Public transport accident claims in Scotland

Whether you are on a bus, taxi, train, ferry or plane, it is the duty of those in control of these modes of transport to ensure your safety. Whether it was the fault of the vehicle you were in or the result of someone else’s negligence, it is important to remember that you have rights.

If you are injured, then you can seek compensation for your loss, whether you have sustained minor  or serious injuries, including the loss of life of a family member.

Many of us never think we may be involved in a road accident when using public transport but unfortunately, it’s a frequent occurrence. If it happens to you, then where can you go to seek help? Many people immediately turn to the operator of the transport business to seek redress, but we know from experience that you need independent legal advice.

Digby Brown has relevant experience across the whole of Scotland and beyond, having helped thousands of people over many years. Some of the incidents have been in the news where significant loss of life has occurred and others are more straightforward, such as when a taxi has been hit by another vehicle. We have the experience and expertise to help.

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The public transport injury claim process

Public transport claims can be complicated because they often relate to the negligence of another driver. It doesn’t matter how it happened - all that matters is that the law says you’re entitled to compensation if you suffered an injury because someone else was negligent.

Your solicitor will investigate all the circumstances of your case including:

• The extent of your injuries
• The need for specialist medical treatment 
• The need for any ongoing care or support
• Your loss of earnings 
• Any additional expenses caused by the accident

By working with medical and financial experts to analyse all these different points, we can then work out how much compensation we believe will be fair. This is to make sure your case settles for its proper value rather than simply accepting what an insurance company thinks is fair (which is often incorrect).

We also gather all the evidence other organisations might have on the incident such as reports from the police or the Health and Safety Executive in support of your claim.

Examples of some evidence that help progress a claim are:

Proof of the journey – keep any related documents such as tickets, receipts, or booking confirmations as proof of the journey whether that be a train ticket, or a receipt from a taxi.

Witness details – if it is safe to do so, ask for contact details from any witnesses who saw the accident. If you were in a bus or taxi accident, ask other drivers for dash cam footage. If you were involved in an accident on a plane, train, or ferry, speak to other passengers and see if anyone was filming on their phone at the time of the accident.

Incident reported – ensure that the incident has been reported to the appropriate authorities and ask for a copy of the police report.

Details of injuries and medical attention – keep notes of the GP you spoke to or the time you went to A&E so that these can be tracked easily. It can also be helpful to provide information about the hospital you attended, details of the person who brought you in or what ward you were kept in.

Once you are involved in any kind of accident, we must gather as much evidence as possible. The more evidence we can gather, the better.  

Common causes of public transport accidents

No one sets out to cause a crash or injure the passengers they are transporting and most of the causes of these incidents are due to failures by others on the roads but other factors do come into play:

Adverse weather - all transport providers have a duty of care for passengers. We have witnessed numerous bus accidents where the operator should not have set out due to the road conditions. Ferry operators, for example, need to pay attention to the wind speed and sea swells. If they decide to set off in spite of these known risks, then they may be negligent.

Human error – sometimes the driver of a vehicle may fail to meet the standards expected of them. For example, if a taxi driver takes their eye off the road, this may result in a collision.

Poor systems of work – train operators may find themselves liable if, for example, they continue to let passengers continue to board a crowded train carriage.

Defective equipment – imagine that a company has not carried out routine (but vital) maintenance to its buses and this has resulted in a mechanical failure that resulted in a crash. This would arguably make them negligent and liable for any compensation owed to you.

All these factors play a part in investigating your public transport claim and accessing justice.

The above holds true if you suffered a serious trauma – like a head or spinal cord injury – or if your accident happened abroad. Digby Brown has the right specialists to help no matter what the circumstances are and no matter how you were injured.

In one bus injury claim case from Ayr, our client was left suffering PTSD after his bus he took a corner too fast and ended up in a ditch. But we were able to secure him fair compensation as well as provide access to specialist mental health support.

In another high-profile case, we acted for dozens of holiday makers who were injured in Tenerife. They were being transported on a bus from an aeroplane to the terminal building when the bus crashed into a baggage lorry. Our Foreign & Travel Team, who specialise in accidents abroad, were able to secure damages for everyone who raised a case with us.

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Free legal advice about public transport claims

If you have been injured in an accident when using public transport, we would encourage you to get in touch for legal advice about where you stand and if you can make a claim.

Call us to speak to a legal advisor or fill in our online enquiry form and a legal advisor will call you back.