Description
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.
