Personal Injury FAQs

You should firstly ensure that the accident is reported to whoever you hold responsible. You should also obtain details of any witnesses to your accident, including their names and contact telephone numbers and/or email addresses. You should make a note of the location at which your accident occurred, and if possible take photographs of the accident locus. It is also important to keep any documentation and receipts for any out of pocket expenses you would wish to submit as part of your claim.

At Calio Claims, we will have an initial telephone discussion with you and ask a series of questions, so that we can obtain all the relevant details required to assess the eligibility of your claim. It will then be passed onto one of our experienced solicitors to assess your claim so we can advise if we are able to take on your claim.

If you have sustained an injury as a result of an accident or incident that was the fault of someone else, you may be entitled to seek compensation for your injuries. There are time limits involved for personal injury claims and it is therefore imperative that you seek legal advice from a personal injury solicitor as soon as possible in order that your claim can be assessed.

We can help you recover compensation for any pain and suffering, loss of earnings, damaged items/property, out of pocket expenses cost of private treatment undertaken following the accident and any further treatment or rehabilitation that may be required.

In Scotland, where you are claiming personal injury the usual time limit is three years from the date of the accident. If you are only claiming for money with no personal injury, then the usual limit is five years.

Any time when the claimant is under a legal disability does not count for working out the time limit. Any period when you are a child - before you reach 16 - is left out of the account. Also, if you lack the capacity to instruct a lawyer for example because of mental health issues that period is also left out of the account.

The exact value of your claim will depend upon the severity of your injuries together with any losses that have incurred as a result of the accident.

You are able to seek compensation for physical and psychological injuries. The value of your claim will depend upon the severity of the injuries sustained.

If you wish to commence legal action for a personal injury claim, then you need to seek the advice of a personal injury solicitor as soon as possible. There are time limits associated with personal injury claims and usually, this is three years. Therefore, any action involving personal injury must be raised within three years of the date you were aware you sustained injury.

Latest statistics show that just over 35% of personal injury cases were raised in the Sheriff Personal Injury Court. Over three in five personal injury cases were in relation to a road traffic accident.

If we are unable to negotiate settlement of your claim with the third-party insurers, then it may be that we will require to raise court proceedings on your behalf in order to proceed with your claim.

In those circumstances, we may recommend After the Event Insurance cover. After the Event Insurance will cover any legal costs which must be paid to the other party if your claim was to be unsuccessful. Our solicitors will explain the details of After the Event Insurance in full with you if we feel it necessary to recommend in your case.

Alternatively, if you have the appropriate Legal Expenses Insurance cover through an existing insurance policy such as your motor insurance, home contents or buildings insurance, then we can liaise with your insurers on your behalf to agree funding arrangements. Again, this would be discussed in full with you to enable us to agree with you the best funding option to suit your particular needs.

The consequences of an accident can be quite detrimental, not just on the personal level, but in terms of the legal processes involved in providing for people’s financial futures when they have a life-changing injury.

In the event of a successful claim compensation can include:-

• Compensation for injuries or pain resulting from negligence
• Costs for the medical treatment, rehabilitation or aftercare required
• Loss of earnings and associated benefits
• Cost of home help required as a result of the negligence
• Cost of home modifications
• Cost of mobility aids such as wheelchairs or walking sticks

The compensation amount will be calculated on a case-by-case basis in line with your individual losses and costs. When assessing your claim, we will ask you questions relating to your injury, treatment and symptoms, as well as how they have affected everyday life.

At Calio Claims, every personal injury claim we are contacted about is vetted by our specialist solicitors. They will take the time to look over the merits of each and every claim and determine whether you may have a successful claim.

However, there are occasions when we are not able to take a personal injury claim forward. If this was the case, we would explain in full detail the reason for this. The most common reasons for not accepting a personal injury claim are:-

• No reasonable prospects of success
• Your claim is time-barred or nearing the time limit for making a claim
• The value of the claim is too low

There are several ways in which your personal injury can be funded. Once our specialist personal injury solicitors have looked at your claim, we will then discuss what funding option will be the most suitable for your claim.

This could be:-

• No Win No Fee
• Legal Aid
• Legal expenses cover
• After the event insurance

Yes, under certain circumstances it is possible to make a personal injury claim on behalf of someone else. This could be because the pursuer: -

• is a child under the age of 16 years old; or
• is mentally incapacitated; or
• has recently died and you have been appointed to act on their behalf by the court or under the terms of their Will; or
• has requested your appointment as litigation friend to conduct court proceedings on their behalf.

Our solicitors will be able to advise you in what circumstances you can make a personal injury claim on behalf of someone else, and guide you through the process.

By signing a waiver, it does not necessarily mean that you cannot make a personal injury claim. There are many different circumstances in which you may have completed and signed a waiver.

Our solicitors will be able to have a look over any document that you have signed and advise if you are able to seek compensation for your injury.

The short answer is no. Any compensation you receive as a result of your personal injury claim will not be liable for a tax deduction.

In the event that you receive a sizeable amount of compensation, we have specialist solicitors that can speak to you and advise of the best way to manage your settlement.