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MacDonald v Bruce – Cupar Sheriff Court, 8 August 2008


Location: Case Types Personal Injury
Posted by: Catherine Hart	03/09/2008 18:57
The Pursuer, aged 49 at Proof, sought damages following a road accident. Liability was admitted and the Proof was restricted to quantum. The Pursuer suffered a whiplash injury to his neck and was left with intermittent neck pain and headaches. These settled within 7 months of the accident. For 6 weeks he also suffered severe low back pain and right elbow pain. A cut to his head and bruising healed within 2 weeks. For 12 weeks after the accident the Pursuer suffered low moods and travel anxiety with flashbacks.He slept badly for 2 weeks and put on weight. He was absent from work for 10 days and couldn’t drive during that time. The Pursuer had to stop going to the gym and gave up marathon running for 4 to 5 months. He was prescribed pain killers by his GP but was not hospitalised and did not receive physiotherapy. The Pursuer had made a full recovery after 7 months. He sought an award of solatium of £2,750 and referred the Sheriff to a number of cases in support of this. The Defender argued that a more appropriate award would be around £1,600 to £1,700. The Sheriff expressed the view that some of the English authorities cited by the Defender were too low to be in line with the majority of cases in Scotland. In his view, the yard stick was Sheriff Principal Bowen’s persuasive decision in Symington v Milne (Edinburgh Sheriff Court 4 May 2007) in which the Sheriff Principal commented that, while older cases might serve as a guide, awards for whiplash injuries may now be proportionally higher than some years ago due to a greater awareness of the debilitating effect of that type of injury.
Court: Sheriff Court
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Comments (1)

Re: MacDonald v Bruce – Cupar Sheriff Court, 8 August 2008

By Digby Brown on 09/10/2008 13:32

Sheriff’s Findings in Fact: Pursuer suffered neck pain and headaches which settled 6 weeks after the accident. He also sustained severe lower back pain and right elbow pain, both of which took 6 weeks to settle post-accident. In addition, the pursuer complained of psychological symptoms such as travel anxiety and flashbacks, which cleared up after 12 weeks. He was off work for 10 days and had to give up gym attendance and marathon running for 4 to 5 months. He made a full recovery after 7 months.

Submissions:

Pursuer referred to Symington v Milne in which Sheriff Principal Bowen considered that, although older cases serve as a guide towards an award of solatium, whiplash injuries should be valued proportionally higher than they were some years ago and that “this increase reflects a greater awareness of the debilitating effect of injuries of this type which, as I observed in Armstrong v Brake Brothers, can be of a most painful nature.”

Agent for the defender referred to Quinn v Bowie and Fairley v Thomson which assessed solatium for a 10 to 12 month injury between £2,250 and £3,000. These cases were considered and rejected in Symington.

Decision: Sheriff Evans decided that an appropriate award of solatium for injuries which took 5 to 7 months to resolve should be between £2,250 to £3,000. Solatium assessed at £2,600.