Distracted driver causes accident on Standing Stane Road

Shonagh Kirk got in touch with Digby Brown after she was involved in a multi vehicle accident all because a driver wasn’t paying attention.

Shonagh was a passenger in a car travelling along the Standing Stane Road when they came across a queue of traffic waiting for a vehicle ahead to turn right.

“The traffic was backed up and then all of a sudden it sounded like fireworks going off behind us as the cars behind us went into each other and then hit our car.

“Everyone started getting out of their cars and the end car started to reverse and it looked like he was about to drive off. He noticed everyone else getting out and he stopped and got out too.”

Shonagh’s car was the third car which was hit in the line of traffic, luckily they managed to avoid colliding with the car in front. Despite this, the vehicle she was travelling in was written off and a previous neck injury  she had was aggravated.

“I was already seeing the doctor and a surgeon about the issues I had with my neck. My surgeon said the accident has definitely made it worse. I was already taking painkillers and I’m having to take a much stronger dose.”

In addition to her neck injury, Shonagh suffered from psychological injuries after the accident.

“I’m so scared to drive, I was already a nervous driver and the accident has made it ten times worse. Now whenever I am sitting in a queue of traffic I feel like I’m just waiting for something bad to happen.

“It’s affected my work too. As part of my job I have to drive a lot and sometimes if I’m too nervous other people have to do it for me.”

Shonagh was directed to our Kirkcaldy solicitors where Ryan Smith, Senior Solicitor, took over her case.

“Having a local office made things so much easier as it meant I didn’t need to travel there in the car. At that time, the thought of driving was just too much for me.

“My solicitor Ryan was spot on, he helped me through the process and was very informative the whole way through. He was great at keeping in touch, providing updates regularly and he didn’t push us into making a decision quickly.”

The Standing Stane Road is well-known for accidents and there have been calls made to reduce the speed limit across the whole stretch of road.

“The driver that caused the accident had just come from a 40mph limit into the part of the road where the limit is 60mph, and he was speeding along.

“I feel like I could be more understanding if it turned out there has been a mechanical failure on his car, but he was a young driver just not paying attention to the road in front and was going too fast."

Ryan made appointments for Shonagh to see medical experts in relation to her injuries and the anxiety that was caused by the accident.

Once the medical evidence was submitted to the insurers an offer of £6,225 was made which was fair for the injuries Shonagh had received.

“I was really happy with the offer we received, I wasn’t expecting so much!

“I would definitely tell anyone that found themselves in a similar situation, 100% go to Digby Brown. Everything was professional from start to finish and I really couldn’t fault the service at all."