Scottish Road Traffic Law Spring Update

In this update, we highlight some recent Court of Session decisions of note. Accidents involving pedestrians have been to the fore, as well as some further judicial guidance on awards of damages in fatal claims.

The case of Currie continues the trend of addressing the historical imbalance between judicial awards and jury awards in fatal claims. The case of Little considers the issue of a driver's failure to use full beam headlights on an unlit country road whereas the case of McEwan considers whether or not negligence can be inferred where a pedestrian is struck by a motor vehicle whilst they are walking on a pavement.

FATAL CLAIMS - BEREAVEMENT AWARDS

Currie & Others v Esure Services Limited, Court of Session, February 2014

The facts in this case were not in dispute. The deceased had been knocked down as he crossed the road and he subsequently died in hospital. Liability was admitted and there was no issue of contributory negligence. His parents and brother pursued claims for loss of society. In arriving at her decision, Lady Wise reviewed the landmark decision by the Court of Appeal in Hamilton v Ferguson Transport (Spean Bridge) Ltd as well as the two Court of Session decisions in fatal claims that have followed, namely McGee & Others v R J K Building Services Limited and Ryder v The Highland Council. Significantly, this was the first time since Hamilton that parental claims had been considered by the court, with Lady Wise continuing the trend of recalibrating bereavement awards. She awarded each parent £42,000 and the brother £22,500, effectively applying a 50% uplift on the position prior to Hamilton.

The full judgment can be read by clicking here.

There are several Court of Session decisions pending in similar claims and we will continue to monitor awards in this developing area.

PEDESTRIAN CASES

Little v Glen & Others, Court of Session, September 2013

The claimant had been out drinking and, whilst on his way home, was sick in a taxi. The taxi driver took umbrage at this development, stopped his taxi and ejected the claimant, leaving him to walk home alone on an unlit country road. Later the same evening, the first defendant, driving his own taxi on the same road, collided with the claimant. The claimant's position at trial was that the first defendant had not been paying sufficient attention to the road ahead of him and did not have his headlights on full beam. The court disagreed and held that there was insufficient evidence to...