Lawford Kidd's Blog

Sheriff Principal James Taylor has recently published his much anticipated report on the system of expenses and funding of civil litigation in Scotland. The report contains a number of recommendations for far-reaching changes to the current system, some of which relate directly to the personal injury claims process.

Background

The need for a review of expenses and funding of civil litigation in Scotland was initially highlighted by the then Lord Justice Clerk, the Rt. Hon. Lord Gill, in his report of the Scottish Civil Courts Review. The recommendation was taken up in March 2011 when Sheriff Principal Taylor, a member of the Board of the Scottish Civil Courts Review, was asked to conduct the review by the then Minister for Community Safety, Fergus Ewing MSP.

The Review was extensive, and included 57 meetings, a fact finding visit and a public consultation exercise. It has resulted in a report described by the Scottish Government as “thorough and meticulous,” which puts forward a number of radical and substantial changes to the current system, and sets out 85 recommendations to put these into practice.

The subject of whiplash claims has returned once again to the spotlight with the publication of a report by the House of Commons Transport Select Committee, which looked into the impact of whiplash claims on the cost of motor insurance premiums.

The report recommends that Ministers should consider reducing the limitation period for road accident insurance claims, and require whiplash claimants to produce more supporting evidence. However, the report also stresses that genuine claimants should not be demonised.

Accreditation scheme

Looking in more detail at the report, the Committee states that it supports the proposal for an accreditation scheme for medical practitioners who provide medical reports in relation to whiplash claims.

The Ministry of Defence (MOD) has been censured over safety failings that led to the death of a 14-year-old cadet.

Kaylee McIntosh died in August 2007 after becoming trapped beneath the boat she was in when it capsized on Loch Carnan in bad weather.

A Health and Safety Executive investigation found a series of serious failings by Major George McCallum, who was leading the boating trip, compounded by systemic organisational failings by MOD Army.

Essex County Council has been fined for safety failings after a child with severe learning and physical disabilities almost drowned in his school’s swimming pool.

The 9-year-old boy was pulled from the water blue in colour and needed resuscitation after the incident during a school swimming session.

The council was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) after an investigation found that it had failed to provide schools with adequate information and guidance on how to safely manage and run their swimming pools.

Leading claims compensation law firm Lawford Kidd has announced the appointment of Val Roberts as a Consultant with the firm. Val has been practising for 20 years and is one of Scotland’s best known claimant lawyers.

Lawford Kidd specialises in representing accident victims and was the first Scottish firm to receive corporate accreditation from APIL, the Association of Personal Injury Lawyers.

Val has a wealth of experience in dealing with high value complex claims including fatal accident and catastrophic injuries. She has acted in a number of serious off-shore cases and has experience in foreign jurisdictions with settlements of accident claims in Europe, Africa and America.