Pedestrian Accident Lawyers, Scotland

Yes. Compensation for pain and suffering covers psychological harm as well as physical injury. This includes anxiety, emotional trauma, and mental health effects such as flashbacks or a fear of crossing roads after a road accident or near miss. If your harm is mainly emotional, it still counts, so do not rule yourself out.

Your compensation is paid by the driver’s insurance company, not by the driver personally. This is exactly what motor insurance is for. If you are hesitating because you do not want to cause trouble for the person who hit you, a claim does not come out of their pocket. It is a claim against an insurance policy.

1. Seek medical attention, even if you feel fine, as some injuries appear later.

2. Report the accident to the police, as a police report can support your claim.

3. Take the details of the driver involved and the vehicles involved.

4. Note any witnesses and photograph the accident scene.

Act sooner rather than later, because some evidence does not wait: CCTV is often overwritten within around 30 days. And if you did not report it at the time or feel you lack evidence, a claim can often still go ahead, so it is worth getting assessed.

You may still be able to claim. The Motor Insurers’ Bureau compensates people injured by uninsured drivers and by untraced drivers, including hit and run cases where the driver failed to stop. So if you assumed there was no point because the driver had no insurance or drove off, that assumption is usually wrong.

In Scotland, you generally have three years to make a personal injury claim, under the Prescription and Limitation (Scotland) Act 1973. The three-year time limit usually runs from the date of the injury, or the date you became aware of it.

There are exceptions. For children, the three years runs from their 18th birthday. And where someone lacks the mental capacity to manage a claim after a serious injury such as a brain injury, different rules apply. If you are unsure whether you are still in time, it is better to check than to assume you are too late.

Yes. A parent or guardian can claim on behalf of a child injured as a pedestrian. Time limits work differently for children: the three-year period does not usually begin until their 18th birthday, so there is normally more time than there would be for an adult.

Yes. If you have lost a loved one in a pedestrian accident, close family members can make a claim following a death caused by another road user’s negligence. Bereavement damages recognise the grief and the loss of the person’s society and support, alongside the family’s financial losses. We know this is one of the hardest things a family can face, and we will handle everything with care.