scottish Law Commission recently announced that its Tenth Programme of Law Reform will include a project on damages for personal injury. 

Lawyers should not be blamed for the UK’s compensation culture, according to one Supreme Court judge. He said that it is unfair for people to describe lawyers as ‘ambulance chasers’, particularly because they are only doing a job, and that it is the system which is set up in favour of claimants which encourages such a large number of claims to be made. He said that it is not the lawyers who have created the system, and therefore cannot shoulder the blame for the number of claims which are made.

The 14th edition of the Judicial College Guidelines was published on 14 September 2017. The new guidelines have not introduced significant change to the level of damages for personal injury. Generally the Guidelines update figures with reference to the increase in the RPI (Retail Prices Index) of around 4.8%.It must be noted that the purpose of the guidelines is to assist parties and the court rather than to simply dictate figures.

A recent case in the Court of Session has helped to clarify the position in relation to the amount of compensation which should be paid to the family members of mesothelioma victims for “loss of society”.

A new bill which is being put forward may see a huge increase in the number of personal injury claims which are made in Scotland.

Modern technology by the way of smart phones has its advantages, we have access to a wealth of knowledge at our fingertips and we can keep in touch with friends and family in many ways other than a simple phone call; sharing photographs and videos, social medial posts, text messaging and video chat. Despite the great technological advances, safety and common sense are perhaps not advancing at the same rate.  The need to be constantly connected and in touch with friends and family can lead to distraction and absence of mental presence leading to potentially unsafe or dangerous situations.  This is all the more clear in cases of mobile phone use while driving. 

UK insurers have attacked the UK Government over their changes to the Discount Rate, a move that will cost the industry millions of pounds, and will see price increases in premiums for individual and business customers. This is the first time the rate has changed since 2001, and has been calculated based on the decline in strength of low risk investment schemes such as Investment-Linked Gilks.

It is often the case that compensation payments for the more serious personal injuries include an element of damages to compensate for future loss.  This can include, for example, future loss of earnings or future costs of care.  When an injured party receives a lump sum award of damages for such future losses, a “discount rate” is applied by the courts when finalising the award.  This is to reflect the fact that the injured party is receiving the money up front and can be expected to earn money on the lump sum by investing it.

Occupiers Liability - Anderson V Imrie, [2016] CSOH 171

As recent decision from the Court of Session deals with an issue at the forefront of working family life; suitable and appropriate childcare.  Many parents employ the help of nurseries or childminders but it is certainly common for friends and family step in to offer assistance. The case of Anderson v Imrie highlights the duty on a caregiver, even in an informal setting, where a foreseeable risk of injury is met with negligent supervision.