A road accident could be quite nasty and involve many people and vehicles. IT could result in injuries of different severity. You could suffer grievous injuries in a hit-and-run case, a head on collision with a larger vehicle could result in serious damage to property and loss of life too. You could also suffer injuries as a passenger in the vehicle and if you’re the driver it could get worse.
Road accidents are also quite common and although we don’t hear of serious accident all the time – minor dents and scrapes are also quite enough to count as car accidents. In Scotland, 2007 saw approximately 16,000-odd accidents. If you think that this number is shocking, you might want to consider this – it was 22,000 just 10 years ago. A reduction of 28% is pretty commendable.
The Scottish law allows victims of such accidents to claim compensation if the accident happened through no fault of their own. This legal machinery works with the aim of compensating the victim for the physical damage, pain and suffering as well as monetary losses that result out of the accident, like medical expenses, loss of property, loss of earnings, etc.
This machinery is available to victims for up to three years after they’ve suffered the accident. The claim is valid as long as it is filed within 3 years of the accident. Depending on the amount of compensation claimed and the severity of the accident, claims usually take about 8-9 months to get through. If the compensation is fairly large, it could take longer – since insurance companies do not really look forward to making large payments.
Usually, claiming compensation can get a bit tricky because of the legalities involved – specially for those who’re doing it for the first time. Thus, it makes good sense to engage a personal injury solicitor who can guide you through the entire process of making the claim, negotiating and also taking the case to trial if negotiations fail. Many are worried about the fees of the solicitors and often get trapped in the no win no fee agreements. Although these agreements are quite legal, they’re not acceptable everywhere. The no win no fee arrangement holds good south of the border, and you had better check the legality of any solicitor offering you such a claim twice.
Generally, Scottish law provides that a lawyer’s fees be paid out of the claimant’s compensation, unlike other laws which ask the defendant to pay up the claimant’s solicitor is case the compensation does get awarded. How much the lawyer is paid out of the compensation depends upon the compensation you receive. The lawyer will generally get a percentage of the compensation and the higher the amount of compensation, the lower his percentage. To find out more about solicitor’s fees in a claims case, contact The Law Society of Scotland.
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