Three questions that usually decide it
Was someone else at fault?
Another driver, an employer, an occupier or a manufacturer. Shared fault does not end a claim, it reduces it.
Was it in the last three years?
Scotland allows three years from the accident, or from diagnosis for an industrial disease. Children have longer.
Did you need treatment?
A GP or hospital record from the time is the single most useful piece of evidence in any claim.
Covering Livingston and West Lothian
Livingston is West Lothian’s largest town and a major distribution and manufacturing centre, built around the M8 corridor between Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Livingston claims are handled by our Edinburgh and Lothians team, led by Associate Solicitor April Meechan, on the dedicated Lothians freephone 0800 073 0065.
Most of what we need comes from a first phone call. Where a meeting helps we come to you at home or in hospital anywhere in West Lothian, at no cost, or meet by video call.
Claims we take on in Livingston
Accidents at work
Unsafe equipment, manual handling, falls from height and inadequate training.
Read more →Road traffic accidents
Drivers, passengers, motorcyclists, cyclists and pedestrians.
Read more →Serious injuries
Head, brain and spinal injuries needing lifetime care and support.
Read more →Slips, trips and falls
Public places, shops, workplaces and defective pavements.
Read more →Industrial disease
Deafness, HAVS, dermatitis, asbestos and occupational asthma.
Read more →No win – no fee
We fund the claim. Nothing to pay unless we win it for you.
Read more →Livingston Sheriff Court
Livingston Sheriff Court covers West Lothian, including Livingston, Bathgate, Broxburn, Whitburn and Linlithgow. Local civil actions would normally be raised there.
For higher-value claims the All-Scotland Personal Injury Court in Edinburgh is often the better forum, and it is only a short distance away. Most claims settle without proceedings.
Livingston Sheriff Court
The local forum for West Lothian claims, covering Livingston, Bathgate, Broxburn and Linlithgow.
All-Scotland Personal Injury Court
A specialist national court in Edinburgh, hearing injury actions from anywhere in Scotland before judges who deal only with injury work.
Court of Session
Edinburgh. For the highest-value and most complex claims, including catastrophic and fatal cases.
How people get hurt in Livingston
Livingston’s economy is built on distribution, manufacturing and retail, with the M8 running past it and a new-town road layout of fast dual carriageways and roundabouts.
The M8 and A899
The main Edinburgh–Glasgow motorway corridor plus the A899 Livingston spur, with fast roundabout junctions and heavy commuter traffic.
Distribution and warehousing
Large distribution centres serving central Scotland. Manual handling, forklift, racking and loading-bay injuries are the pattern.
Manufacturing and electronics
A long-established manufacturing base, where machinery guarding, repetitive strain and noise exposure are recurring issues.
Retail parks and shopping centre
Slips on wet floors, falls in car parks and accidents in shops across the town’s large retail estate.
Construction and housing
Continuing residential development across West Lothian, with falls from height the leading cause of serious injury.
Underpasses and cycle paths
A new-town network of paths and underpasses where lighting, surface defects and winter ice contribute to falls.
St John’s treats most Livingston injuries
How we gather your medical evidence
St John’s Hospital in Livingston is the district general hospital for West Lothian, so most local A&E attendances and fracture clinics are recorded there. The most serious trauma is usually taken to the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.
We request your records directly from NHS Lothian and your GP practice on your authority.
For significant injuries we instruct an independent consultant to examine you privately at our cost.
Who would handle your Livingston claim
West Lothian claims are handled by our Edinburgh and Lothians team.
Our record
A 99% success rate
Across personal injury claims, built on preparing cases properly and being honest at the outset about the ones that will not succeed.
Millions recovered
We have helped thousands of injured people win millions of pounds in compensation, from minor slips to catastrophic injury.
Referred by other solicitors
Firms in Scotland and England send us their clients’ personal injury claims, which is the endorsement we value most.
“From the very first phone call to the last they were friendly, courteous and very professional. What helped a great deal was the way they kept me informed.”
“They were so professional, courteous and diligent throughout the process. My compensation came through at the high end of my expectations.”
Scotland has its own rules and timeframes
Scots law differs from the rest of the UK in ways that matter to your claim, which is why a Scottish solicitor is worth having.
Three-year limitation
Most claims must be raised within three years of the accident, or from the date you knew an illness was work-related. Miss it and the claim is usually lost.
Pre-action protocol
Scotland operates a voluntary pre-action protocol for personal injury. It sets out timescales for insurers to investigate and respond before court is needed.
No win – no fee
We fund the cost of running your claim. If we do not win you pay nothing, and any success fee is capped and agreed with you in writing first.