What is a Personal Injury claim?

Personal injury claims cover a wide-range of cases, including everything from road traffic accidents (RTA), to slips or trips at work which have resulted in injury.

You may be entitled to make a claim and you could win compensation if you have been injured, or an existing condition has worsened due to the negligence of somebody else.

An example of a personal injury could be that the claimant has tripped over a box in a supermarket and broken their leg. In this case, the supermarket had a duty of care to keep their customers safe whilst inside the store.

No matter how minor or severe the incident may be, claimants may be entitled to claim damages for their injury.

Personal Injury criteria

For a personal injury claim to be valid in Scotland, it must meet three guidelines:

A relevant third party owed you a duty of care
The duty of care was breached
As a result of this, you suffered an injury

Duty of care and what it means

The claimant may be entitled to compensation if a duty of care was breached by a third party resulting in injury. We have listed a number of places where you can expect a duty of care.

At work

Employees in Scotland should expect a duty of care by their employer while they are at work under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 (HASAWA).

The legislation states that employers must take steps that are reasonable and practicable to ensure the health, safety and welfare of their employees while they are at work.

In public spaces

The party responsible for the public place where the accident occurred should be held responsible. This could be a local council or the private landowner where the incident occurred.

As per the Occupiers’ Liability Act (Scotland) 1960, the party in control of the public space must ensure your reasonable safety while you are visiting it for its intended purposes.

Roads

All road users must adhere to the Road Traffic Act 1988 and the Highway Code. They must navigate the roads in a way that prevents injury and damage to themselves and others.

Types of Personal Injuries

The nature of the injury can vary depending on the claimant but they can be relatively mild incidents to serious, life changing injuries. We have rounded-up a list of injuries that could be the result of a personal injury, however the list is not exhaustive:

Fatal injuries
Brain damage
Broken back or neck
Serious head injury
Loss of consciousness
Severe chest injury
Internal injuries
Loss of a limb
Upper leg fracture or fractured pelvis
Penetrating wound
Fractured ankle, foot, or lower leg
Hand, collarbone or arm fracture
Lacerations, deep cuts
Whiplash
Strains and sprains
Abrasions
Bruising
Shock

How to make a Personal Injury claim

Legal experts at Oakwood Scotland Solicitors are on hand to help if you believe you could make a personal injury claim. They will help to determine who is responsible for the injury and if the claim is valid.

However, when reviewing your case, you may be asked to provide evidence of the accident or your injuries.

Providing evidence

You may be asked to provide evidence to support a claim. This could include photos of where the accident happened, images of your injuries, a police report if they were called, witness contact details or any medical evidence.

It could also be useful to keep a diary of any injuries or financial losses as a result your injury to help review the case.