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.

Ireland's Injuries Board recently published its 2015 annual overview, which reveals that 33,561 new personal injury claims were submitted to the Board in 2015.

Scotland’s new Sheriff Appeal Court now has jurisdiction to hear civil appeals from sheriff courts.

The Injuries Board in Ireland saw a 7% increase in new personal injury claims in the first six months of 2015 compared to the same period last year, taking the total number of new claims received to 17,132.

The Irish Injuries Board has published its Annual Review for 2014, which shows that the volume of personal injury claims submitted to the Board during the year have stabilised.

A new law that has been described as bringing about the biggest modernisation of Scotland’s courts in a generation has been given Royal Assent.

The Irish Injuries Board has given a summary of personal injury claims processed during the first six months of 2014.

The family of a Renfrewshire man who was hit by a car and fatally injured have been awarded around £100,000 in damages at the Court of Session, reports the Scotsman.

During the first six months of 2013 the total compensation awarded to personal injury claimants in Ireland increased by 8.3% to €118million, according to a mid-year analysis undertaken by the Injuries Board.

A package of proposals to change the system of expenses and funding of civil litigation has been unveiled following an independent review by the former Sheriff Principal of Glasgow and Strathkelvin, Sheriff Principal James Taylor.

Car manufacturer Toyota has agreed to pay compensation to the family of an American couple who died when their Toyota Camry hit a wall, reports the BBC.

The Supreme Court has held that a Catholic teaching institute is vicariously liable for alleged acts of sexual and physical abuse of children by its members between 1952 and 1992 at St Williams, a residential institution at Market Weighton for boys in need of care.

The lowest ever recorded figures for road casualties in Scotland have been published, according to Minister for Transport Keith Brown.

The latest figures for 2011 show road casualties are 4% lower than in 2010, and include an 11% drop in fatalities over the same period.

Mr Brown said:

“We in the Scottish Government are very aware of the tragic and personal cost of every fatality on our roads.  I am therefore encouraged by the very latest data which shows total reported road casualties are now at their lowest level since records began. The number of casualties last year dropped by 575 - a fall of 4% on 2010 figures. There has also been a drop of 5% on those seriously injured and a further reduction of 11% on fatalities.

“My deepest sympathies are of course with all of those who have been affected by incidents on our roads and we accept one death is simply one too many. That is why we are doing everything we can to reduce the numbers of casualties further.”

http://www.transportscotland.gov.uk/news/Road-casualties-Scotland-lowest-figures

Potentially deadly asbestos fibres were spread in part of a shop by unqualified workmen and left on the premises for three weeks.

In a prosecution by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), Cardiff Magistrates heard that the company, which specialises in damp and timber repairs, committed four offences and was fined a total of £18,000 and ordered to pay £5,314 in costs.

The company was contracted to carry out the work in an antiques shop in the Vale of Glamorgan. Employees were sent to work on the site to survey and strip out parts of the building affected by damp and wood rot, without checking for the presence of asbestos.

None of the workers had received sufficient information, instruction or training in asbestos awareness or removal and the company did not have a license to remove or handle asbestos containing materials.

Asbestos insulation boards were removed in a back room by one of the workers and the ceiling was demolished. The uncontrolled removal of the asbestos boards and demolition work caused the disturbance and spread of potentially deadly asbestos fibres.

Instead of arranging for the proper disposal of the asbestos, the dust was swept into rubble bags and dumped in a skip lorry, along with the asbestos insulation boards. The asbestos material was immediately identified at the waste transfer site and were collected by the company and left in the backyard of the shop.

The owners of the building contacted the HSE and then arranged for a licensed removal company to undertake a full environmental clean of the building.

HSE Inspector, Steve Richardson, speaking after the case, said: "This incident was entirely preventable and would not have happened if the company had provided adequate information, instruction and training to its staff.

"The company had no procedures to check for the presence of asbestos and as a result, has put the health of its workers and the shopowners at risk of potentially fatal asbestos-related lung diseases."

An eleven-year-old girl has been awarded around £11 million in compensation for serious injuries she suffered at birth, reports the Guardian.

A woman from Norfolk has been awarded over £9 million in compensation for injuries she received as a child, reports the BBC.